China withdraw from hosting the 2023 AFC Asian Cup due to COVID-19 pandemic-Sports News , Firstpost

AFC Asian Cup trophy. AFP

China has decided against hosting the AFC Asian Cup 2023 which was to be played across 10 Chinese cities from 16 June to 16 July, 2023. Beijing has maintained a strict zero-Covid strategy dealing another blow to the country’s sporting ambitions.

In a statement, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed the Chinese Football Association (CFA) have relinquished the right to host the Asian Cup finals due to the COVID-19 situation.

No new host nation was named, with the AFC saying that next steps would be taken in due course.

“The AFC appreciates that China PR, the CFA and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 LOC have made this very difficult but necessary decision in the collective interests of the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which has also provided the AFC the required time to assess the situation regarding the hosting of the AFC Asian Cup 2023,” the AFC statement read.

Read: Overdependence on Sunil Chhetri and goalscoring the biggest worry for India

“The AFC will continue to work closely with its commercial partners and stakeholders to chart the course forward and remains grateful to them for their understanding and support during this period.”

AFC also said: “Further details about the next steps related to the hosting of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will be announced in due course.”

Authorities in China are pursuing a strategy of stamping out the virus entirely, which includes rapid lockdowns and mass testing. As a result, millions in Shanghai have faced onerous restrictions for over a month.

The top national football competition in Asia, the Asian Cup, is hosted every four years with 24 teams taking part in it. Qatar won the last edition in 2019.

It would have been the second time that China had staged the Asian Cup. They hosted it in 2004, when they lost 3-1 to Japan in the final.

India are set to play the final round of qualifiers in June. They face Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia in the group stage.

The decision comes hot on the heels of 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou being postponed. The continental event has been postponed indefinitely from its original dates of 10 to 25 September.

Blow to China’s Communist Party

The loss of major sporting events is a blow to the ruling Communist Party, which had burnished its global image with an array of dazzling spectacles such as Beijing’s 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Olympics.

China has also staged tennis and golf tournaments featuring all the world’s leading stars, and a showpiece annual Formula One grand prix.

But with the exception of this year’s Winter Olympics — held in a virus-secure, closed-loop Beijing bubble in February — the world’s most populous nation has cancelled or postponed almost all events since Covid emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.

Experts now believe that the costly and labour-intensive Winter Olympics bubble now appears to have been the exception rather than the rule.

(with inputs from AFP)

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.