The AFC Asian Cup is the premier football competition in Asia, featuring the best national teams from the region. It is held once every four years and has a rich history dating back to its inception in 1956. The next edition of the AFC Asian Cup is scheduled to take place in 2024, and fans across the continent are eagerly waiting for the start of the tournament. The AFC Asian Cup 2023 (2024) will be the 18th edition of the competition and will be hosted by Qatar. The tournament will take place from 12 January – 10 February 2024, and will feature 24 teams from across the continent.
The AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the premier international football tournament for Asian countries, held every four years since 1956.
It is the second oldest continental football tournament in the world after Copa America and is the most prestigious football tournament in Asia.
This tournament is held between the senior men’s national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The AFC Asian Cup is the most important tournament in Asia and the most prestigious football tournament in the region.
It is a platform for Asian countries to showcase their footballing talents and compete with the best teams in the world.
The tournament is played in a round-robin format, allowing each team to play against all of its opponents at least once. The winner of the tournament is crowned the Asian champion.
The Time of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup
These games were supposed to be held in July 2023 in China, but due to the spread of the Coronavirus, China withdrew from this hosting, so the games were postponed to the winter of 2024 or the first days of 2024 due to the heat of June in Qatar.
After several months of conflict between South Korea and Qatar, Qatar hosted the World Cup for the 2023 Asian Nations Cup.
With the vote of the Asian Football Confederation, the 2023 Asian Nations Cup will be held in early 2024 due to the hot weather in Qatar.
The AFC Asian Cup 2023 Host
Qatar will be hosting the AFC Asian Cup 2024, the 18th edition of the continental tournament. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in China, however, Qatar was chosen as the new host in 2021.
This will be the third time Qatar will host an AFC Asian Cup. Qatar has been an active participant in the tournament since its inception in 1956, having participated in every edition.
The country has been successful in the tournament, finishing as runner-up in 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2011 and winning the tournament in 2019.
The tournament will be hosted across seven venues in Qatar, three of which are already built and four that are under construction. The final is set to be held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
Qatar will be the first country to host both the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup. This is an exciting opportunity for Qatar, and the tournament will be a great showcase for the country’s football and hospitality.
Read more: Qatar Stadiums
AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers Team List
The qualifying process for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup began in March 2021. A total of 24 teams will qualify for the tournament, including Qatar as the host nation.
The qualification will be split into six rounds, with the first round being split into two stages.
The first stage will see the 12 lowest-ranked teams compete in a two-legged knockout format, while the second stage will feature the remaining 12 teams in a group stage.
The teams that have already qualified for the 2024 AFC Asian Cup are as follows:
- AFC Member Nation Teams: Australia, Bahrain, China, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar (HostNation), Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan
- AFC Associate Member Nation Teams: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam
The AFC Asian Cup 2024 Pots have been decided ahead of the tournament, with 24 teams being placed into four groups of six teams each. The knockout stage will feature the top two teams from each group.
- POT A will consist of Qatar, Japan, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.
- POT B will include Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Uzbekistan, China, and Jordan.
- POT C will see Bahrain, Syria, Palestine, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, and Lebanon.
- POT D will feature India, Tajikistan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The teams placed in each pots will be determined by the AFC’s ranking system, with the top eight teams in the rankings being placed into Pot 1, the next eight teams in Pot 2, and the remaining four teams in Pot 3.
Read More: Qatar Stars League
2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualification Date
The AFC Asian Cup qualification for the 2024 tournament is scheduled to begin in June 2021, with the draw to take place in March 2021.
The qualification process will involve forty-four teams, with the top twelve teams from the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying tournament and the top thirty-one teams from the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying tournament.
The final round of qualification will consist of a knockout tournament, with the twelve teams being divided into four groups of three teams each. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the 2024 AFC Asian Cup.
AFC Asian Cup 2023 Draw Date & Groups
According to an announcement from the Asian Football Confederation, the Final Draw for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 is scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the Katara Opera House in Doha, Qatar.
The AFC has communicated to all Participating Member Associations (PMA) that the tournament will be hosted in Qatar and extended an invitation to the President of each PMA, as well as Head Coaches and Team Managers, to attend the Final Draw.
The AFC also stated that the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 will be held in the country that hosted the FIFA World Cup in the previous year and proposed that the tournament be held from January 12 to February 10, 2024. The final dates for the competition will be confirmed after consultation with FIFA.
On the following date, the draw was held and the groups were determined. You can read below and see Match Schedule (download afc asian cup 2023 schedule pdf):
Group A: Qatar, China, Tajikestan, Lebanon
Grop B: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, India
Group C: Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, Palestine
Group D: Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam
Group E: South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain
Group F: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic, Oman
Final Word
In 2023, the AFC Asian Cup will be an exciting tournament that will be closely watched by football fans worldwide. With the tournament set to take place in China, it promises to provide a unique experience for players and fans alike.
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