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Australia wants to host a major soccer tournament, but it won’t be doing so next year.
The country has dropped out of the running to host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup but hopes to host the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
- Australia had filed an Expression of Interest statement for the 2023 tournament, as did South Korea, Indonesia, and Qatar.
- China was originally slated to host the summer tournament but bowed out to focus on suppressing COVID.
- Officials will select a new country for the 24-team tournament by Oct. 17.
The bid was contingent on government support and the Asian Football Confederation’s willingness to move the contest from June/July 2023 to January/February 2024, Football Australia CEO James Johnson said in July.
Pivot to 2026
“Football Australia maintains its strong interest in bidding for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 and will submit a formal and comprehensive bid to the Asian Football Confederation within the required timeline later this year,” Football Australia wrote.
The 2022 Women’s Cup, hosted by India, drew 156 million unique viewers — up 63% from the 2018 tournament in Jordan.
The AFC’s World Cup qualifying matches topped 100 million viewers across each matchday, reaching more than 345 million unique viewers in total.
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