The Korea Football Association (KFA) has recently held discussions with the Japan Football Association (JFA) regarding the joint bid to host the AFC Asian Cup. Relevant sources from the KFA revealed that the JFA has responded positively to the co-hosting proposal, and if the JFA gives final approval, both sides will submit a joint bid application for the Asian Cup with the support of their respective governments.
Earlier this year, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced its policy to decide the hosts of both the 2031 and 2035 AFC Asian Cups simultaneously. In recent years, major tournaments such as the Asian Cup, Olympic Games, and World Cup have been successively held in West Asia. If only one host is selected for the Asian Cup, the possibility of cash-rich West Asian countries hosting large-scale events again cannot be ruled out. On the contrary, if the hosts for both tournaments are decided as a package, there is a high chance that one edition will be hosted by Northeast Asian countries. The AFC will accept official bid documents including specific concepts, tournament formats, and government support policies in the middle of next year, and finalize the hosts in 2027.
The recent editions of the Asian Cup have been concentrated in West Asia: 2011 in Qatar, 2015 in Australia, 2019 in the UAE, and 2023 back in Qatar. Saudi Arabia will host the 2027 edition, meaning the Asian Cup will be held in West Asia for three consecutive times. Countries that have expressed interest in hosting the 2031 Asian Cup include South Korea, Australia, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the UAE, as well as a joint bid by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The KFA judges that it is strategically more advantageous to simultaneously express interest in bidding for the 2035 Asian Cup. After confirming the positive response from the JFA, the KFA has requested assistance from South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. A relevant official from the ministry stated: “Intergovernmental consultations between the two countries are expected to begin soon.”
Both football associations must express their intention to bid for the 2035 AFC Asian Cup to the AFC by December 31 this year.
