Chairman Chung Mong-gyu, "2031 Asian Cup Korea Republic"…a firm determination

Chairman Chung Mong-gyu, "2031 Asian Cup Korea Republic"…a firm determination

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Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association, showed a strong will to host the 2031 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.

Chairman Chung said on his social network service (SNS) on the 14th, "I attended the AFC Executive Committee and General Assembly held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last weekend."

"Korea has applied for the 2031 AFC Asian Cup along with Australia, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, UAE, Tajikistan/Kirkiz Republic/Uzvekiskan (co-host)," he said. "Although the candidate countries are excellent, we will strive for the 2031 AFC Asian Cup Korea Republic through good faith competition."

Hosting the 2031 Asian Cup was one of Chung's pledges during the election of the 55th president of the Korea Football Association.

At a press conference in December last year to run for the president of the Korea Football Association, Chairman Chung said, "I think there is a very high possibility of hosting the Asian Cup. This time, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have provided a lot of support, and Korea, China and Japan can be targeted."

"Indonesia has also expressed interest, but I think South Korea is the best candidate," he said. "China has not been able to hold the event due to various incidents, and Japan is not yet interested in it. I think it will be possible if Korea applies to AFC a little bit," he said.

Chairman Chung won 85.7% of the vote in the election for the 55th president of the Korea Football Association on Feb. 26, succeeding in his fourth consecutive term as president of the Korea Football Association by an overwhelming margin. One day after his election, he submitted a letter of intent to host the 2031 Asian Cup to AFC.

AFC will request and submit necessary documents to member associations that have expressed their intention to host in the future, and will finally decide the venue for the 2031 AFC Asian Cup in 2026 after reviewing documents and on-site due diligence.

However, competition to host the event is expected to be fierce. According to foreign media, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Indonesia each submitted their intentions to host the event alone, while Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan all submitted their intentions to co-host the event. Notably, chances are high that the event will be held for the fourth consecutive time in the Middle East, as the UAE is expected to stage aggressive attacks.

The first Asian Cup was held in 1956. Since the two Asian Cups were held in Korea in 1960, the Asian Cup has never been held in Korea. Although it claims to be the strongest in Asia, it has lagged behind major Asian countries such as Japan, China, Australia, Iran, Qatar, and the UAE.

During the chairman Chung's time, the Korea Football Association entered the 2023 Asian Cup bid, but gave up due to competition with China.

However, as China gave up hosting the 2022 Summer Games due to COVID-19, Korea jumped back into the race to host the event. At that time, even the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism actively engaged in an all-out campaign to host the event. However, they failed to read the situation and clashed with Qatar, before losing in a crushing defeat.

In the end, Qatar held the tournament in January 2024, and the venue for the next tournament in January 2027 was also confirmed as Saudi Arabia, the host of the 2034 World Cup.

AFC is then receiving letters of intent to host the host country in 2031, with the UAE, three Central Asian countries, and Australia jumping in as well as South Korea.

In terms of soccer skills and enthusiasm, South Korea is well qualified to host the Asian Cup. However, it has failed repeatedly due to lack of justification and diplomatic power within the AFC, and many say that Chairman Chung is known to expand his diplomatic power in the AFC little by little after holding the AFC Awards in Seoul in October last year. 안전놀이터

Of course, the UAE with oil money, Indonesia, which has become the world's fourth-largest population (about 280 million) and has become the dominant soccer power in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, which is emerging as a new soccer powerhouse in Asia, and Australia, which finished the 2015 Asian Cup as the most successful competition in history, are expected to be tough competitions.