China's withdrawal from hosting the 2023 AFC Asian Cup may cause the tournament to move to the Arab Gulf states, where the infrastructure and desire to follow major events make it a magnet for international tournaments.
The Asian Cup was planned to be held in 10 cities during June and July next year, with the participation of 24 teams, but China apologized due to "the exceptional circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic", according to a statement from the Asian Football Confederation.
The AFC said it would announce the venue of the tournament at a later time, but without revealing any details, while refusing to immediately comment to Reuters on the matter.
Uncertainty surrounds many Asian countries regarding the next steps.
"This is a bit of an unusual situation, and there is no specific mechanism that we know about how things are going; we only know that China has pulled out," a KFA spokesperson told Reuters.
The AFC has little time to study alternatives, and it may not have an abundance of developed countries.
The Australian Federation declined to comment on the possibility of applying to host the tournament instead of China, but indicated that there is a busy schedule in 2023 in light of co-hosting the Women's World Cup with New Zealand, which begins on July 20.
Kushal Das, secretary general of the Indian Federation, whose country is hosting the 2022 Asian Women's Cup, said his country will focus on trying to host the continental tournament in 2027, and there is no desire to host the 2023 edition.
There was no comment from South Korea, which lost to China in the bid to host the 2023 Asian Cup, on hosting the continental competition, but said it would discuss more with the local authorities.
"Basically, hosting an international tournament... first requires discussions with the government and local authorities, but we haven't heard or held any discussions yet," a KFA spokesperson said.
In addition to India, Qatar, the champions of Asia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have expressed their desire to submit bids to host the 2027 edition.
Qatar - the holder of the Asian Cup title - will host the 2022 World Cup, starting from November 21, in stadiums built specifically for the tournament, and may represent the ideal option to host the Asian Cup after it organized the tournament in 1988 and 2011.
The date may be too early for Saudi Arabia, which has aggressively entered the market for hosting major sporting events in the past years. Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2027 edition includes building 3 new stadiums, renovating 3 other stadiums and increasing their capacity.
The high summer temperatures in the Persian Gulf region may cause Qatar and Saudi Arabia to ask the AFC to postpone the tournament for a few months to take place as early as 2024.
And if clear alternatives to hosting the tournament do not appear, the AFC may return the continental competition to the Arab Gulf region, 4 years after the 2019 edition was held in the UAE.