After months of speculation we finally know where Palestine will play its third AFC Asian Cup Finals. China had originally beaten out competition from Korea Republic to host the event but had to bow out earlier this year when they could not guarantee travel free of restriction amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Asian Football Confederation Executive Committee has now chosen Qatar amongst a shortlist that also included Korea Republic and Indonesia. Australia also threw its hat in the ring but withdrew to focus on organizing the Women’s World Cup. This will be Qatar’s third time as Asian Cup host, having previously hosted the tournament in 2011 and 1988. The Arab nation were surprise winners of the 2019 edition that was hosted in UAE.
Palestine qualified for their third straight finals earlier this year after failing to proceed to Round 3 of World Cup Qualifying. A curtailed competition featured only three matches with each group of four hosted in a centralized location. Palestine was drawn against hosts Mongolia and fellow 2019 finalists Yemen and Philippines- securing 1-0, 5-0, and 4-0 victories, respectively.
The draw for the tournament will be held in the host country in February with the finals set to kick off on June 16th, 2023. There is wide speculation that the tournament might be moved to January 2024 but this is unlikely given the fact that Qatar will also be hosting the 16-team U23 AFC Asian Cup from January 10-24, 2024.
Attention now shifts to the draw which will be held in February next year which will also feature the selection of a host for the 2027 tournament (either Saudi Arabia or India).
Palestine will be placed in Pot 3 for the draw should the same format for the 2019 tournament be retained.
