Indonesia, who were banned by FIFA in 2015 for allowing its government to take over all football activities, have declared their interest in hosting the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
The likes of China, South Korea and Thailand also announced their desire to the AFC Competitions Committee yesterday become the host of the 18th edition of the tournament.
“Following the expression of interest by China PR, Indonesia, Korea Republic and Thailand by the deadline of March 31, 2016 in hosting the AFC Asian Cup in 2023, the AFC will now send out the Bidding Agreement and the Host Candidate Questionnaire and seek Government guarantees and legal opinion on the bids,” AFC announced on their official website.
Indonesia have hosted the prestigious tournament before back in 2007 alongside Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which saw Iraq defeat Saudi Arabia 1-0 to claim their first ever title.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
Indonesia will only be able to host the AFC Asian Cup if their ban from FIFA has been revoked. The FIFA Congress will be held next year at Kuala Lumpur and their fate will be decided by a special committee. On the off chance that Indonesia gets their ban dropped and voted in favour to host the AFC Asian Cup, it will take a lot from them to prove that they are international football material again. They do have a number of stadiums that can accommodate tens of thousands of football fans, such as the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Palaran Stadium, Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium and the Jalak Harupat Stadium. To get back international football would mean the world to Indonesian fans. Just imagine being able to host the AFC Asian Cup in seven years. It’s make or break, Indonesia.
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