AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 CEO Jassim Abdulaziz Al Jassim (right) and LOC’s Director of Marketing and Communications Hassan Rabiah Al Kuwari during the roundtable on the eve of Final Draw.
Doha: AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 CEO Jassim Abdulaziz Al Jassim has expressed his confidence Qatar will stage the continent’s premier tournament in a way that will carry the legacy of historic FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 forward.
Speaking on the eve of the Asian Cup Final Draw to be held at Katara Opera House, Al Jassim said Qatar which has rich experience of hosting major sports events successfully particularly the World Cup and boasts state-of-the-art infrastructure will ensure fans a memorable experience at the Asian Cup.
From hosting the spectacular opening ceremony to an impressive closing show, Qatar delivered an amazing World Cup – the first ever in the Middle East and the Arab world – setting new benchmarks in many aspects including competitiveness and viewership.
“Qatar is not only the sports capital of the continent but the country has become sports capital of the world especially after hosting a historic FIFA World Cup,” Al Jassim told reporters at a roundtable hosted by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) yesterday.
The Asian Cup to be competed among top 24 AFC sides will be held from January 12 to February 10, 2024 at eight stadiums including six venues which were used during the World Cup.
“We want to carry the World Cup legacy forward by hosting a successful tournament in terms of best venues, infrastructure and organisation,” said Al Jassim.
LOC’s Director of Marketing and Communications Hassan Rabiah Al Kuwari sitting alongside the CEO echoed his views.
“Our goal is to continue our excellence by hosting the best edition of the Asian Cup and give fans a unique experience,” he said.
Yesterday, the AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa commented that AFC was ready to stage the best Asian Cup in history in Qatar.
Asked by The Peninsula, if LOC was confident of staging a historic edition, Al Jassim, replied: “We are confident of doing that. We have the same team that worked at the World Cup. It is going to be another big challenge for us after almost a year and lot of work needs to be done as it will big tournament with 24 teams involved.”
Al Jassim added LOC was expecting a huge number of fans to travel to Qatar during the Asian Cup.
“Asian fans travelled to Qatar in large numbers to back their teams during the World Cup. We saw huge support for Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea and Australia. The Asian Cup will be another opportunity for them to experience the unique atmosphere. It will also be a chance for the ones who were not able to make it last year,” said the tournament’s CEO.
He said the Asian Cup is expected to throw up exciting games due to its compact nature like Qatar 2022.
“We witnessed exciting matches during the World Cup. The group stage was very close as none of the teams managed to win all of their matches. We are expecting such games in the Asian Cup also because players will not have to travel much because everything including hotels, training facilities and stadiums is in close proximity,” he said.
To a query regarding the innovative Hayya Card, which turned out to be a huge success during the World Cup, Al Jassim said: “Hayya Card will be used during the Asian Cup but it is premature to talk about its features as we are still doing our homework over it and the details will be announced in due course.”
Meanwhile, Qatar 2022 venues which will host the Asian Cup games include Al Janoub Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Education City Stadium and Khalifa International Stadium.
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium and Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium are the other venues that were confirmed by the AFC.
Qatar will become the first country to stage the Asian Cup three times having hosted the 1988 and 2011 editions.
Iran, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates have each twice served as hosts.
AFC ASIAN CUP QATAR 2023
Pot 1: Qatar, Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia,
Saudi Arabia
Pot 2: Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Uzbekistan, China, Jordan
Pot 3: Bahrain, Syria, Palestine, Vietnam, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon
Pot 4: India, Tajikistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia
