Ordos to bid for 2023 AFC Asian Cup

A player attempts a tackle during an AFC Asian Cup game. [Photo/vcg]

The city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region is planning to bid for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, according to an announcement made by a senior official at a meeting on March 22. 

During the meeting, which was chaired by Liu Jianxun, vice-mayor of Ordos, future plans to develop soccer in Ordos were announced.

According to the plans, the city will improve infrastructure in order to provide more places for training, and will promote the sport to teenagers.

A number of individuals, teams and organizations involved in soccer development were singled out for praise at the meeting. 

The city is keen to host the 2013 AFC Asian Cup, with the vice-mayor promising to spare no effort in making it happen.  

The AFC Asian Cup is an international association football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América.

The Asian Cup was held once every four years from the 1956 tournament in Hong Kong until the 2004 tournament in China. However, since the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship were also scheduled in the same year as the Asian Cup, the AFC decided to move their championship to a quieter year. After 2004, the tournament was not held again until 2007 when it was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Since then, it has been held every four years.

The 2019 tournament was won for the first time by Qatar, who defeated Japan 3–1 in the Final.