Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manama: Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President, today received Saudi Arabia's Bid Book as part of the next phase of their campaign to host AFC Asian Cup 2027.
Shaikh Salman welcomed the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) delegation, led by Yasser Almisehal, SAFF President, who delivered the Saudi Arabian Bid Book during the meeting in Bahrain.
Shaikh Salman thanked SAFF who, along with the Islamic Republic of Iran, India, Qatar and Uzbekistan are hoping to win the rights to host the AFC Asian Cup, the crown jewel of National Team competitions, in 2027.
Shaikh Salman said: "We could witness five Member Associations submitting bids to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027, which demonstrates the ever-growing status of this competition and how attractive it is both technically and commercially to potential hosts."
Shaikh Salman added that the AFC believes that the continued interest from Member Associations (MAs) to host the AFC Asian Cup reflects the prestige of the competition. He wished all the MAs bidding the very best of luck. The AFC will award the hosting rights of the 19th edition of the competition in 2021.
Also attending the handing over of the Bid Book were the AFC General Secretary, Dato' Windsor John, and SAFF vice president Khalid Althebity as well as SAFF General Secretary Ibrahim Alkassim. They were joined by former Saudi Arabian players from the team that won the AFC Asian Cup in 1984 and 1988 - Ahmad Jamil, Shaei Al Nufeisah, Saleh Al Naeima, Saleh Khalifah, Majed Abdallah and Muhammad Abdeljawad.