The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Wednesday confirmed India’s bid to host the Asian Cup in 2031, having listed the country among the six bidding member nations for the continental showpiece.
The United Arab Emirates Football Association had withdrawn from the bidding process.
AFC confirms India’s bid
India will compete with Australia, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait and there is also a joint bid from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Key Points
- India officially bids to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup, competing with Australia, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait, and a joint Central Asian bid.
- The government and AIFF fully back the bid, seeing it as a chance to boost India’s global sporting profile ahead of its 2036 Olympic ambitions.
- India has never hosted the Asian Cup before, and previous bids for 2023 and 2027 were withdrawn due to strategic priorities at the time.
“The bidding process for the AFC Asian Cup 2031 was completed last year and attracted strong interest from across the continent.
“Subsequently, and in line with the AFC President’s forward-looking approach, invitations to bid for the 2035 edition were circulated to MAs (member associations) on August 27, 2025, with the submission window closing on December 31, 2025,” the AFC said in a statement.
Last year the All India Football Federation (AIFF) had submitted the country’s ‘Expression of Interest (EoI)’ to host the 2031 edition of the continent’s most prestigious tournament.
Soon after the submission, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya extended the government’s full support to India’s bid for the tournament, saying hosting major events would only boost the global stature of the country which is aiming to stage the 2036 Olympics.
India among 6 contenders
India has never hosted the tournament. It had submitted bids to host the 2023 and 2027 editions when Praful Patel was the AIFF president.
The bid for the 2023 edition was withdrawn in 2018 and the same happened in case of the 2027 tournament also.
In December 2022, a few months after incumbent Kalyan Chaubey took charge as AIFF president, India withdrew its bid to stage the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, declaring that hosting big-ticket events is not among its “strategic priorities” at that juncture.
The AIFF’s decision had left Saudi Arabia as the lone candidate to host the 2027 Asian Cup.
Meanwhile, the AFC said Australia, Japan, Korea, and Kuwait have formally expressed their interest in hosting the Asian Cup in 2035.
The AFC will next engage with the respective bidding member associations to coordinate the submission of the required bidding documentation, in accordance with the established timelines, regulations and evaluation processes.
