Asian Cup 2011 to be held mid-European season
tribalfooball.com - July 29, 2007
The Asian Football Confederation have announced that the 2011 Asian Cup will be held in Qatar. AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam confirmed the event would be played in the Gulf state following the organisation's executive committee meeting in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, the venue for this year's Asian Cup final.
Qatar were the sole bidders for the event following the withdrawal of India's bid and the Iran Football Federation's failure to submit the official documents.
"Because of the high standards and criteria we are applying for any tournament, it is not possible for every country to host the AFC Asian Cup," said Hammam.
"From tournament to tournament, the standards will continue to get higher and higher and it is up to the host country to ensure that all measures are in place to host a successful event.
"We need to organise our tournaments in the best environment and we have to ensure that the teams have the best facilities available and that there is good access for fans to come and watch the games.
"These are the sorts of things that a host country must provide."
With the tournament going to Qatar, the AFC president also admitted that Australia had been interested in applying to host the 2011 event.
"Australia were very interested in submitting a bid but, due to the rotation of the event, it was decided that the candidates for the 2011 competition would be restricted to the South, Central and West Asian regions," he said.
After announcing the decision, Hammam revealed that the tournament is likely to take place in January due to concerns about the weather in the Middle East during the summer months.
As a Qatari himself, Hammam was naturally delighted with the decision.
"Qatar is my home and maybe this will give me a reason to spend more of my time there," he said.
"Hopefully it will be a successful tournament."