I will let you host it right away.

Windsor John, the Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), said in an exclusive interview with China's Xinhua News Agency on the 1st that "even if China has given up hosting the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Cup, it can host the next Asian Cup as long as it applies," which has sparked controversy due to serious bias in his remarks.

The Korea Football Association submitted an 'Expression of Interest to Host' for the 2031 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup to the AFC on the 27th. The expression of interest submitted by the KFA is a formal declaration of the association's interest in hosting the tournament.

The AFC requires that it be specified whether the interest is in hosting alone or jointly, and to submit this in an official letter. The KFA submitted its expression of interest for a solo hosting. If the Asian Cup is held in Korea, it will be the first time since 1960. Considering all of East Asia, it will be the first time after the 1992 Asian Cup in Japan and the 2004 Asian Cup in China.

In recent years, the Asian Cup has continuously been held in Southeast Asia or the Middle East. For the 2023 Asian Cup, it was originally hosted in China, but it voluntarily relinquished the hosting rights due to the implementation of a lockdown policy caused by the spread of the COVID-19 variant in 2022. As a result, Korea has re-applied for hosting.

Korea, which was pushed out by China in the bid for hosting, went for the re-bid for the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup. It was selected as one of the final two candidates along with Qatar but was ultimately outbid by Qatar. At that time, it gave the hosting rights to Qatar unanimously with 19 votes, experiencing consecutive failures in football diplomacy.

After the confirmation of Chairman Chung Mong-kyu's fourth term, he is taking on a new challenge, dreaming of hosting the Asian Cup as his first step. The deadline for submitting the expression of interest is the end of this month. According to foreign media, Australia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Indonesia have submitted expressions of interest for solo hosting, while Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan have submitted their intention to co-host.

The AFC will require member associations that have expressed interest in hosting to submit necessary documents and will conduct a review of the documents and on-site inspections, ultimately deciding on the host of the 2031 Asian Cup next year (2026). Meanwhile, China has not officially expressed its intention to host the next Asian Cup.

However, the AFC, known for its pro-China policies, is strongly hoping for China's hosting of the Asian Cup. It expects a massive influx of funds from the hosting. However, China has already canceled its hosting rights for the 2023 Asian Cup, citing its government's quarantine measures.

Nonetheless, the AFC is indicating that it would grant preferential treatment to China. John noted in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, "Hosting the Asian Cup has many advantages. You can advance to the finals without qualifiers. Additionally, hosting would allow you to expand domestic infrastructure," adding, "Fans can also enjoy the Asian Cup at home."

John stated, "We know that China missed the opportunity to host the Asian Cup, but if China wants, it can host it as early as tomorrow," emphasizing, "If China only expresses interest, it is a strong candidate. They have all the conditions and a perfect team with stadiums."

John even declared that he would support China's bid for the World Cup. He emphasized, "If China applies for the World Cup, we will do our best to support it. Performance is not important. During the Korea-Japan World Cup, Korea and Japan were not particularly strong, but they established themselves through hosting the World Cup."

[OSEN = Lee In-hwan]