Indonesia Proposes To Host The 2031 Asian Cup Singles

JAKARTA - Indonesia has looked far into the 2031 Asian Cup by officially submitting to host.

PSSI General Chairperson (Ketum), Erick Thohir, even said that the progress of the submission was already underway.

So far, Indonesia has even sent official files to the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"Indonesia has included a bidding to host the 2031 Asian Cup singles," Erick said in an official PSSI statement quoted on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.

The enthusiasm to host the 2031 Asian Cup is not without reason. You see, if you look at the previous background, Indonesia has been one of the hosts of the 2007 Asian Cup, along with Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

With this experience, Indonesia has a bigger ambition to be a single host in the 2031 edition.

According to Erick Thohir, the experience in 2007 could be a strong motivation for Indonesia to prove its capacity in the Asian football arena.

"We last hosted the event in 2007, which was also with three other Southeast Asian countries. This means that we want to become single hosts in this prestigious event," said Erick.

In addition to the experience of hosting together in the 2007 edition, Indonesia is confident enough to propose to host the 2031 Asian Cup singles because it reflects on the last event, namely successfully hosting the 2023 U-17 World Cup.

This success shows that Indonesia has FIFA standard infrastructure, including stadiums and other supporting facilities, as well as the ability to manage international-scale events.

"Moreover, we hosted the U-17 World Cup last year. So, in terms of committee readiness (implementing committee) and FIFA standard stadium facilities have been fulfilled," said Erick Thohir.

"With the experience and preparation we have, we hope that the AFC can consider Indonesia as the best choice to host the 2031 Asian Cup," said the PSSI chairman.