New Delhi: All India Football Federation welcomed FIFA’s decision to invite the Member Associations under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said, “This is a great opportunity for Asia to once again bid for a World Cup in 2034, and it is certainly an encouraging decision by FIFA.”
AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said, “After the success of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Asia has demonstrated its calibre to successfully host a tournament of such magnitude. The fact that FIFA has once again taken the decision to possibly give such an opportunity to our continent is a welcome development for football in our continent.”
The FIFA Council had, on October 4, 2023, met virtually to make decisions on the 2030 and the 2034 World Cups, the former being unanimously awarded to a joint bid by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with FIFA World Cup Centenary celebration and celebratory games to be played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.
It was also agreed upon that in line with the principle of confederation rotation and of securing the best possible hosting conditions of the tournaments, the bidding process for both the 2030 and 2034 editions be conducted concurrently, with FIFA member associations from the territories of the AFC and the OFC invited to bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034.
The AIFF President further went on to lend his support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on its intentions to bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034. “We at the AIFF extend our support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034.
“We endorse the AFC president’s statement in support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034. We will stand by the decision of the AFC as part of one Asian family to collectively support the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in their endeavors.” Chaubey said.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has welcomed FIFA’s decision to invite Member Associations from the AFC to bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034 while expressing his full support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s intention to bid for the coveted hosting rights.
“The AFC endorses the FIFA World Cup hosting decisions taken by the FIFA Council as we strongly believe it paves the way for a more equitable opportunity for all Confederations to bid for, and host, the prestigious FIFA World Cup – the pinnacle of world men’s football,” said the AFC President.
(IANS)
