The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Wednesday confirmed that India is among the six member nations bidding to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup, marking a renewed push by the country to host Asia’s premier international football tournament.
The UAE Football Association withdrew from the bidding process, leaving India to compete with Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Kuwait and a joint bid by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
“The bidding process for the 2031 AFC Asian Cup was completed last year and attracted strong interest from across the continent,” the AFC said in a statement. He added that in line with the AFC President’s forward-looking approach, calls for bids for the 2035 edition were circulated to member associations on August 27, 2025, with a submission deadline of December 31, 2025.
India’s bid follows the submission of an expression of interest by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to host the tournament in 2031 last year. Soon after, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya extended the government’s full support, saying that hosting major sporting events would boost India’s global standing as it pursues its ambitions to host the 2036 Olympics.
India has never hosted the AFC Asian Cup. The previous bids for the 2023 and 2027 editions, made during the tenure of former AIFF president Praful Patel, have been withdrawn. In December 2022, months after Kalyan Chaubey took office, India also withdrew from the 2027 race, saying that hosting big-ticket events was not among its strategic priorities at the time. This decision left Saudi Arabia as the only candidate to continue to secure hosting rights.
Meanwhile, the AFC said that Japan, Australia, South Korea and Kuwait have formally expressed interest in hosting the 2035 Asian Cup. The continental body will further engage with all bidding member associations to coordinate the submission of detailed bid documents in accordance with established timelines, regulations and evaluation processes.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 4, 2026
