The last time South Korea hosted the continental No. 1 tournament was in 1960. The decision of Korea was made after Mr. Chung Myung-gyu was elected as President of the Football Association of this country (KFA). In the previous election, Mr. Chung clearly stated his determination to regain the position of Korean football.
At the 2023 Asian Cup, South Korea will also participate in qualifying for the host after China withdrew. But in the end, Qatar won the election and hosted the tournament in early 2024. After that, the Qatari team was also crowned champion.
With the UAE hosting the tournament in 2019 and Saudi Arabia hosting the next tournament in 2027, the prospect of 4 consecutive Asian Cups taking place in the Middle East is becoming increasingly clear.
The UAE is a strong candidate to host the 2031 Asian Cup after submitting a bid. Kuwait - another country in the Middle East also wants to bring the Asian Cup back to this country for the first time since 1980.
Australia - host of the 2015 Asian Cup also expressed its desire to host the No. 1 regional tournament after 6 more years. In addition, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are also determined to host the 2031 Asian Cup.
According to Reuters, although there are many candidates, the highest possibility is that the race will take place between South Korea and countries in West Asia. East Asian teams have not hosted the Asian Cup despite their many high performance on the pitch, since the tournament took place in China in 2004.
Japan, a four-time Asian Cup champion and multiple World Cup participants, will only host it once in 1992.
South Korea won its first two Asian Cup titles - in Hong Kong (China) in 1956 and at home four years later. However, since then, South Korea has never hosted or won the Asian Cup, despite being the team that participated in the World Cup the most (11 times).
According to Reuters, the AFC is likely to make a decision on the host of the 2031 Asian Cup in 2027. That means Chung and his colleagues will have more time to convince AFC members to choose South Korea as the host of the 2031 Asian Cup.
