Six weeks after opening the bidding process, the Asian Football Confederation has scrapped all hosting bids for the 2031 and 2035 Asian Cup. The reason: FIFA told them to.
In a letter to member federations, the AFC confirmed it was asked by the world governing body to shift its marquee men's tournament to even-numbered years — aligning with the international match calendar that FIFA controls. The AFC, after what it described as "careful consideration", agreed. Bidding for both editions "will be abandoned in its entirety."
Who gets left holding the bag
Australia, Kuwait, South Korea, and Japan had all submitted interest in hosting one of the two tournaments. Japan specifically wanted 2035. None of them were consulted before FIFA made its move — they simply got the news six weeks after putting their hands up.
The likely outcome now is an Asian Cup in 2032 and 2036, which puts it in the same calendar windows as the European Championship and Copa America. That's a crowded summer for the global football audience — and for broadcasters trying to carve up rights fees across three continental showpieces at once.
The 2027 Asian Cup is unaffected. Saudi Arabia hosts it from January 5, and that tournament sits within the current FIFA calendar which runs through 2030. Everything beyond that is being redrawn.
The bigger problem FIFA keeps dodging
This is not an isolated incident. FIFA has drawn sustained criticism for making calendar decisions without proper consultation — particularly from player unions and domestic leagues in Europe, where the EU in Brussels is now examining a formal complaint on exactly this issue.
The AFC's rapid compliance won't go unnoticed. When the world body says jump, confederations ask how high — regardless of what member associations had already been planning, spending, and preparing for. The countries that geared up bids based on the original timeline get nothing for their trouble.
FIFA has yet to comment publicly on the move.
