The Chinese Football Association withdraws as host of the 2023 Asian Cup to the coronavirus pandemic.
From June of next year, a 24-team competition is planned to be staged in ten cities.
However, the country is currently seeing its greatest coronavirus outbreak since the outbreak began.
“The AFC recognizes the unusual circumstances resulting from the Covid-19 outbreak, which resulted in China relinquishing its hosting rights,” the governing body stated in a statement.
It also stated that specifics about the tournament’s hosting would be announced: “in due time.”
For the past month, Shanghai, where the new Pudong Football Stadium was unveiled in October 2021, has been under strict lockdown.
The Asian Games, which were also scheduled to take place in China in September, were postponed earlier this month due to the country’s coronavirus situation.
