Prospective Member Associations eager to be the host of a centralised tournament for the remaining matches of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers will be up against several tough conditions set by AFC.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still not showing signs of slowing down, the AFC have had to make the decision to postpone all qualifying matches in the FIFA World Cup 2022 to June 2021 instead of March.
However, if any Member Association thinks that they can get some advantage by hosting the remaining matches, then they will have to seriously reconsider the criteria which have been set by the AFC.
Among them, the criteria require Member Association hoping to host group matches of World Cup 2022 Asian qualifiers to have at least five five-star hotels as accommodations for the teams.
Also, the country or the venue concerned must have five high-quality training grounds and two stadiums that meet international standards.
The AFC would also require that participating teams be exempted from quarantine, only needing to take the Covid-19 tests.
The AFC will announce the host nations for the centralised tournament across Asia on 15 March 2021. – By Akira Wong
