Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneshwar chosen as venues for the AFC Women’s Asia Cup

Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneshwar chosen as venues for the AFC Women’s Asia Cup

TransStadia, one of the grounds which will host the AFC Women's Asia Cup in 2022

India will be hosting the premier Asian continental Women’s Asian Cup from January 20 to 6th February 2022. The 3 venues for the marquee event announced were the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, TransStadia in Ahmedabad and the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

India is also scheduled to host the next edition of the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup in 2022.

The AFC Women’s Asia Cup will feature 12 of the best Asian teams next year

AIFF president and Fifa council member Praful Patel said: “We are excited to kick off the new year with the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Navi Mumbai have put in a lot of work to upgrade their footballing infrastructure.

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“While we have seen Navi Mumbai deliver spectacularly in 2017 for the Fifa U-17 World Cup, we are taking the game to new places with Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad through the two women’s tournaments next year, which is really encouraging for our overall football ecosystem.”

Asian Football Confederation general secretary Dato’ Windsor John, said: “Women’s football in Asia is world-class, and the All India Football Federation and the LOC have selected exceptional venues that will deliver a true spectacle befitting the stature of the tournament.

“The AFC is grateful to the AIFF, the LOC and the three host cities for their dedication and we are confident that the tournament will serve as a catalyst to take women’s football in India, which continues to make significant strides, to even greater heights in the coming years,” John said.

The tournament has also been expanded to feature 12 of the best teams on the continent. It must be noted that the previous edition of the Women’s Asian Cup, which was held in Jordan, had featured only eight teams.

India qualified for the tournament by virtue of being the host. Japan, Australia and China, the best three teams from the 2018 edition, have also secured their berth. The qualifiers to determine the remaining eight spots will be held at a centralised venue from September 13 to 25, 2021.

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