China Pulls Out of Hosting 2023 Asian Cup Due to Covid

What’s new: China has pulled out of its commitment to host the 2023 Asian Cup due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, soccer officials announced Saturday, as hundreds of millions of people across the country remain under some form of lockdown or subject to other strict controls on their movements.

“Following extensive discussions with the Chinese Football Association (CFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been officially informed by the CFA that it would not be able to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023,” the confederation said in a statement.