The AFC is rethinking its Asian Cup schedule as FIFA looks to standardise its calendar for major tournaments.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced it is discontinuing the bidding processes for the 2031 and 2035 editions of the AFC Asian Cup.
The decision, confirmed on 20 March, follows discussions with FIFA around a potential change to the international match calendar, including a proposal to stage future tournaments in even-numbered years.
“This follows recent engagement with FIFA concerning a potential revision to the international match calendar, which includes a proposal to stage future editions of the AFC Asian Cup in even-numbered years,” the AFC said in a statement.
“In principle, the AFC has taken note of this direction and will work towards aligning its competitions accordingly.”
The AFC Asian Cup, the confederation’s international tournament for men’s national teams, is currently held every four years and serves as Asia’s equivalent to the UEFA European Championship and Copa América.
The next edition is scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in 2027 and is not expected to be impacted by these changes.
In light of the potential changes, the AFC has launched a broader review of its competition calendar. “As part of this process, it has been deemed appropriate to halt the current bidding cycles to provide greater clarity and ensure a more structured approach to future host selections,” read the statement.
What the pause means
Several AFC member associations had already submitted bids for the 2031 and 2035 tournaments, handing in plans for stadium upgrades, infrastructure development and financial backing.
The AFC, in fact, had closed the initial bidding phase for the 2035 edition, with final decisions for both 2031 and 2035 expected to be announced at the same time.
Australia, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Kuwait submitted bids for the 2031 tournament, alongside a joint Central Asian proposal from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Kuwait entered the race to host the 2035 edition.
The AFC has placed these efforts on hold, and stressed the move is a step to align with potential changes to FIFA’s international calendar and explained it shouldn’t be viewed as a rejection of any proposals.
“The decision to pause the bidding process allows us to create a more structured and predictable approach for future host selections,” the AFC said in a statement.
FIFA’s calendar strikes again
Historically, the AFC Asian Cup was held in even-numbered years from 1956 to 2004, before FIFA moved the tournament to odd-numbered years in 2007.
Under FIFA’s plans the tournament would align with competitions such as the UEFA European Championship and Copa América, aiming to reduce conflicts with the men’s and women’s World Cups, optimise player availability and boost fan engagement.
However, the realignment leads to concerns, with multiple major tournaments in the same year potentially competing for sponsors, broadcast slots and fan attention.
Additionally, player transfer windows may overlap with domestic matches, clubs could lose key players during peak periods and fixture congestion is likely to worsen.
FIFA’s increasingly crowded calendar has been the subject of ongoing debate.
In 2026 alone, the organisation will stage the expanded men’s World Cup across the US, Canada and Mexico, run qualification tournaments for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, launch the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in London and host the U-20 and U-17 Women’s World Cups in Poland and Morocco.
Expanded and additional competitions have attracted a lot of scrutiny. Player unions, clubs and confederations have repeatedly raised concerns about workload, travel demands and injury risk, warning commercial growth is coming at the expense of player welfare.
