AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023: Local Organizing Committee holds coordination meeting on tournament preparations

The Local Organising Committee for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 held a coordination meeting on Sunday on all preparations for hosting the 18th edition of the continental tournament.Twenty-four of the continent's best teams will compete for the tournament's title. Matches will be played across nine stadiums from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 2024.The meeting, attended by HE Media Director of the organizing committee HE Sheikh Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani and representatives of the Asian countries participating in the tournament, discussed coordination between the organizing committee and the embassies within the framework of ensuring the comfort of delegations and creating suitable atmospheres for organizing an ideal edition.The meeting also touched on aspects related to facilitating communication and interaction with the participating delegations from their countries and their fans. It included discussions on invitations to VIP guests and providing embassies with lists of invitees.Additionally, the meeting addressed aspects of ticket sales for the tournament and the volunteer program. Approximately 6,000 volunteers between the ages of 18 to 72 from 107 nationalities have been recruited to provide support for a wide range of tasks, covering 20 functional areas of the tournament. Many of them have experience gained through their participation in previous major sporting events hosted by Qatar, while 5 percent of those recruited will be volunteering for the first time.Marketing and Communications Executive Director of the Organizing Committee Mohammed Yousuf Al Hammadi affirmed that the meeting with representatives of Asian embassies aimed to address various organizational aspects of the tournament.In a statement to the Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Hammadi said that during that coordination meeting with representatives of participating Asian embassies, several topics related to preparations for the entry of fans and journalists, in addition to many logistical points and issues were discussed.In this regard, representatives of the Asian embassies expressed their full confidence that the continental tournament would be highly professional in terms of organization.AFC Asian Cup hosts and defending champions Qatar will face Lebanon in the opening match on Jan. 12, 2024 in Group A, which also includes China and Tajikistan. Group B consists of Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria, and India, while Group C includes Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, and Palestine. Group D consists of Japan, Indonesia, Iraq, Vietnam; Group E includes South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan, and Bahrain; Group F consists of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, and Oman.According to the tournament system, in which 24 teams participate for the second time after the 2019 edition, the top two sides from each group and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the Round of 16Qatar is the first country to host the tournament three times in its history, having hosted previous editions in 1988 and 2011. It moves ahead of Iran, Thailand and the UAE, which have each twice served as hosts. It is the seventh time that the AFC Asian Cup will be played in the West Asian side.