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India has been selected to co-host the third round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers, along with Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan.
The qualifiers will be hosted at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata from June 8, 2022, onwards, the Asian Football Confederation confirmed in a statement.
While 13 teams, including host nation China PR, have already qualified for the AFC Asian Cup, the final 11 spots are up for grabs in the third round of the Qualifiers.
After the announcement from the AFC, AIFF general secretary Kushal Das thanked the Asian footballing body for accepting India's bid. He said:
“We had bid to host the third round Qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, and are grateful to the Asian Football Confederation for accepting our bid. We understand that playing at home, and that too in Kolkata will be an added advantage to the Blue Tigers in our quest to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.”
Das further added:
“We had bid with Kolkata as the venue for the qualifiers. The infrastructure in Kolkata is exceptionally suited to host the qualifiers with the stadium, the practice venues and official accommodation all very closely located. The support from the host Association, and the State Government has also always been exemplary.”
All you need to know about the final round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers
The final round of qualifiers for Asia's top competition will be held across three match days on June 8, 11 and 14 this year. The group winners and the top 5 second-placed teams will earn a ticket to the Asian Cup in China, which is set to kick off on June 16, 2023.
The draw for the final leg of the qualifiers will take place on February 24 at 12.30 pm IST.
Meanwhile, the AFC also confirmed that based on the FIFA World Rankings as of February 10, the 24 participating teams in the Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers will be divided into five seeding pots.
The host nations have been placed in a separate pot in order to prevent them from being drawn into the same group. However, their final group positions will reflect their original draw seeding.
Ranked 104 currently, the Blue Tigers will be placed in the number one position of the group that they are drawn in.
