AIFF withdraws its bid for hosting AFC Asian Cup 2027, will focus on grassroot development

In an attempt to focus its time and resources on developing football at the grassrootslevel, the All India Football Federation Monday announced had decided to withdraw India's bid to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

“Our current focus is building the foundations of proper footballing structure before thinking of hosting bigger events like the AFC Asian Cup,” read the notification posted on AIFF's website.

Kalyan Chaubey, the newly crowned president of AIFF said India has shown the capability to host global events but"hosting of big events doesn't fit into the Federation's strategic priorities".

“India has always been a wonderful and efficient host to big tournaments, which was amply demonstrated in the recently concluded FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. However, the EC has decided that the overall strategy of the Federation currently remains on focusing on the fundamental goals to strengthen our football at every level from grassroots to youth development," said Chaubey.

"At the same time, we must also strengthen our stakeholders, especially the State Associations and work closely with the clubs to bring about a change in every aspect of football at the domestic level. All such aspects will truly be implemented when the Roadmap is announced later this month.”

🚨 AIFF Statement 🚨

Read 👉 https://t.co/ArybRguVU6#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/HbUIZTAnBh — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) December 5, 2022

Chaubey took over as theAIFF president after besting former Indian national team skipper Bhaichung Bhutia. At the time, Chaubeymade bold promises to further the cause of the sport in the country, arousing the interest of the fans.

His decision to withdraw the bid for the hosting rights has divided footballing fans across the board. While some appreciate that more focus will be put on developing the game at the right places, another faction believes that hosting big-money tournaments could have brought more attention to the game.

Read more:AIFF bigwigs hold 'constructive discussions' with FIFA chief regarding development of Indian football

India and Saudi Arabia were in the contest to host the event but with the former's decision to pull out, the kingdom leads the race.

India in 2017 had hosted the Under-17 World Cup and earlier this year, the U-17 Women's World Cup. However, the country is yet to host any edition of the AFC Asian Cup.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: