India Unveils Logo For Its Bid To Host 2027 AFC Asian Cup

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Wednesday unveiled the logo for its bid to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, and the campaign slogan, 'Brighter Future Together'. India is among five countries bidding for the tournament along with Asian champions Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Uzbekistan.

"Hosting Asia's biggest football event, the AFC Asian Cup 2027 will be a huge milestone for Indian sports," said Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, who with AIFF president Praful Patel unveiled the logo and slogan.

"We have extensive experience over the last two decades of successfully planning, organising and staging some of the world's biggest sporting events and are looking forward to hosting two more big events in 2022 -- the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and AFC Women's Asian Cup." Rijiju also pledged "all government support" to the bid.

"It has taken a lot of hard work to reach the level we are at today, where we can think of hosting international events year on year," said Patel. "The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India left an indelible mark on our country and we're now working towards ensuring FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and the AFC Women's Asian Cup go down as two of the most successful women's international football tournaments. We're continuously working on infrastructure upgradation and football development, and India would be honoured to be selected as the host for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup."

The 2019 Asian Cup was hosted by the United Arab Emirates and the 2023 edition of the tournament will be hosted by China. The host of the 2027 Asian Cup will be announced in 2021.

(IANS)