The Asian Football Confederation announced the three venues for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 which is all set to be held in India next year.
AFC announced DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, TransStadia in Ahmedabad, and Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar as the three venues for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022. The tournament will begin on January 20. The final will be played on February 6.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) won the hosting rights of the tournament by placing bids ahead of Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan. This will be the second time India will host the women continental championship. India hosted the Women’s Championship in 1980, which also was the first time the event was held in South Asia.
Furthermore, this will be the second of the two marquee women football events to be held in India in 2022. The AIFF also won the hosting rights for the FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in the same year.
AIFF President and FIFA Council Member Praful Patel said: “We are excited to kick off the new year with the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022. Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Navi Mumbai have put in a lot of work to upgrade their footballing infrastructure.
While we have seen Navi Mumbai deliver spectacularly in 2017 for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, we are taking the game to new places with Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad through the two women’s tournaments next year, which is really encouraging for our overall football ecosystem.
India have already qualified for the event by being the host nation. Japan, Australia, and China have also made it to the marquee event. Japan won the 2018 edition, while the Aussies and the Chinese ended up as runners up and third place, respectively.
The qualifiers for the remaining eight spots will be held from September 13 to September 25, for which the draw will take place in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on May 27 2021.
AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “Women’s football in Asia is world-class, and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the LOC have selected exceptional venues that will deliver a true spectacle befitting the stature of the tournament.
The AFC is grateful to the AIFF, the LOC, and the three host cities for their dedication and we are confident that the tournament will serve as a catalyst to take women’s football in India, which continues to make significant strides, to even greater heights in the coming years.
We applaud them for their vision and wish the AIFF and LOC the very best of success in their ambitions to showcase their capability to stage a successful international showpiece.
About the venues
The DY Patil Stadium was inaugurated in 2008 and has a capacity of 37,900. It has been used as a cricket stadium primarily. Things changed after the 2014 Indian Super League, during which the venue served as the home stadium for ISL side Mumbai City FC. The Stadia then went on to become one of the host venues of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
TransStadia was constructed in 2016 in Ahmedabad and has served as host venues for Santosh Trophy, AFC Cup and Intercontinental Cup games. It has a sitting capacity of 20,000 people.
Meanwhile, the Kalinga Stadium was inaugurated in 1978. The venue has served as a multipurpose stadium with a capacity of 15000 people. The AIFF Super Cup and ISL games have been held here. It currently serves as a home venue for Odisha FC in the Indian Super League. Several international athletic events have also took place here.
