Indonesia officially bids to host the 2031 Asian Cup finals

The Indonesian Football Association has officially filed its application to host the 2031 Asian Cup finals.

Asian Football Confederation announced that it has received the list of member associations participating in the bidding process for the 2031 Asian Cup finals, including the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI).

Specifically, there are five associations and one joint bid competing to host Asia’s biggest football tournament: Football Federation Australia, All India Football Federation, Indonesian Football Association, Korea Football Association, Kuwait Football Association, and a joint bid from Kyrgyzstan Football Federation, Tajikistan Football Federation, and Uzbekistan Football Association.

In fact, Indonesia’s football association expressed its intent to host as early as the end of 2024. At that time, the bid application for the 2031 Asian Football Championship was signed by PSSI Secretary General Yunus Nusi and sent to the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The last time Indonesia hosted Asian Cup finals was in 2007, when the archipelago co-hosted the tournament alongside three other Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.

In recent years, thanks to a policy of mass naturalization, Indonesian football has made significant progress on the continental and international stages. They reached the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers but did not succeed. In the most recent 2023 Asian Cup, they advanced to the round of 16. For the 2027 Asian Cup finals, Indonesia has secured direct qualification.

Returning to the bidding list, the AFC also announced the associations interested in hosting the 2035 AFC Asian Cup, which include four associations: Football Australia, Japan Football Association, Korea Football Association, and Kuwait Football Association.

The AFC will collaborate with the respective Bidding Member Associations (BMAs) to coordinate the submission of the required bidding documents according to the established deadlines, regulations, and evaluation procedures.