AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023: Organizing Committee Chairman: Matches’ Turnout and Attendance Exceeded Expectations

Doha, January 22 (QNA) - HE Minister of Sport and Youth and Chairman of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Organizing Committee, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani said that the public turnout and attendance for the matches exceeded expectations, revealing that ticket sales exceeded 1,200,000 while the attendance reached 620,000. This success is due to several factors, most notably the participation of a wide number of communities of the teams especially the Arab ones, as well as playing in the stadiums that hosted the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matches which made people eager to attend, he said. HE Chairman of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Organizing Committee pointed out that all tickets for the Qatar and Palestine matches were completely sold out. His Excellency explained that they set similar high standards when organizing the event that were present for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Most of the people who worked on the World Cup also partook in preparing the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 and no distinction was made at all between the two tournaments. Regarding the Arab Cup, His Excellency said that it is continuing and will be organized again in cooperation between the International Association Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). Although he is not the one who can talk about this tournament officially, he did confirm that they are looking to possibly announce the organization of the Arab Cup again in the coming period. His Excellency said that with all the successes achieved by Qatar in hosting many global and continental tournaments, hosting the Olympic Games remains the biggest dream. Qatar has previously been nominated to host this major event in recent years and has the intention to apply again. HE Minister of Sport and Youth and Chairman of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Organizing Committee, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani sees that the Gulf region as a whole has proven that it has the capabilities to host the largest sporting events and praised Saudi Arabia that is set to host the Asian Cup in 2027 and the World Cup in 2034. (QNA)