All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to withdraw India's bid to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027. The federation has put out a statement saying the AIFF management thinks "hosting of big events doesn't fit into the Federation's strategic priorities."
"Our current focus is building the foundations of proper footballing structure before thinking of hosting bigger events like the AFC Asian Cup," the Executive Committee said in a statement.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said, "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. 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 general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran reiterated the same message, "Our strategy is very simple. We must focus on developing the game on a priority basis, before planning to host major international competitions. Hosting competitions requires big resources and sometimes encourages the tendency to take the major issues away from our focus. Right now, our focus should be to take Indian Football forward together."
