(Reuters) – The upcoming Asian Cup in Qatar will be held across nine stadiums, including seven venues that were used for last year’s World Cup, the local organising committee said on Monday.
“We anticipate that there will be tremendous interest in the tournament, which will see the best players from across Asia compete for glory,” said Hassan Al Kuwari, the committee’s marketing and communications executive director.
The tournament runs from Jan. 12 to Feb. 20. with the opening match and the final to be held at Lusail Stadium – the 88,966-seat venue that hosted the World Cup final.
The 24 teams at the tournament will be drawn into six groups.
The seven World Cup venues are the Lusail, Al Bayt, Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Ahmad bin Ali, Al Thumama and Education City stadiums. Two other venues, the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Abdulla bin Khalifa Stadium, will also be used.
Hosts Qatar are the defending champions, having won the title in 2019 after an impressive unbeaten run. Qatar have been drawn in Group A alongside China, Tajikistan and Lebanon.
(Reporting by Ashraf Hamed Atta in Cairo; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
