MANAMA: Saudi Arabia has won a bid to host the 2027 Asian Cup, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Wednesday. The announcement was made at the AFC Congress in the Bahraini capital of Manama. Saudi Arabia was the sole bidder after India withdrew in December. "We are excited to deliver the greatest tournament in the competition's history," the kingdom's sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said after the announcement.

"The kingdom is transforming before our eyes and we are filled with excitement for what it will look like in 2027." The world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has thrown hundreds of millions at sports deals including the acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo, Formula One in Jeddah and the lucrative LIV Golf tour. In the coming years the Saudis, who watched as neighbors Qatar hosted the World Cup in November and December, will hold the women's Asian Cup, the Olympic-sized Asian Games and even the Asian Winter Games on artificial snow.

The desert kingdom is also eyeing a World Cup and Summer Olympics, perhaps even a Winter Olympics, together with a swathe of other major events. It is all part of grand plans by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to modernize the Saudi economy and end its reliance on oil before the world moves on to other fuels.

"I'm sure Saudi Arabia will host a fantastic Asian Cup," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the Manama congress. The 2023 Asian Cup will be hosted by Qatar. It was previously set to be held in China but the country withdrew because of COVID. The Asian Cup is staged every four years. Qatar won the tournament's last edition, in 2019, which was hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has won three AFC Asian Cup titles.

Meanwhile, Asia's football chief and FIFA's second-in-command Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa won a new four-year term on Wednesday. The Bahraini royal, who has led the Asian Football Confederation since 2013, was elected at the Asian Football Confederation Congress in his home country. "I'd like to thank you all for placing your faith in me for another four-year term," he said after the vote which saw him stand unopposed. "Asian football is entering a new era."

The Bahraini royal was a rival candidate to Infantino when the Italian-Swiss was elected FIFA president in 2016 after a major corruption scandal ended the reign of Sepp Blatter. Sheikh Salman, whose confederation includes 47 of FIFA's 211 associations, has said he backs Infantino's bid for a fresh mandate this year. Infantino congratulated Sheikh Salman and praised the rise of Asian football, pointing in particular to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

"Obviously, the men's World Cup in Qatar was the best World Cup ever," Infantino said. "It will be difficult to meet this benchmark." The AFC was in chaos when Sheikh Salman took charge after predecessor, Qatari businessman Mohamed bin Hammam, was banned from football for life. After completing the last two years of bin Hammam's term, Sheikh Salman was re-elected unopposed in 2015 and 2019. - AFP