PETALING JAYA (24 June 2019) – The Asean Football Federation (AFF), the governing body for the sport in the Southeast Asian region, today pledged its support for the initiative by Asean to launch a joint bid to host the World Cup in 2034.
AFF President Major General Khiev Sameth, in response to the announcement, said today: “The Asean Football Federation welcomes the announcement that our political leaders in this region have pledged their support for Asean to launch a joint bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.”
“It has always been our stand that Asean, which is collectively the third largest economy in Asia and the seventh largest in the world, has the potential to host a successful FIFA World Cup. A FIFA World Cup hosted by Asean will generate economic and sporting benefits for this region, and will also strengthen bonding among the 640 million people,” Major General Sameth commented.
Yesterday, ASEAN Chairman, Gen Prayuth Chan o-cha revealed that the 10 Asean member countries agreed to launch a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. The idea was proposed to regional leaders at the 34th ASEAN Summit in Thailand yesterday.
“I wish to inform our Asean people that today, the leaders supported the shared wish of Asean to develop a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034,” Gen Prayuth, who is the Prime Minister of Thailand, had said.
The idea of co-hosting the World Cup was first mooted by Japan and South Korea who went on to successfully stage the event in 2002. Asia will host the World Cup again in 2022 in Qatar. Last year, FIFA awarded the 2026 World Cup to another joint bid, from Canada, US and Mexico.
Major General Sameth went to say this: “AFF will engage our stakeholders and look into the possibility of making a bid for the hosting rights while taking into account the key factors including pre-determined minimum requirements for hosting the competition, timelines and other considerations.
