According to Qingdao Morning Post, it was learned from Qingdao Football Association that Qingdao has started the process of bidding for hosting the national football team's home matches for the World Qualifier Asian Zone 18 matches. If the bid is successful, Qingdao Youth Soccer Stadium will become the home of the national football team for the Asian Zone 18 World Qualifying Tournament, which will be the first professional soccer stadium with 50,000 seats in Shandong Province.
Background and advantages of Qingdao's bid
As the first 50,000-seat professional soccer stadium in Shandong Province, the Qingdao Youth Soccer Stadium is fully compliant with the requirements of FIFA's A-level events. Qingdao is home to two Chinese Super League (CSL) teams and has excellent transportation conditions, including the 4F Jiaodong International Airport, three high-speed rail stations and multiple subway lines, to meet the transportation needs of hosting large-scale events.
Qingdao had failed in its previous bid to host the "China-Thailand Battle" in the 36-team Asian qualifying round of the World Cup, but this renewed bid shows the strong will of Qingdao and its local fans to host the national football team's home matches.
Bidding status by city
Despite the fact that the deadline for local football associations to submit bids for the first two and last three home matches of the Asian 18-team World Qualifying Tournament for the national football team is June 20 and July 5, respectively, more than 10 cities have expressed their willingness to host the tournament so far, including Shenzhen, Tianjin, Shenyang, Qingdao, Dalian, Changsha, Chongqing, and so on.
CFA Selection Criteria
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) will host China's home matches in September, October and November 2024 and March and June 2025 for the third phase of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. The host city will need to meet the standards in both hardware facilities and software services to ensure the smooth running of the matches. Qingdao Youth Soccer Stadium, the first 50,000-seat professional soccer stadium in Shandong Province, fully meets these requirements.
Relevant cities in the implementation of the letter of intent to submit procedures, the CFA will be produced on June 27, according to the results of the Asian qualifying round of 18 group draw, and combined with climate and other factors to select the host city of each game.
