Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar has been selected as one of three stadiums and host cities to stage AFC Women Asian Cup India 2022 from January 20 to February 6, 2022. This was confirmed by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the AFC Womens Asian Cup India 2022 Local Organising Committee (LOC) today.

The other two venues and cities are: DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and TransStadia in Ahmedabad. AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor John, said: “Women football in Asia is world-class, and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the LOC have selected exceptional venues that will deliver a true spectacle befitting the stature of the tournament.

“The AFC is grateful to the AIFF, the LOC and the three host cities for their dedication and we are confident that the tournament will serve as a catalyst to take women football in India, which continues to make significant strides, to even greater heights in the coming years.

“We applaud them for their vision and wish the AIFF and LOC the very best of success in their ambitions to showcase their capability to stage a successful international showpiece.”

AIFF President and FIFA Council Member Praful Patel said: “We are excited to kick off the new year with the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022. Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Navi Mumbai have put in a lot of work to upgrade their footballing infrastructure.

“While we have seen Navi Mumbai deliver spectacularly in 2017 for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, we are taking the game to new places with Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad through the two women`s tournaments next year, which is really encouraging for our overall football ecosystem."

The Qualifiers for the AFC Women Asian Cup 2022 is set to take place from September 13 to 25, 2021 in centralised venues with the draw scheduled to be held on May 27, 2021 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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PHOTO: Aerial view of the iconic Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.