AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022: Mumbai Football Arena and Balewadi Stadium added to host cities

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after deliberation with the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 Local Organising Committee (LOC) have confirmed that the Mumbai Football Arena – Andheri Sports Complex, Mumbai, and the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune are the new venues and host cities for the continent’s premier women’s national team competition.

The decision was taken after considering the existing challenges that are posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The decision is in line with the efforts to minimise the travelling time for teams and officials between the venues, whilst ensuring the optimum environment to implement the Bio Medical Bubble for the benefit of all stakeholders.

However, the 37,900-capacity D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will remain as one of the three stadiums that will stage the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 which is on schedule to take place from January 20 to February 6, 2022.

Previously the Ahmedabad’s TransStadia and the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar were the two other venues that were scheduled to host the matches. 

Speaking about the change in venue, President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Chairman of the LOC, Mr Praful Patel said, “As the situation evolved, we had to adapt and the need was to create a bio-secure bubble. Hence, we chose Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune, venues in close geographical proximity with stadiums that have previously hosted major football competitions. 
 
“I am happy that the Maharashtra government is paying special attention to the infrastructure and preparations for the tournament, and is dedicated to make the AFC Women’s Asian Cup a grand success,” Mr Patel added. 

Mr Patel also thanked the governments of Odisha and Gujarat, states that were slated to host the tournament previously, before assuring thorough preparation for the prestigious event. 

“I would like to extend my gratitude to the governments of Odisha and Gujarat, who were both enthusiastic about hosting this tournament. While we continue to adapt, we can assure that thorough preparations will be made to ensure we stage a truly spectacular and safe AFC Women’s Asian Cup.”

Japan, Australia, China PR, and hosts India have already qualified for the finals and the rest of the teams will join the quartet after participating in the qualifiers from September this year. 28 teams across eight groups are vying for the eight remaining places in the newly-expanded and biggest-ever edition of the Asian Cup.