According to the Beijing Youth Daily, the selection process for the venue of China’s second home game against Indonesia in the 18-team qualifying round is nearing completion, with Qingdao emerging as a strong contender to host the match.
It is understood that around four or five cities expressed interest in hosting the fourth-round match of the 18-team qualifying round between China and Indonesia on October 15th. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) prefers venues with excellent pitch conditions, suitable climate, convenient transportation, and guaranteed attendance at professional stadiums. As a result, Qingdao, which boasts modern facilities, good turf quality, and favorable weather conditions, has become one of the primary candidate cities.
Qingdao currently hosts two Chinese Super League clubs, Qingdao Hainiu and Qingdao West Coast. Among them, the home stadium of Qingdao Hainiu, the Qingchun Stadium, is a modern professional football stadium completed in 2023. This stadium can accommodate up to 53,000 spectators and has 11 high-quality natural grass pitches in its vicinity, meeting all requirements for China’s national team games and training sessions.
In addition, as a well-known tourist city, Qingdao has abundant resources for hosting large events and high-quality hotels, as well as direct international flights to cities like Sydney. This means that the national team can train in Qingdao before flying directly to Australia for their away game in the third round, returning to Qingdao after the match to prepare for the game against Indonesia.
Prior to this, Qingdao had also bid to host China’s home game against Thailand in the 36-team qualifying round in June this year. Although it did not succeed then, Qingdao has always shown a strong desire to host national team matches.