Asian Cup Confirmed for Jan-Feb Slot in Qatar Next Year

The next edition of the Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 in 2024. (Getty Images)
The next edition of the Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 in 2024. (Getty Images)
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Asian Cup Confirmed for Jan-Feb Slot in Qatar Next Year

The next edition of the Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 in 2024. (Getty Images)
The next edition of the Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 in 2024. (Getty Images)

The next edition of the Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 in 2024, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed on Wednesday.

The quadrennial continental championship was awarded to China in 2019 but the world's most populous country relinquished the rights this year as it pursued a zero-COVID policy.

Qatar, which hosted the men's World Cup finals last year, was then named the host after the Gulf state was preferred to bids from South Korea and Indonesia.

The 24-team tournament has been moved from mid-2023 to early 2024 to avoid the heat of the Gulf summer.

Qatar has staged the Asian Cup twice, in 1988 and 2011 and it won the last tournament in the United Arab Emirates in 2019.

The AFC said that the tournament will be staged across eight stadiums, six of which were used during the World Cup, where Argentina were winners.

The Asian Cup will coincide with the Africa Cup of Nations finals, which will run from Jan. 13-Feb. 11 in Ivory Coast.



Hamburg Fires Steffen Baumgart as Coach after Five Games without a Win

08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)
08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)
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Hamburg Fires Steffen Baumgart as Coach after Five Games without a Win

08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)
08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)

Former Bundesliga heavyweight Hamburger SV has fired Steffen Baumgart as coach after five games without a win across all competitions.

The second-division club said Sunday it was letting Baumgart go because of a “crisis of performances and results” after the team’s 2-2 draw at home with Schalke on Saturday.

That left Hamburg eighth in the 18-team division, four points behind early leader Paderborn after 13 rounds.

“Steffen gave everything with great passion, energy and commitment right up to the end for HSV. However, our analysis of the current situation and yesterday’s game has once again made it clear that we believe a new impetus is necessary,” Hamburg sporting director Stefan Kuntz said.

The club said Baumgart, who was a Hamburg fan as a child, took the news “calmly” on Sunday morning.

“It was an exciting and very intense time,” the former Cologne coach said. “I remain connected to the club and hope that HSV achieves its goals.”

Hamburg has been bidding to return to the Bundesliga since its demotion from the top flight in 2018. It had been the only ever-present team in the league since it was founded in 1963, earning the nickname “der Dino.”

But every season since relegation has ended in disappointment. Hamburg rival St. Pauli was promoted last season to add to Hamburg fans’ woes.

Baumgart, a former Hansa Rostock and Union Berlin forward, took over as Hamburg coach in February, when the team was third, but ultimately it was unable to improve and finished fourth – one place behind Fortuna Düsseldorf in the promotion playoff spot.

Hamburg said Baumgart’s assistants Rene Wagner and Kevin McKenna were also let go, and that assistant coach Merlin Polzin will prepare the team for its next game at Karlsruher SC.

There was no mention of a permanent successor.