China is reportedly planning to bid to again host the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in 2023, joining other Asian countries looking to host the football event, the official Xinhua news agency has reported.

Quoting the website of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), the report said China seeks to host the event that will be held in June or July 2023. China last hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 2004.

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The CFA announced plans to bid for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 but changed its mind and gave up the bid, the report added.

The CFA has until 20 March 2016 to file its application to host the tournament in 2023. According to a statement posted on its official website, the CFA is consulting with all its members to determine the qualified cities and stadium for the tournament.

Based on the Xinhua report, the AFC Asian Cup 2023 will run for 30 days and will have a total of 51 matches with 24 teams.

The hosting of the said event will require eight stadiums in a least six cities, with the stadium for the semifinals and final having the capacity of at least 40,000 seats.

The AFC Asian Cup, which is held every four years, is the second oldest continental football championship in the world, next only to Copa America. The team that wins the AFC Asian Cup automatically qualifies for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

China has never won the AFC Asian Cup since 1956. The country's football team, however, made it to the finals twice, in 1984 and 2004, and finished third twice, in 1976 and 1992. It also placed fourth on two occasions, in 1988 and 2000.

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