2023 Panda Cup Explained

Tourney Name:Panda Cup
Year:2023
City:Chengdu
Country:China
Dates:TBA
Num Teams:4
Confederations:1
Venues:1
Cities:1
Prevseason:2019

The 2023 Panda Cup is the seventh edition of the international youth association football competition.

Previously held as an annual under-18 and under-19 event, the tournament was cancelled between 2020 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic in China. In April 2023, Chengdu Football Association announced that the 2023 Panda Cup would take place after 4 years and will be an under-22 event to prepare for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification and the 2022 Asian Games.[1] Players born on or after 1 January 2001 are eligible to compete in the tournament.

The tournament was originally planned to be held in Chengdu between 14 and 18 June 2023. Meanwhile, on 26 May 2023, the Chinese Football Association announced that the tournament will be postponed to a later date in the year due to maintenance work at the host stadium.[2]

Participating teams

In April 2023, it was announced that hosts China had invited the under-22 team of Bahrain, Uzbekistan and Vietnam to participate in the 2023 Panda Cup.[1] [3] [4]

TeamConfederation
(host) AFC
AFC
AFC
AFC

Venues

Chengdu
Shuangliu Sports Centre
30.5704°N 103.8957°W
Capacity: 26,000

Matches

All times are China Standard Time

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Notes and References

  1. News: 熊猫杯重启赛程敲定 国奥队提前回国首战巴林队 . 13 May 2023 . Sina . Sports.sina.com . 13 May 2023. Chinese.
  2. Web site: Hoãn tổ chức Panda Cup 2023, ĐT U22 Việt Nam triển khai phương án B. vff.org.vn. 26 May 2023. 26 May 2023. vi.
  3. Web site: U22 Vietnam accepts the invitation to participate in the 2023 Panda Cup international tournament in China. vff.org.vn. 13 May 2023. 8 April 2023.
  4. Web site: Panda CUP 2023: U-23 to participate in international football tournament in June. daryo.uz. 13 May 2023. 12 May 2023.