AFC Asian Cup - last updated on 26 March 2009
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Competition name: AFC Asian Cup
Foundation: 1956
Continent: Asia
Website: www.the-afc.com
A bit of history:
The AFC Asian Cup is a football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and automatically qualifies for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Asian Cup had been held once every four years from 1956 until 2004. However, since the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship were also scheduled in the same year as the Asian Cup (2004, 2008, 2012 etc.), the AFC decided to move their championship to a less crowded cycle. After 2004, the tournament was held in 2007, and will be held every four years henceforth from then.
The Asian cup has been dominated by the top teams in Asia over the years, typically from East Asia or West Asia. Teams such as Korea Republic, Iran, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have earned a spot for themselves in the final matches almost every year. Other teams which have achieved success at times include Iraq, Kuwait, China and the United Arab Emirates.
Australia is the most recent nation to join the Asian confederation in 2007.
The 2007 tournament was held in the South East Asian nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. This was won by Iraq beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final on 29 July 2007.
Competition crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
AFC Asian Cup 2004
AFC Asian Cup 2007
AFC Asian Cup 2011
