The Asian Cup has been described as the “jewel in the crown of Asian football” by organisers of the 2019 tournament, which kicks off in the UAE in January.
Next year’s tournament, the 17th edition of the Asian Cup, will kick off on January 5 at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium when the hosts take on Gulf neighbours Bahrain in the opening game.
It concludes with the final, also at the same venue, on February 1. The Whites will hope to feature in that game, just like they did the last and only time the tournament was hosted in the Emirates, 22 years ago.
On that occasion, the UAE lost 4-2 on penalties to rivals Saudi Arabia, who won their third crown. Next year’s hosts await their first title, but their case won’t be made easier by the fact the country will host the biggest ever edition of the Asian Cup, with 24 teams competing – an upgrade of eight from the 16 nations who have featured at the last four tournaments.
Tickets go on sale on Monday, with eight stadiums across four UAE cities – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain and Sharjah – hosting a mammoth total of 51 matches.
“We are really happy that we’re hosting a tournament that is huge for Asia, the most important in Asia. The Asian Cup is the jewel in the crown of Asian football,” said Aref Al Awani, tournament director of the Local Organising Committee, at the ticket launch in the capital on Thursday.
“It is exciting because at the beginning when we did the bidding it was 16 teams and later it was increased to 24. So it was challenge for us, but a good challenge. And after the draw we are sure the challenge has fallen on our side.
“The UAE will be the first to have 24 teams, meaning half the continent will be here. There’s always a passion for big football tournaments. We hope our national team and the others will be ready. And we are sure they will.”
Aref Al Awani is confident the diverse population of the UAE will make for a great Asian Cup.
Al Awani is confident that fans will flock to each venue, thanks to the diverse and colourful cultural landscape of the UAE, with the likes of India, the Philippines, Iran, Syria and Saudi expected to draw huge crowds.
The estimated amount of Indians living in the UAE is believed to be just over 27 per cent of the approximate 9.54 million (2.62m) people that call the country home.
They outweigh the native Emirati population by around 16 per cent. Filipinos, meanwhile, are said to make up around five per cent of the population (530,000) and Iran four per cent (454,000).
For these reasons, and given the proximity to one another of the host cities, plus the fact each team will play their three group matches at different venues, Al Awani believes attendances could soar with travel between each city relatively short.
“For sure it is a big advantage,” he added. “This makes us really optimistic that we will have a high number of attendances. For example, we are talking about the large fan base of India, the Philippines, Thailand. Most of the teams that are going to be here have fans living in the UAE.
“Besides that, many are expected to come from the East, when it will be the winter break there, so we’re expecting a lot to travel during this period. We think that everything is on our side.”
Ticket prices begin at Dh25 for the group stages, with those for the final stages ranging between Dh75 and Dh300.
“Our aim was not to have that expensive tickets so to keep it within the disposal of anyone who would like to attend the matches,” added Al Awani.
“We promise everybody who is attending the tournament is going to have a good experience.”
Australia won the 2015 Asian Cup, claiming the title for the first time.
The addition of eight more teams has also given less experienced footballing nations like India and the Philippines a chance to shine on the huge continental stage.
The Philippines and Kyrgyzstan will feature at the Asian Cup for the first time.
This will be only be India’s second appearance in the competition since 1988. Syria, Thailand and Turkmenistan will appear for the first time in 15 years, while Lebanon and Vietnam both qualified for the first time having featured previously only as hosts, in 2000 and 2007 respectively. Vietnam and Yemen, meanwhile, are both qualifying for the first time as unified nations.
Eleven teams, including the UAE, feature from the West Asian Football Federation, which excites Al Awani as it throws up several rival clashes between nations.
“Most of the derbies are Arab nations and that’s something that is different,” he added.
“We found there are a lot of derbies, so we’re waiting for very nice derbies, competitive matches.
“And there are a lot of new teams that will give a boost to the tournament. We know from hosting other sports events that these fans really love their sport. And we are hoping the same applies to the Asian Cup.”
Al Awani also believes the tournament, which will come hot on the heels of the FIFA Club World Cup in December, hosted by the UAE for the second successive year, will continue the buzz after a World Cup year.
“And as well we have Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who did an amazing job at the World Cup. Most of them were unlucky and presented a very high performance.
“So everybody now from the other teams are preparing to elevate their performance just to be equal to those teams.”
