CHINA / Tournament Info
History of the Asian Cup
(afcasiancup.com)
Updated: 2007-07-07 21:41
From its humble beginnings in 1956, the AFC Asian Cup has developed into
the continent's premier football tournament, bringing together the top
national teams from the length and breadth of Asia to compete for one of
international football's most sought-after prizes every four years.
The tournament had it roots in the formation of the Asian Football
Confederation in Manila in 1954. The 12 founder members of the AFC sought
to shape the development of the game in Asia and one of the keys to
achieving that aim was the organisation of a regional competition for the
continent's international teams.
Just two years later, the first ever Asian Cup was staged in Hong Kong
with seven of the 12 affiliated national associations vying for the title
of Asia's best football team.
Over half a century later, the Asian Cup has grown to encompass teams
from throughout the continent and has become the barometer by which the
continually changing balance of power in Asian football is measured.
From the dominance of Korea Republic in the early years of the
competition, the Asian Cup became the providence of the mighty Iranians
who won three consecutive tournaments from 1968 to 1976.
During the 1980s, the Gulf states asserted themselves with Kuwait
becoming the first Arab side to win the competition in 1980 before Saudi
Arabia claimed three of the next four championships, reaching the final
five times in a row.
Japan's Asian Cup victories in 1992, 2000 and 2004 signaled a shift in
power back to East Asia at the turn of the Millennium although the highly
competitive nature of the most recent tournament in China is a clear
indication that competition remains keen among the sides looking to be
crowned Asia's top national team.
Year/Hosts Winners Runners-up Result
1956 Hong Kong Korea Republic Israel Round-robin
1960 Korea Republic Korea Republic Israel Round-robin
1964 Israel Israel India Round-robin
1968 Iran Iran Burma Round-robin
1972 Thailand Iran Korea Republic 2-1 (aet)
1976 Iran Iran Kuwait
1-0
1980 Kuwait Kuwait Korea Republic
3-0
1984 Singapore Saudi Arabia China
2-0
1988 Qatar Saudi Arabia Korea Republic
0-0
(4-3 pens)
1992 Japan Japan Saudi Arabia
1-0
1996 UAE Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates
0-0
(4-2 pens)
2000 Lebanon Japan Saudi Arabia
1-0
2004 China Japan China
3-1
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