AFC Asian Cup Action!

The Asian Cup is run by the Asian Football Confederation with the winning team becoming the Asian Champions and automatic qualification for FIFA`s Confederation Cup.

First some history...

Most successful national teams

Team	Champions	Runners-up	Third-place	Fourth-place
Saudi Arabia	3 (1984, 1988, 1996)	3 (1992, 2000, 2007)	-	-
Iran	3 (1968*, 1972, 1976*)	-	4 (1980, 1988, 1996, 2004)	1 (1984)
Japan	3 (1992*, 2000, 2004)	-	-	1 (2007)
South Korea	2 (1956, 1960*)	3 (1972, 1980, 1988)	3 (1964, 2000, 2007)	-
Israel #	1 (1964*)	2 (1956, 1960)	1 (1968)	-
Kuwait	1 (1980*)	1 (1976)	1 (1984)	1 (1996)
Iraq	1 (2007)	-	-	1 (1976)
China PR	-	2 (1984, 2004*)	2 (1976, 1992)	2 (1988, 2000)
United Arab Emirates	-	1 (1996*)	-	1 (1992)
India	-	1 (1964)	-	-
Myanmar^	-	1 (1968)	-	-
Chinese Taipei	-	-	1 (1960)	1 (1968)
Hong Kong	-	-	1 (1956*)	1 (1964)
Thailand	-	-	1 (1972*)	-
Vietnam	-	-	-	2 (1956,1960)
Bahrain	-	-	-	1 (2004)
Cambodia	-	-	-	1 (1972)
North Korea	-	-	-	1 (1980)

This years Asian Cup is hosted by Qatar, which gives a bit of a preview for Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup.

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Promotional Video

Yalla Asia!! (Official AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Music Video)

AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qatar Opening Ceremony

AFC Asian Cup 2011 Unveiling of the Mascots

The 2011 Asian cup comes complete with a whole family of Mascots... and quite a few cute and colourful promos.

``The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ will feature 16 of the best teams in Asia, vying for a truly international title...

The teams took different paths to the Finals with six of them, including hosts Qatar, not taking part in the qualifiers.

Ten sides took the qualifying route, thrilling millions of fans across the world. ``

Road to the Finals

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Qatar	Saudi Arabia	Korea Rep.	Iraq
Kuwait	Japan	India	DPR Korea
China	Jordan	Australia	UAE
Uzbekistan	Syria	Bahrain	Iran