Battle lines are drawn for 2019 Asian Cup in UAE
abu dhabi — Twenty-four teams will battle it out in the final round of qualifying to gain 12 spots in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup which will take place in Abu Dhabi from 2019.
The Zayed Sports City Stadium in the Capital will play host to the opening game on January 5 and the final on February 1, 2019.
The tournament will be played over 28 days across eight stadiums in the UAE, it was confirmed by the Asian Football Confederation in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Three stadiums in Abu Dhabi and two each in Dubai and Al Ain and one in Sharjah will host the tournament which has been expanded from 16 in the last edition in Australia in 2015.
Defending champions Australia, China, Iraq, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts UAE have sealed their spots for the tournament. The continent’s elite 12 will be joined by 12 others from the final round of qualifiers in which 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four.
The winners and runners-up from each group will qualify for the finals. India were pitted against Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Macau when the draw for the final round of qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup took place in the Capital on Monday.
India, who like other Asian nations have invested heavily in football in recent years, are hoping to reach their first Asian Cup finals since 2011. India had last qualified for the tournament in 2011 when it was held in Doha, Qatar.
Speaking at the draw, AFC vicepresident Chung Mong Gyu, said the tournament was the “pinnacle of football in Asia”.
“The AFC Asian Cup 2019 in UAE will be historic,” he said.
“More countries will be involved and more fans will follow the matches across Asia and beyond.” Qualifiers begin on March 28. The official logo for the tournament was also unveiled prior to Monday’s draw.