November 16, 2018 #100/2018 50 days to go to Asia's greatest football spectacle The biggest and best AFC Asian Cup will kick off in 50 days when the hosts, the United Arab Emirates, take on Gulf neighbours Bahrain in Zayed Sports City to kick off the greatest football spectacle in Asia.
More teams than ever – a total of 24 – up from 16 – will compete for not only Continental glory but also a glittering new trophy and a record prize fund of almost US$15 m in this football extravaganza.
This week most of the competing nations - with at least one from each of the AFC's five Regional Associations – will begin their final preparations with friendly matches across Asia with the holders Australia facing fellow finalists Lebanon and Korea Republic.
Among the household names putting the finishing touches to his team's preparations will be former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, now with the Philippines and China PR's Marcelo Lippi, a FIFA World Cup winner with Italy in 2006.
And they will all be competing for the new trophy which will be presented to the winners for the first time on February 1 at Zayed Sports City.
Another new innovation at the tournament is the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system from the quarter-finals onwards and also a tournament specific official match ball produced by Asian manufacturers Molten.
As the excitement builds, tickets are in high demand with some group matches already close to capacity sales and the engagement programme inside the UAE has reached more than 70,000 children and women already – with thousands more planned.
Roadshows have taken the magic of this tournament, Asia's pinnacle national team competition, to communities, schools and special events across the three hosting Emirates and to the four host cities – Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah.
The final coats of paint, the blades of grass are being added to the eight stadiums which are on track to stage the greatest Asian Cup in history – 22 years on from the last time that it graced the shores of the UAE. About the AFC Asian Cup: The AFC Asian Cup is the pinnacle international team tournament held by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) every four years to determine the champion of Asia. The competition is the second-oldest continental football championship (after the Copa America) and was first held in 1956. The AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 expands the number of participating nations from 16 to 24, making it the biggest tournament ever. The 2019 tournament will be the second time the UAE has hosted the event, after successfully staging the finals in 1996. The Asian Cup UAE 2019 runs from 5 January to 1 February 2019, with 51 matches being played in eight world class stadiums located across four host cities - Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Match schedules and tickets for purchase are available on www.the-AFC.com. For group ticket packages contact groups@asiancup19.ae. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theafcasiancup/
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Official hashtags: #AsianCup2019 # كأس_آسيا 2019 | 
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