The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final. As the winner, Iraq represented the AFC at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Asian Cup had previously been held every 4 years from 1956 onwards, the last cup being held in China PR in 2004. However, with the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship also held in the same year as the Asian Cup (2004, 2008, 2012 etc.), the AFC decided to change their tradition and hold the tournament in 2007, and every four years henceforth from that date.
An estimated worldwide television audience of 650 million people tuned in to watch the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.
This was the first major AFC tournament in which Australia participated as a member.
Read more about 2007 AFC Asian Cup: Host Selection, Venues, Qualification, Seeds, Match Ball, Officials, Songs, Tournament Summary, Group Stage, Knockout Stage, Winners, Awards, Goalscorers, Top Scoring Teams, Final Positions
Famous quotes containing the words asian and/or cup:
“We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“Sisters define their rivalry in terms of competition for the gold cup of parental love. It is never perceived as a cup which runneth over, rather a finite vessel from which the more one sister drinks, the less is left for the others.”
—Elizabeth Fishel (20th century)