Asia's football crown has passed from Seoul to Tehran, Riyadh, Tokyo and Doha
The AFC Asian Cup began in 1956 with just four teams playing in British Hong Kong. It is the second-oldest continental championship on the planet, behind only the Copa América. Since then, power has swung between regions, a country from Oceania has crossed over and won, and the trophy has been reborn as a silver lotus.
The Asian Football Confederation was founded in 1954, and two years later it staged its first championship, with seven of its twelve founding members entering. South Korea won the opening two editions, in 1956 and 1960, and has never won since. From 1964 West Asian sides took over. Iran won three in a row, in 1968, 1972 and 1976, a streak no other Asian nation has matched. Kuwait became the first Arab champion in 1980, thrashing South Korea 3–0 at home, and Saudi Arabia, making its debut in any major tournament, took back-to-back titles in 1984 and 1988.
Japan was a minor name until it turned professional. Its first appearance came in 1988, and four years later, as hosts, it beat the defending Saudi champions 1–0 for its first major honour. Further wins in 2000, 2004 and 2011 made it the most decorated side in Asia, with four crowns. The competition kept growing, from eight teams to twelve in 1996, 16 in 2004 and 24 from 2019.
Timing has shifted too. The tournament ran every four years until 2004, then jumped to 2007 to avoid clashing with the Olympics and European Championship. That edition was the first football competition anywhere hosted by more than two countries, shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, and Iraq won it. Australia, newly arrived from Oceania, hosted in 2015 and beat South Korea 2–1 after extra time. The 2027 tournament will be the last in an odd-numbered year.
Qatar claimed its first title in 2019, the first edition with video assistant referees, and retained it in 2023 against Jordan. That tournament also saw Yoshimi Yamashita become its first female referee. The original trophy was a 15-kilogram bowl; since 2019 winners have lifted a 78-centimetre silver lotus by the London silversmiths Thomas Lyte, its five petals standing for the confederation's five regional groupings.
Source: AFC Asian Cup
