The last AFC Asian Cup of the 20th Century saw more teams that ever enter following the collapse of the Soviet Union and new nations joining the AFC and the tournament itself expanding to a 12-team competition, hosted for the first time in the United Arab Emirates.
The 1992 AFC Asian Cup was a competition that saw some of the established names fall short and also signalled the emergence of a new force in Asian football.
The 1988 AFC Asian Cup saw the continued dominance of the competition by West Asian nations, with seven of the 10 qualifying teams coming from West Asia, including the defending champions and the hosts, with the tournament coming to Qatar for the first time.
The 1984 AFC Asian Cup found a home in Singapore as they stepped up to host the competition for the first time, with all games taking place over a 15-day period at the National Stadium in Kallung.
The first Asian Cup of the 1980s saw the end of Iran’s dominance of the tournament as matters closer to home took their toll, with Kuwait repeating the benefits on home soil.
The 1976 tournament was a tournament that was hit by withdrawals, political bickering and expulsions, but ended with 112,000 people in the Aryamehr Stadium in Iran (now called the Azadi Stadium) celebrating as Iran became Asian Champions for the third time in succession.
The 1972 tournament saw an increase in the number of final teams, with eight teams due to be involved in the final competition in Israel, who would be hosting the tournament for the second time and who had qualified automatically alongside 1968 winners Iran.
The 1968 AFC Asian Cup was the biggest tournament to date, with five teams competing in the finals for the title of Asian Champions in a round-robin format with no final, for what would the last time. It was the first time Iran had hosted the tournament.
The 1964 tournament saw the AFC Asian Cup move to the western side of the continent for the first time as Israel took on the hosting rights for the tournament which had increased in size to a five-team round-robin tournament, with Israel qualifying as hosts and South Korea as holders of the tournament.
The 2nd edition of the AFC Asian Cup saw the inaugural champions South Korea confirmed as hosts, with the tournament again staying as a four-team round-robin competition with no final and the unusual arrangement of 80 minute games.
The first edition of the AFC Asian Cup took place just two years after the creation of the Asian Football Confederation and saw Hong Kong awarded the hosting rights, with all games scheduled to take place at the Government Stadium.
January 2 – In a significant climbdown on the eve of the winter transfer window, FIFA has temporarily shelved its entire global rollout of reforms designed to regulate agents’ fees.
January 2 – Turkey and Saudi Arabia are blaming each other for the embarrassing last-minute abandonment of the Turkish Super Cup final between arch-rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce which had been due to take place in Riyadh last Friday.
January 2 – The French Constitutional Council has ruled against giving a tax free status to FIFA for running their operations in Paris which has raised questions over the continuation of FIFA’s office in the French capital.
January 2 – The Somali capital Mogadishu has swapped the sound of gunfire for the cheers of fans as tens of thousands of supporters hailing from various corners of the nation converged for the Somali Inter-State football tournament.