The Asian Cup

From humble beginnings, the Asian Cup has gradually grown into one of international football's biggest events with over 40 countries vying for the continental crown every four years.

The tournament had it roots in the formation of the Asian Football Confederation in Manila in 1954. The 12 founder members of the AFC sought to shape the development of the game in Asia and one of the keys to achieving that aim was the organisation of a regional competition for the continent's international teams.

Just two years later, the first ever Asian Cup was staged in Hong Kong with seven of the 12 affiliated national associations vying for the title of Asia's best football team.

Nearly half a century later, the Asian Cup remains a highly sought-after prize with 43 nations from the length and breadth of the world's largest continent competing for the right to lift the trophy in Beijing in August 2004.

Over the years, the Asian Cup has been a good barometer of the continually changing balance of power in Asian football. From the dominance of Korea Republic in its early years, the Asian Cup became the providence of the mighty Iranians in the late 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, the Gulf states asserted themselves before Japan's Asian Cup victories in 1992 and 2000 signaled a shift in power to East Asia.