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The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 Asian Cup finals will be held in July 2007 (Starting on July 7, 2007, ending on July 29, 2007). For the first time in its history (and perhaps in any sporting events), the competition will be co-hosted by four nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Image File history File links Soccerball. ... Children playing football (soccer). ... Asian Football Confederation Logo The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of football in Asia. ... The AFC Asian Cup, formerly known as the Asian Nations Cup is the main national football competition of the AFC nations. ... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Asian Cup has been held once every four years from 1956 onwards, the last of which held in China in 2004. However, as the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship are also held in the same year as the Asian Cup (2004, 2008, 2012 etc.), the sporting calendar is somewhat crowded. The AFC have thus decided to change their tradition, and will be holding the next tournament in 2007, and every four years henceforth from that date. Poster for the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. ... The UEFA European Championship is the main national football competition of the UEFA nations. ...

Qualification for the finals is well underway. The Preliminary Qualifying Round of the 2007 Asian Cup was held in late 2005 and the Final Qualifying Round will be held between February and November 2006. ...

History

The Asian Cup is the premier national football event in the Asia and is organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The qualifying phase of the 2007 tournament will be held between 22 February and 15 November, 2006. The four hosts, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam qualified automatically but for the first time, the defending champions (In this case Japan), will have to go through the qualifying round. The AFC Asian Cup, formerly known as the Asian Nations Cup is the main national football competition of the AFC nations. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Asian Football Confederation Logo The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of football in Asia. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In June 2005, the Asian Football Confederation warned Thailand that it needed to improve its facilities before 2007, otherwise it would be dropped, possibly being replaced with Singapore[1]. However, on August 12, the AFC confirmed that Thailand will be a co-host of the 2007 Asian Cup [2].

Four hosts

The decision to have four host nations for this edition of the Asian Cup was proposed and presented to the executive committee by AFC president Mohammed Bin Hammam. However, he later regretted this decision and calling it his "mistake". This was due to the financial and logistic difficulties in organising an event across four countries. Mohammed Bin Hammam (born May 8, 1949 in Doha, Qatar) is the president of the Asian Football Confederation. ...

He said that "It is proving very difficult for [the executive committee as they] have to have four organising committees, four media centres and there are also financial considerations." He also revealed that "[He would] definitely [not do] it again," if he had the choice.

Qualification

See Asian Cup 2007 (qualification). The Preliminary Qualifying Round of the 2007 Asian Cup was held in late 2005 and the Final Qualifying Round will be held between February and November 2006. ...

So far the following teams have qualified for the final tournament:

• Indonesia qualified automatically as co-host.
• Malaysia qualified automatically as co-host.
• Thailand qualified automatically as co-host.
• Vietnam qualified automatically as co-host.

12 other teams will join them by 15 November 2006. Large flag of Indonesia Image originally derived from the public domain flags of the CIA World Factbook. ... Large flag of Malaysia Image originally derived from the public domain flags of the CIA World Factbook. ... Large flag of Thailand Image originally derived from the public domain flags of the CIA World Factbook. ... Large flag of Vietnam Image originally derived from the public domain flags of the CIA World Factbook. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official Website of the 2007 Asian Cup
• Asian Cup 2007 at RSSSF