Asia’s premier and most prestigious international competition, the AFC Asian Cup 2024 is all set to commence from next week onwards. The tournament, held once every four years, is taking place with a one-year delay from the initially scheduled dates in June-July of 2023.
The designated host, China, had to withdraw due to unavoidable circumstances. Consequently, the reigning champions, Qatar, will now host the Asian Cup in winter due to extreme heat in summer, following the successful FIFA World Cup in 2022. With the competition about to kick off, here are all the pertinent details.
AFC Asian Cup 2024 venue, start date, prize money
The AFC Asian Cup 2024, the 18th edition of the tournament, is scheduled to start on January 12, 2024, and will run until February 10, 2024, spanning over a month. The competition will feature the 24 most competitive Asian nations from across the continent, having secured their berths through qualification.
Qatar, the defending champions and hosts of the previous World Cup, will once again welcome Asian heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Australia. The hosts are tasked with the challenge of defending their title at home, which they lifted in 2019.
The Asian Cup will be held all across Qatar at nine different venues, including Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Lusail Stadium at Lusail, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Al Bayt Stadium, and four Al Rayyan stadiums: Ahmad bin Ali, Education City, Jassim bin Hamad, and Khalifa International Stadium.
The substantial $15 million prize money and the trophy at stake in the Asian Cup will witness the most prominent Asian soccer stars from elite leagues worldwide in action. Premier League stars, including Tottenham Hotspur’s captain Son Heung-min, Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, alongside Kaoru Mitoma and Saman Ghoddos, are featuring.
AFC Asian Cup groups, format
Here’s the list of all the groups of the AFC Asian Cup 2024:
Group A: Qatar, China, Tajikistan and Lebanon
Group B: Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria and India
Group C: Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, and Palestine
Group D: Japan Indonesia, Iraq, and Vietnam
Group E: Korea Republic, Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain
Group F: Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman
All 24 qualified teams have been drawn into six groups, each consisting of four teams. All the group members will play against each other once in a total of three group matches for every nation, resulting in a total of 51 games throughout the tournament.
The remaining 16 best teams, including the two top-placed sides in their respective groups, will advance to the Round of 16. Additionally, the four best third-placed teams with the highest points in the group stage will also progress.
