27-Oct-2000
It’s China 2004!
China have won the right to host the next Asian Cup in 2004. The Chinese beat off the challenge of Thailand, winning a vote of the Asian Football Confederation’s Executive Committee by 10 to 6.
Earlier Iran withdrew their bid, announcing their intention to try again for 2008.
The 2004 Asian Cup will be staged in four cities – with the Beijing’s Worker’s Stadium, Jinan’s Shandong Sports Centre, Chengdu Sports Centre and Chongqing Da Tian Wan Stadium the venues.
“China is a growing part of the world and the Asian Cup will help develop standard of football,” said AFC general secretary Dato’ Peter Velappan after the announcement. “We’ll have outstanding stadium facilities with capacities ranging from 40,000 to 70,000 and a guarantee that the stadiums will be full. The organisation of the Asian Cup in China will reach new heights, restoring the image of the Asian Cup back to where it should be.”
Amid the celebrations of the Chinese bid delegation was Zhang Jilong, a Vice-President of both the AFC and Chinese Football Association.
“I’m very excited by the great efforts of all the Chinese people and all of the parts of the bid committee,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for China to show Asia and the world the political and social changes and how sport is organised under our open policy. The CFA and Chinese football fans can do so much to make a prestigious Asian Cup. We were disappointed when our bid for this tournament failed in 1996 but the CFA has done a great deal to improve our standards of organisation.”
Xiao Yangzhong of Vice-Chairman of CFA, the 2004 bidding committee and Chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Football Association declared that the interest among football supporters will be unprecedented in a country whose domestic league has averaged 4 million spectators a year since 1996.
“We promise that there will be many fans. We average 70 per cent of stadium capacity for domestic China Football League matches. We can guarantee 80 to 90 per cent of capacity for the Asian Cup. If the top countries reach the latter stages the problem will be getting hold of tickets.
“We have a lot of fans in the four cities and at the same time we have very convenient transportation,” Xiao said. “We have excellent television facilities and can broadcast via satellite to hundreds of countries. We have many four and five star hotels and can provide excellent facilities for players, officials and visitors. We can also provide the different cuisines to satisfy players from all religious and cultural backgrounds.
“The Chinese people feel that the Asian Cup is one of the most important events in Asia. The amount of spectators for Lebanon 2000 has not been too high, but back home the Chinese have been getting up in the middle of the night to watch the matches. There will be no problem with spectators in 2004. It will be a big party.”
The 2004 Asian Cup will be organised on an unprecedented scale, with air travel a key component for the first time. Chengdu, which is in Sichuan Province, is 1600 kilometres from Beijing and is 1700 kilometres from the capital, while Jinan in Shandong Province and Chongqing Municipality are 1100 kilometres apart.
Boasting the largest number of football fans in the world, the Chinese bid document finished with a solemn promise that ‘the 13th Asian Cup will be a record-setting one,’ and that ‘it will become a splendid part of the history of the Asian Cup.’
28-Oct-2000
Asian Cup China 2004 increased to 16 teams
The 2004 Asian Cup, which was awarded to China on Friday, will be the largest ever after the AFC Executive Committee decided on Saturday to increase the number of teams.
From 2004 the finals will increase from the current 12 team to 16. The increase of four is in recognition of the fast improving standard of national teams across Asia.
“12 teams represents only 25 per cent of the Asian football family,” said AFC General Secretary Dato’ Peter Velappan. “Given the rapid growth of football at all levels we felt that more teams should have the chance to join the festival. Some teams worthy of a place at Lebanon 2000 were left out.”
The change to 16 teams will also have the effect of increasing the intensity of competition during the group stage of the 2004 Asian Cup. As only two teams will qualify from each four-nation group, teams will need to fight for victories from the very start of the tournament.
06-Dec-2002
Asian Cup set to showcase continent's best: Velappan
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary Dato' Peter Velappan believes that Asia is ready to usher in a new era in its football history, with the 2004 Asian Cup expected to be a tremendous spectacle for the sport.
A total of 40 teams will go into the bowl on Saturday at the Crystal City in Beijing as the AFC conducts its draw for the qualifying rounds of Asia's biggest football tournament, which will culminate in the finals in China in the summer of 2004. Hosts China and defending champions Japan have automatically qualified for the finals and have been excluded from the draw.
The rest of the participating nations are set to commence battle next March with a preliminary round featuring 19 teams. Seven of those sides will then advance to the second stage of qualifying, which will feature seven groups of four teams battling it out for the remaining 14 slots for the Asian Cup finals.
The qualifying round draw will include Afghanistan and East Timor, and Velappan believes that it is important for both sides to be involved in one of Asia's biggest sports events.
"Afghanistan were one of the founding members of AFC back in 1954 and the Asian Cup in 2004 will coincide with the Confederation's 50th year Jubilee celebrations. We helped Afghanistan to go to the Asian Games and definitely, we will want them to play in the Asian Cup," said Velappan, who is in Beijing for the draw.
"It is symbolic to have Afghanistan around. After enduring years of war in the country, Afghanistan have been depleted of a proper infrastructure and the AFC will help them regain their former position and to rejoin the football world.
"FIFA, the English Football Association and others have all contributed to rebuilding Afghanistan's football culture and although the situation there is not entirely stable, football will still go ahead."
The Asian Cup has led to the emergence of a number of stars in the past with players like Iran's Karim Bagheri and Japan's Naohiro Takahara earning valuable moves abroad after scintillating performances during the last tournament in Lebanon in 2000.
Velappan said it has not been uncommon to see foreign scouts at recent Asian tournaments and he expects the world to follow the 2004 Asian Cup with great interest.
"The World Cup had catapulted the status of Asian players and everyone knows how well the Japanese and the Chinese have succeeded in Europe. Everyone knows about the Nakatas, the Onos, the Li Ties and there are many more to come from this continent.
"There is a lot of emerging talent in Asia. Club scouts from all over the world arrived at the recent AFC U-17 tournament in United Arab Emirates and the U-20 competition in Qatar. We expect the same, and even more, during the Asian Cup."
With a population of 1.2 billion people, Velappan is fully aware of the immense potential that China has as a sporting nation and the AFC General Secretary is confident the country successfully host the Asian Cup and even use it as a springboard to host a future edition of the World Cup.
"China is politically stable, safe and possesses a phenomenal economic growth. This decade is all about Chinese sports given the Women's World Cup next year, the Asian Cup in 2004, the Olympics in 2008 and, if everything goes well, perhaps the Confederations Cup in 2007 as well.
"China will be ready to take on all these commitments and facilities are wonderful. We looked at the five venues for the Women's World Cup recently and I have been especially impressed with the Shanghai and Guangzhou stadiums.
"We are hopeful and will encourage China to bid for the 2014 World Cup Finals if AFC are given a chance. By that time, the facilities in China will be up to world standards but more importantly, an infrastructure of bringing out the true playing potential of the country would have emerged.
"Germany have 5% of their population playing football regularly and if China can achieve that from its 1.2 billion, we are looking at an amazing number of 60 million people. The AFC will help China develop their football industry and if everything goes well by the year 2004, China should be in the top 20 of the world."
Velappan also said that it would be interesting to see how the traditional Asian powers perform in the forthcoming tournament especially after the success of South Korea and Japan at the 2002 World Cup.
"Korea were a revelation in June, giving the world an insight to Asian ability and in process, earned the respect of fans all over the world. Everyone can do that as well but preparations is very important,” said the AFC chief.
"Saudi Arabia learnt a lot of lessons in June and will be better organized for the Asian Cup.
"More than anybody else, Iran have the ability to challenge the traditional powers of the world. They are physically well endowed and have a lovely football style and culture.
"Since the World Cup, Asia has been riding on a new wave of confidence, respect and inspiration. The Asian Cup will further enhance our progress and will be an important chapter in charting out a concrete path to success."
07-Dec-2002
Big guns kept apart, Afghanistan make return
Traditional Asian football powers Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar were kept apart in the qualifying rounds for the 2004 Asian Cup while Afghanistan are set to make their return to the senior international game in the competition.
The draw for the preliminary and qualifying rounds of the Asian Cup was conducted in Beijing on Saturday with delegates from the Asian Football Confederation and Chinese football officials joining arms to launch the tournament.
The draw began with Pakistan being the first country drawn out of the bowl. They will do battle with Singapore and Macau in a preliminary round group with the top team advancing to the qualifying stage.
The warmest moment occurred when Afghanistan were drawn, marking their official return to the international game at senior level following the participation of their Under-23 side at the Asian Games in Busan two months ago. Former Soviet state Kyrgyzstan and Nepal will fight it out with the Afghan side for the chance to play against Korea Republic, Oman and Vietnam in the qualifying stage.
Asian Games champions Iran face a tougher road to the finals in China after being drawn with Jordan, Lebanon and either India or North Korea.
Saudi Arabia, who lost 1-0 to Japan in the Asian Cup 2000 final, will face Yemen, Indonesia, and either Bhutan, Mongolia or Guam.
The final rounds of the Asian Cup in 2004 will feature 16 teams, making it the biggest edition of the competition since its inception in 1956. Beijing, Shandong, Chengdu and Jinan have been pencilled in as the four official host venues in two years’ time.
The local Chinese organising committee are convinced they will be able to cope with the hosting demands of the tournament, and Chinese Football Association President Jiang Jilong is hoping to emulate the superlative efforts of South Korea and Japan in hosting the 2002 World Cup finals.
"The World Cup held in Korea and Japan is a good model for us to emulate," said Jiang. "We have studied their hosting structure for June's tournament and are confident of delivering similar results.
"There is every desire to express our best ability on the international stage. We want to promote the local game and I am sure we are capable of hosting the event successfully.
"The Asian Cup will help elevate our playing standards and it is vital that we do well during the tournament."
"Having bid for the hosting rights in Lebanon, it is important for us to deliver our promise," added Beijing Football Association General Secretary Zhang Heng. "We need the support from the government and people to make the Asian Cup a success.
"We have established a tournament committee and are looking forward to running the competition efficiently. We don't have experience of hosting such a big tournament but with the help of the Chinese Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation, we will make it.
"There is work to be done. For example, our pitches are not in accordance to the Olympic standards and we will need to take a closer look at the quality of the grass."
AFC General Secretary Dato’ Peter Velappan echoed the views of his Chinese counterparts, adding his vote of confidence for a successful tournament in 2004
"Events in China are always well organised," said Velappan. "We are confident that the Chinese will make this an outstanding tournament."
Asian Cup 2004
Preliminary round
Group A
Myanmar, Brunei, Maldives
Group B
Taipei, East Timor, Sri Lanka
Group C
Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Nepal
Group D
Hong Kong, Laos, Bangladesh
Group E
Pakistan, Singapore, Macau
Group F
Bhutan, Mongolia, Guam
Group G
India, North Korea
Qualifying round
Group A
Uzbekistan, Thailand, Tajikistan, winner D
Group B
Qatar, Kuwait, Palestine, winner E
Group C
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, winner F
Group D
Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, winner G
Group E
South Korea, Oman, Vietnam, winner C
Group F
Iraq, Bahrain, Malaysia, winner A
Group G
UAE, Syria, Turkmenistan, winner B
17-Mar-2003
Afghanistan record historic win
The qualifying competition for the Asian Cup China 2004 kicked off on Sunday with Afghanistan scoring their first victory since returning to international football with a 2-1 win over Kyrgyzstan in Kathmandu.
Afghanistan, who rejoined the AFC only last year after the war-ravaged country had been out of international competition for 16 years, got their Asian Cup qualifying campaign off to an excellent start as goals by Sayeed Tahir Shah and Farid Azmi sent them to the top of the Preliminary Round Group C standings.
Sayeed Tahir Shah opened the scoring for the Afghanistan side after 26 minutes, but Kyrgyzstan, despite missing a penalty, fought back to level the score through Juma Gulov on the hour mark.
However, Farid Azami struck in the 70th minute to give Afghanistan a historic victory.
Afghanistan will play hosts and group favourites Nepal on Tuesday in the second Group C match. The winner of the group will advance to the second Qualifying Round for the Asian Cup where they will play in a group that includes World Cup semi-finalists Korea Republic, Oman and Vietnam.
19-Mar-2003
Nepal trounce Afghanistan in Asian Cup qualifiers
Nepal closed in on a place in the second round of the Asian Cup 2004 qualifying competition as they hammered Afghanistan 4-0 in a Group C preliminary round qualifying match in Kathmandu on Monday.
Afghanistan recorded a 2-1 win over Kyrgystan in the group opener on Sunday but found their hosts a far more difficult proposition.
Nepal took control with two goals in four minutes late in the first half. They went ahead after 35 minutes through Nirajan Rayamajhi and took a 2-0 lead into the half-time break following Hari Khadka’s 39th minute strike.
The score remained that way for much of the second half until Nepal added two late goals to add some gloss to the scoreline with Rayamajhi netting his second in the 87th minute and Dipak Lama adding the fourth in the final minute
Nepal will need only a draw in their final Group C game on Thursday to advance to a second round qualifying group that includes Korea Republic, Oman and Vietnam.
19-Mar-2003
Singapore to let performance do the talking on the pitch
After a disappointing Tiger Cup outing in December which saw them fail to qualify for the semi-finals despite co-hosting the tournament, Singapore are hoping to use the Asian Cup qualifying competition to start rebuilding the bridge between the team and their fans.
PN Sivaji was appointed Singapore coach recently and while relatively confident of getting winning results against Macau and Pakistan, he has stressed the importance of getting the team to play in a positive fashion.
"My main task is to keep the team composed. I have spoken to the players and all of them have a burning desire to do well. I am watching them everyday during training and they are all showing a lot of passion," said Sivaji.
"We are taking one game at a time. I just want the team to play to their ability and as long as they do, the results will follow naturally.
"We are concentrating on our own performances. This is a new team, and we will do our utmost best to win back the support of our fans.
"I'll be happy to take two good results and move to the next round."
Sivaji admitted that he has little knowledge of his opposition and he also feels that Macau and Pakistan have a slight advantage having recently participated in regional tournaments.
"I don't know much about Macau or Pakistan but both are still teams to be respected. They are not the minnows as how the media have put them out to be, for Macau had recently played in the East Asia Championships qualifying while Pakistan did well during the South Asia Football Federation (SAFF)Championships."
Meanwhile, Pakistan coach U.F. Tariq Lutfi expressed his willingness to take full advantage of Singapore's wounded pride after their failure at the Tiger Cup last December.
"I hear Singapore is going through a little bit of a crisis so that must be good news for their opponents," said Lutfi. "I think the teams are quite evenly matched so we are confident of getting good results here.
"I know Macau are improving as well so we are not going to take them lightly. We want to give the two teams competing here a good competition."
Pakistan finished fourth at the recent SAFF Championship after conceding an extra-time goal to lose to India 2-1. However, their wins over India, Sri Lanka and Afganistan during the group stages have shown that they are still very much a force to be reckoned with.
Lutfi said the team are confident of doing well in Singapore and are determined to give a good account of themselves.
"The mood is good in the camp. Everyone is in positive mood and we are looking to make an impression here.
"We want to win this tournament. As with any competitions that we enter, we always go out to win it. If not, there is no point in participating."
21-Mar-2003
Nepal squeeze through to face mighty Korea
Nepal clinched their place in the final round of the Asian Cup 2004 Qualifying tournament despite losing 2-0 at home to Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, a result that sent the Nepalese through to face last year's World Cup semi-finalists South Korea, Oman and an ever improving Vietnam in the next round.
Kyrgyzstan needed to beat Nepal by at least three goals to go through and the visitors almost achieved the feat on Thursday evening. Having suffered a shock 2-1 loss at the hands of Afghanistan just four days ago, there were few who gave Kyrgyzstan a glimmer of hope away at Nepal.
However, Pryanish Nikov gave Kyrgyzstan an ideal start by scoring in the 27th minute. Nikov scored again two minutes into the second half and although Kyrgyzstan searched frantically for the all-important third goal, Nepal held on to keep the adventurous visitors at bay.
All three teams finished with a win and a loss each, but Nepal’s 4-0 win over Afghanistan on Tuesday proved the difference between the three sides in Group C.
21-Mar-2003
Pakistan down Macau in Asian Cup qualifying
Pakistan scored a 3-0 Asian Cup qualifying Group E win over Macau on Friday evening, as Qadeer Ahmed grabbed a pair of goals while Sarfaraz Rasool, the AFC Player of the Month for January fired in Pakistan's third in injury time.
Sarfaraz was in scintillating form as he ran proceedings from the front. Everything that Pakistan did went through the top scorer at the recently concluded South Asia Football Federation Championships and it wasn't surprising at the end of the day to see Pakistan claim the first three points of the group.
However, Pakistan team manager Mujahid Ullah Khan was not entirely happy with the team’s performances and said that they will have to play better in their final match against hosts Singapore on Tuesday.
"It was the first match of the tournament and we were slightly shaky at the start but we got more comfortable later on," said Khan.
"Some of the players didn't perform well but hopefully they'll do better against Singapore. I wanted them to play with more confidence. We missed a few chances and hit the post twice but overall I am satisfied with the performance of the team."
"Our players did not play well today," added Macau coach Imai Masataka. "We lacked confidence. Our midfield and defence were not compact enough and gave Pakistan too much space."
22-Mar-2003
Singapore Lions raring to go against Macau
Singapore have a good chance of taking the Asian Cup Group E qualifying by the throat when they meet Macau at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday evening.
Macau had lost 3-0 to Pakistan earlier on Friday, with Singapore coach P.N. Sivaji well eager to reap a big winning score to avoid the possibility of goal difference to settle the Group.
"We know the situation," said Sivaji as he kept half an eye on Singapore's final Group E match against Pakistan on Tuesday. "And my instructions to the boys will be to go at them and go for the win from the first whistle.
"I will not put undue pressure on the team by saying we should go for six or seven goals.
"I want to see the same pace and intensity. We didn't give the opponent time on the ball and when we won it, we attacked quickly while they were out of position."
With Mirko Grabovac and U-23 striker Masrezwan Masturi out through injury, Sivaji said he will stick with the attacking trio of Indra Sahdan Daud, Fadzuhasny Juraimi and Azhar Baksin up front.
"They are players who can not only score goals, but create them as well," added Sivaji. "They played well against the Maldives and deserve to start."
23-Mar-2003
Brunei steal draw against SAFF Finalists Maldives
Brunei midfielder G Faldin scored his side's equalising goal in the 89th minute to steal a 1-1 draw against South Asia Football Federation Finalists Maldives.
Maldives scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute through Ali Umar and while the game was coasting towards an almost inevitable Maldives victory, Brunei stunned the 8000 home supporters with the equalising goal a minute from time.
Maldives were the surprise package of the recent SAFF Championships held earlier this year. Despite a narrow 1-0 loss to hosts Bangladesh in the group stages, a 6-0 hammering of Bhutan and a 3-2 win over Nepal were enough to sneak Maldives through to the semi-finals.
Against all odds, Maldives defeated Pakistan 1-0 in the last four before stretching Bangladesh all the way to the penalty shoot-out in the SAFF Final.
Asian Cup Preliminary round Group A Result
Maldives 1 Brunei 1
23-Mar-2003
Brunei steal draw against Maldives
Brunei midfielder G Faldin scored his side's equalising goal in the 89th minute to steal a 1-1 draw against South Asia Football Federation finalists Maldives.
Maldives scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute through Ali Umar but with the hosts seemingly coasting towards victory, Brunei stunned the 8000 home supporters at the Male Stadium with the equalising goal a minute from time.
Maldives were the surprise package of the recent SAFF Championships. Despite a narrow 1-0 loss to hosts Bangladesh in the group stages, a 6-0 hammering of Bhutan and a 3-2 win over Nepal were enough to put Maldives through to the semi-finals.
Against all odds, Maldives defeated Pakistan 1-0 in the last four before stretching Bangladesh all the way to the penalty shoot-out in the SAFF Final.
Asian Cup Preliminary round Group A Result
Maldives 1 Brunei 1
23-Mar-2003
East Timor lose in debut Asian Cup match
East Timor were robbed of their first point in their first Asian Cup match as they lost 3-2 to Sri Lanka on Friday. Group B hosts Sri Lanka had K Jayasuriya to thank for in the victory as the striker notched a brace, with his second proving the crucial winner for Sri Lanka in the 89th minute.
East Timor made a promising debut to continental competition and although the loss was not the most ideal of starts for Ivan Cengic's side, the East Timor team showed enough positive signs that they can develop into a competitive side.
Things started off well for East Timor when Sri Lanka defender D.M. Steinwell put the ball into his own net in only the second minute. However, Sri Lanka were able to find their equaliser as K. Jayasuriya hit the back of the net in the 35th minute.
Sri Lanka were in control by that point and E.B. Channa then sent the home team into a 2-1 lead two minutes before the half-time break.
After a mistake stricken opening period, East Timor tightened up their back-line and managed to hold Sri Lanka at bay. The South East Asian side then stepped up the pressure and managed to level the game in the 81st minute with F.J. Cabral striking home from close range.
However, with just a minute left in the game, Jayasuriya scored his second of to seal the win for Sri Lanka, much to the dismay and disappointment of the young East Timor players.
Asian Cup Preliminary round Group B Result
Sri Lanka 3 East Timor 2
24-Mar-2003
Myanmar trounce Brunei in Asian Cup qualifiers
Myanmar took a big step towards the second qualifying round of the Asian Cup qualifying competition on Sunday as they demolished Brunei 5-0 in preliminary round Group A.
Myanmar showed little mercy against Brunei, racing to a 3-0 half-time lead at the Maldives National Stadium before rounding out the big win with two second-half strikes.
With host Maldives held to a surprise 1-1 draw by Brunei in the group's opening game, Myanmar need only a draw in their final game with Maldives on Tuesday to advance to a second qualifying round group consisting of Iraq, Bahrain and Malaysia.
Meanwhile in Group B, there is plenty to play for after Chinese Taipei's 3-0 win over newcomers East Timor on Sunday put them ahead of hosts Sri Lanka on goal difference.
Sri Lanka edged East Timor 3-2 on Friday and will need to beat Chinese Taipei in the final match at the Sugathadash Stadium on Tuesday to advance to a a group that includes the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Turkmenistan.
Asian Cup Preliminary round Group A Result
Myanmar 5 Brunei 0
Asian Cup Preliminary round Group B Result
Chinese Taipei 3 East Timor 0
24-Mar-2003
Singapore fail to impress in Macau win
Singapore will need to defeat Pakistan in the final game of Asian Cup Group E qualifying after the South East Asians toiled to a 2-0 win over unfancied Macau on Sunday, Azhar Baksin scoring in the 23rd minute before Indra Sahdan Daud added Singapore's second in the 58th minute.
Pakistan defeated Macau 3-0 on Friday which left Singapore needing at least a three-goal victory to avoid the possibility of going out of the competition on goal difference. The home team's failure to deliver resulted in them leaving the field to a chorus of boos at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Egmar Goncalves, Indra Sahdan and Noh Alam Shah were used in a three-man attack up front but much to the dismay of Singapore coach P.N. Sivaji, the ball was not used effectively to crack the resilient Macau defence.
"The two wide forwards were trying to hold the ball too long and did not give the middle strike partner the early ball needed to be totally effective," lamented Sivaji.
"The midfield was out of shape in the first half as well. There was nothing wrong with the effort of anyone, but the opposition's two lines of four across the park were not being attacked properly.
"Macau contained us all too easily."
Aware of the pressures of the national job after the recent Tiger Cup debacle, Sivaji said there is still much for the team to take from the match.
"I told my players I wanted them to win," Sivaji added. "The score was not a consideration, only winning was.
"I was happy with their effort and though it was a game of two halves really, it was not their effort that was lacking at any stage only the way they organised themselves on the field and we fixed that.
"I've learnt over my years in football that you must respect your opponents. I've also learnt to be humble.
"I'm sure that the pressure got to them in the first half but in football the fans are going to have their own expectations and that's something we have got to deal with."
The final game of Group E will be played on Tuesday at the Jalan Besar Stadium, with Singapore needing an outright win to move through to the next round while Pakistan will only need a draw to progress.
25-Mar-2003
