Next month’s showpiece is poised to be the biggest and most thrilling edition to date as a record 24 nations land in the UAE in the coming days to compete for Continental glory.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “The AFC Asian Cup has grown from strength-to-strength since its first edition in 1956. This is a result of the unity and commitment of the AFC and all our Member Associations working together towards our Vision and Mission to raise the standards of competitions in Asia.”

The largest-ever contingent, which will also be supported by four reserve officials, will see a diverse range of nationalities, with 19 Member Associations represented across the five AFC zones.

The Continent’s best referees and assistant referees were selected based on their skill, technical knowledge, management competence and physical fitness. They will be expected to perform various roles including Additional Assistant Referees, Reserve Assistant Referees as well as Video Assistant Referees (VAR), which will come into force from the quarter-final stage.

Home to 18 of the 50 AFC Asian Cup matches, the UAE capital is an Island city, accessible from the mainland through three bridges. Abu Dhabi is home to the UAE's federal government offices and is the country's second most populous city.

City: Abu Dhabi

Population: 1.8 million

Local Clubs: Al Wahda, Al Jazira

The bid to qualify for the biggest and best AFC Asian Cup - which will have an expanded 24 sides vying for glory - saw 46 teams in the fray, beginning with 12 countries in the first round of the Qualifiers back in March 2015.

Six teams then progressed to the second round, and by March of the following year, 12 teams - Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Qatar, China PR, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Syria, Thailand, Iraq, Korea Republic and Uzbekistan - had confirmed qualification to UAE 2019 and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

Despite being just 22, Akram Afif already has playing experience in Belgium and Spain, the Qatari midfielder will look to cement his status as one of Asia's top talents during January's AFC Asian Cup.

 

Nationality: Qatar
Date of birth: 18/11/1996
Position: Midfield
Current club: Al Sadd (Qatar)
Previous clubs: Eupen (Belgium), Villarreal, Sporting Gijon (both Spain)

The Philippines have been drawn to face Korea Republic, China and Kyrgyz Republic in Group C next month and the former England manager, who was appointed in October, believes advancing to the knockout rounds is a challenge that is not beyond his players.

“I think the Philippines have to go in with one target: to go through, to go further,” the veteran Swede told the-afc.com. “That’s not easy but if you can do that, that’s good. Then everything depends on what’s happening.

“If we get the players we want, it’s realistic. We have to have that target if we go to the tournament. We can’t just go and be happy that we are there. Yes, we’re happy but that’s not enough. We have to try to go through.”

"The Iraqi league is now on a break for 40 days, 20 days for the training camp in Qatar and 20 days for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 - this is a vital time for the national side," says the man who skippered the side at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Lebanon.

"Because our domestic league is not at its strongest level in recent times, I feel the players may find it difficult to raise their game to match the standard of the Asian Cup."