The organising committee of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup met in Abu Dhabi Saturday, under the chairmanship of Vice President of the Qatar Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation Saoud al-Mohannadi, to discuss final preparations to host the event which will start today with a Group A match between the UAE and Bahrain.
Al-Mohannadi thanked the members of the committee for their great effort in preparing for the tournament, which he said will be the biggest ever with 24 teams competing. He added that they were completely ready for the opening match.
He said this edition's slogan will be ‘Bringing Asia Together.’ He highlighted that the committee was proud to work with the Asian federation to promote the game.
He also expressed his happiness that the 2019 edition will see the introduction of VAR in seven matches, starting from the quarter-finals.
He described that decision as historic, given it is the first time the technology is used in the Asian Cup.
He revealed that the rules allow for an extra substitution during extra time, for the first time ever in the history of the competition.
He noted also that there is a record number of referees and prize money.
Al-Mohannadi thanked the members of the committee for their great effort in preparing for the tournament, which he said will be the biggest ever with 24 teams competing. He added that they were completely ready for the opening match.
He said this edition's slogan will be ‘Bringing Asia Together.’ He highlighted that the committee was proud to work with the Asian federation to promote the game.
He also expressed his happiness that the 2019 edition will see the introduction of VAR in seven matches, starting from the quarter-finals.
He described that decision as historic, given it is the first time the technology is used in the Asian Cup.
He revealed that the rules allow for an extra substitution during extra time, for the first time ever in the history of the competition.
He noted also that there is a record number of referees and prize money.
