AFC Asian Cup 2019 – The upcoming edition of AFC Asian Cup is the 17th season of AFC Asian Cup. The tournament is scheduled to begin on 5th January 2019 and the grand finale will be played on 1st February 2019. The United Arab Emirates have grabbed the hosting rights for the 2019 edition. AFC Asian Cup is a men’s quadrennial International tournament which is conducted by Asian Football Confederations.

Also Read: AFC Asian Cup 2019 Winner Prize Money

The AFC Asian Cup is one of the popular tournament in Asia as it crowns the best team of Asia. The tournament is played in the span of four years. The 1st inaugural AFC Asian Cup was played in 1956 in Hong Kong. The winner of the tournament earns the right to play the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup.

AFC Asian Cup Winners, Runners Up List (1956 – 2019)

As we said, the first AFC Asian Cup was played in 1956 in Hong Kong. South Korea was crowned as the champions in 1956. At the moment, Australia is the defending champions. Australia won the 2015 Asian Cup by defeating South Korea 2-1. Japan have won most AFC Asian Cup. They have achieved this feat four times (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011). Here is the list of AFC Asian Cup Champions and Runners Up from 1956 to 2019.

YEAR	HOST	WINNER	RUNNER-UP	FINAL SCORE
1956	Hong Kong	South Korea	Israel	Winner decided in round robin
1960	South Korea	South Korea	Israel	Winner decided in round robin
1964	Israel	Israel	India	Winner decided in round robin
1968	Iran	Iran	Burma	Winner decided in round robin
1972	Thailand	Iran	South Korea	2-1
1976	Iran	Iran	Kuwait	1-0
1980	Kuwait	Kuwait	South Korea	3-0
1984	Singapore	Saudi Arabia	China PR	2-0
1988	Qatar	Saudi Arabia	South Korea	0-0 [4-3 in Penalties]
1992	Japan	Japan	Saudi Arabia	1-0
1996	UAE	Saudi Arabia	UAE	0-0 [4-2 in Penalties]
2000	Lebanon	Japan	Saudi Arabia	1-0
2004	China	Japan	China PR	3-1
2007	Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam	Iraq	Saudi Arabia	1-0
2011	Qatar	Japan	Australia	1-0
2015	Australia	Australia	South Korea	2-1
2019	UAE	TBC	TBC	TBC

The world is still in FIFA World Cup fever but the countries in Asia have geared up for the most awaited upcoming four years. The upcoming four years are very special for Asian football. The 2022 world cup is scheduled to be conducted in Qatar. Along with world cup, AFC is yet to decide the venue for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2021. So all-important FIFA tournaments are scheduled in Asia. But before all that, AFC Asian Cup is scheduled in January 2019. This tournament determines the best team in Asian Confederation. Currently, Australia are the title holders and will be looking to defend their title in the United Arab Emirates.

AFC Asian Cup 2019 Prize Money (Total)

The AFC Asian Cup is scheduled to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates from 5th January 2019 to 1st February 2019. Total 24 teams from Asia will participate in the tournament. The tournament will determine the best team in Asian Confederation. The prize money for the tournament is very attractive. Total prize money for AFC Asian Cup 2019 is USD$14,800,000.

AFC Asian Cup 2019 Winner Prize Money

With a whopping total prize money of close to $15M, AFC is trying their best to make this tournament attractive. Since the total prize money has been increased, it means the winner will enjoy a good amount of share. The 2019 AFC Asian Cup winner will receive $5M as prize money.

AFC Asian Cup 2019 Runner-Up Prize Money

Winning the tournament is a very hard job but reaching the AFC Asian Cup is not a small thing. It takes a good team effort to come through group stage and various knockout stages. Reaching the finals is a sign of a good team & hard work. Keeping this in mind, the AFC Asian Cup 2019 Runner-Up will receive a prize money of $3M.

AFC Asian Cup 2019 Prize Money Distribution Table

We already shared the prize money for AFC Asian Cup 2019 Winner and Runners Up. But all 24 teams who qualify for the tournament are good skilled teams. These teams come through qualifying rounds in order to play the tournament. So every team participating in the championship is awarded $200,000. The semi-finalist of AFC Asian Cup 2019 will receive $1M each.

Stage	Prize Money
Winner	5M USD
Runners-Up	3M USD
Semi-Finalists	1M USD (Each)
All Participating Teams	200,000 USD