The 1976 tournament was a tournament that was hit by withdrawals, political bickering and expulsions, but ended with 112,000 people in the Aryamehr Stadium in Iran (now called the Azadi Stadium) celebrating as Iran became Asian Champions for the third time in succession.
The 1972 tournament saw an increase in the number of final teams, with eight teams due to be involved in the final competition in Israel, who would be hosting the tournament for the second time and who had qualified automatically alongside 1968 winners Iran.
The 1968 AFC Asian Cup was the biggest tournament to date, with five teams competing in the finals for the title of Asian Champions in a round-robin format with no final, for what would the last time. It was the first time Iran had hosted the tournament.
The 1964 tournament saw the AFC Asian Cup move to the western side of the continent for the first time as Israel took on the hosting rights for the tournament which had increased in size to a five-team round-robin tournament, with Israel qualifying as hosts and South Korea as holders of the tournament.
The 2nd edition of the AFC Asian Cup saw the inaugural champions South Korea confirmed as hosts, with the tournament again staying as a four-team round-robin competition with no final and the unusual arrangement of 80 minute games.
The first edition of the AFC Asian Cup took place just two years after the creation of the Asian Football Confederation and saw Hong Kong awarded the hosting rights, with all games scheduled to take place at the Government Stadium.
January 2 – In a significant climbdown on the eve of the winter transfer window, FIFA has temporarily shelved its entire global rollout of reforms designed to regulate agents’ fees.
January 2 – Turkey and Saudi Arabia are blaming each other for the embarrassing last-minute abandonment of the Turkish Super Cup final between arch-rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce which had been due to take place in Riyadh last Friday.
January 2 – The French Constitutional Council has ruled against giving a tax free status to FIFA for running their operations in Paris which has raised questions over the continuation of FIFA’s office in the French capital.
January 2 – The Somali capital Mogadishu has swapped the sound of gunfire for the cheers of fans as tens of thousands of supporters hailing from various corners of the nation converged for the Somali Inter-State football tournament.
January 2 – Brazil’s football presidential football elections are shaping up to be a two-horse race between Reinaldo Carneiro Bastos and Flavio Zweiter. FIFA, however, is sending a team to investigate the rudderless Confederation of Brazilian (CBF) as a signal that it won’t tolerate third-party interference in the running of the federation.
January 2 – Ex-England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has been sacked as Birmingham City manager after just 15 games in charge – making him the shortest-serving manager in the club’s 132-year history.
January 2 – France’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has joined Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC from Tottenham Hotspur.
January 2 – While the focus of Asian football will be on the 2023 Asian Cup that kicks off January 12 in Qatar, the AFC’s Champions League 2023/24 has now reached the last 16 knockout stage with the draw having been held before the new year.
December 29 – The long-awaited sale of 25% of Manchester United to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group for £1.03 billion has been completed.