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Major General Mohammad Khalfan Al Rumaithi, President of the UAE General Authority for Sports, at the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and and Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifah, AFC president, along with other coaches and managersduring the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 final draw at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, Dubai. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

Dubai: The hosts UAE will face Bahrain, while popular crowd-pullers India will take on Thailand in their opening round matches of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup to be hosted in the UAE from January 5 to February 1, 2019.

The hosts will commence their campaign against neighbours Bahrain at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi after the opening ceremony on January 5. Their second match will be at the same venue against India, while their final Group A tie will be against Thailand at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on January 14.

India, on the other hand – playing for the first time since their runners-up finish in the 1964 edition – will take on Thailand in their opener at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi on January 6 followed by the UAE in their second match at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on January 10 and their final match against Bahrain at the Sharjah Stadium on January 14.

In his welcome address to guests, Mohammad Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Vice Chairman, Higher Organising Committee said the UAE is keen to stage the best-ever, unique and the largest football event ever held in Asia in exactly 245 days from now. “Tonight is special as it marks the kick off for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup,” Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, AFC President told media and guests.

“I am sure and confident that the UAE will stage a truly world-class football tournament in less than one year from now,” he added.

Among the novelties introduced is an increase in the prizemoney with a total of $15 million (Dhs 55 million) being allocated throughout the competition. Each of the 24 participating teams are assured to receive $200,000, while the winner’s cheque to the champions at the end of the tournament on February 1 will be for $5 million and the runners-up will get $2 million.

Attending the impressive draws ceremony at Armani Hotel Ballroom on Friday were an array of stars including Iran's prolific goal-scorer Ali Daei - also top scorer the last time the tournament was held in the UAE in 1996 - former China and Manchester City star Sun Jihai, current Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri and Philip Younghusband from the Philippines alongside draw conductor, AFC General Secretary Dato' Windsor John.

UAE legend Zuhair Bakhit walked inside with a brand-new trophy that was unveiled by Shaikh Salman. The UAE star striker then joined the five football luminaries who were specially selected to represent all the five AFC zones competing in UAE 2019, exemplifying the tournament slogan of ‘Bringing Asia Together’. The official mascots of the tournament ‘Mansour’ and ‘Jara’ (a falcon) carried the official match ball made by Japanese sports goods manufacturer, ‘Molten.

The AFC Asian Cup is the second oldest continental football championship in the world, only after Copa America, with the winning team qualifying for the Fifa Confederations Cup.

THE DRAW 

GROUP A
United Arab Emirates, Thailand, India, Bahrain 

GROUP B 
Australia,  Syria, Palestine, Jordan 

GROUP C 
South Korea, China, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines 

GROUP D 
Iran,  Iraq, Vietnam, Yemen 

GROUP E 
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, North Korea 

GROUP F 
Japan, Uzbekistan, Oman, Turkmenistan 

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Major General Mohammad Khalfan Al Rumaithi and Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
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Image Credit: Alaric Gomes/Gulf News
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