The AFC Asian Cup is an international football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and automatically qualifies for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Asian Cup was held once every four years from 1956 in Hong Kong until 2004 in China. However, since the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship were also scheduled in the same year as the Asian Cup (2004, 2008, 2012 etc.), the AFC decided to move their championship to a less crowded cycle. After 2004, the tournament was held in 2007 co-hosted by four nations: (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam), and thereafter will be held every four years.
The Asian Cup has generally been dominated by the top teams from East or West Asia. Initially successful teams were South Korea and Iran. Recently Japan and Saudi Arabia are the successful teams and often earned a spot for themselves in the final matches. Other teams which have achieved success at times include Israel (no longer a member of the AFC), Iraq, and Kuwait.
Australia is the most recent nation to join the Asian confederation in 2007.