The AFC President said: “The Local Organising Committee has been working diligently to stage the best-ever AFC Asian Cup edition – one that reinforces the AFC’s Vision and Mission to deliver top-level competitions for our players, teams and passionate fans.

“On behalf of the Asian football family, I want to thank the LOC for sharing our aspirations of “Bringing Asia Together” and for the level of professionalism and dedication demonstrated throughout the planning and final preparation stages.”

To celebrate the 150-day countdown, the LOC has confirmed that registration for the much-anticipated volunteer programme will go live on August 31, 2018 where as many as 5,000 passionate football fans across Asia will have the chance to not only watch sporting history, but be a part of the biggest football event on the Continent.

With the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 just 150 days away, the-AFC.com retraces the competition's previous winners and how it has progressed into the Continent's most prestigious football tournament.

The tournament had its roots in the formation of the Asian Football Confederation in Manila in 1954. The 12 founding members of the AFC sought to shape the development of the game in Asia and one of the keys to achieving that aim was the organisation of a regional competition for the continent’s national sides.

After a record-setting group stage performance by Asian teams at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the eyes of the football world now turn towards the UAE from January 5 – February 1, 2019.

The expanded competition, which is set to welcome an unprecedented 24 teams – eight more than the previous 2015 edition – will take place across eight world-class stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah, and promises to engage more fans than ever before in the biggest sporting event ever hosted in the region.

Over the next few months the LOC is seeking to recruit 100 enthusiastic community ambassadors to deliver the message of the approaching tournament. Known as ‘Playmakers’ after the important role of midfield players who act as the engines for their team, distributing and setting others up for success, the 100-strong group will share the tournament’s vision of ‘Bringing Asia Together’ and by doing so help to deliver the most accessible, connected and successful AFC Asian Cup in history.

Open now to candidates by contacting community@asiancup19.ae, the initiative is seeking the most social, passionate and influential people residing in the UAE from each of the 24 competing nations to officially sign-up and play a pivotal role as honorary envoys.

Amongst the first Playmakers to be recruited are Emirati ex-professional footballer Ahmed Al Balooshi, Jessica Cullen, a prodigious 15-year-old Australian footballer, and Japanese superfan Shinya Nakamura, demonstrating the variety of international fans and opportunities that exist for all members of society.

The ultimate winners at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on February 1, 2019, will receive an impressive USD$5 million.

The AFC President, who made the announcement during the dazzling AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Final Draw at the United Arab Emirates’ Burj Khalifa, said: “Tonight, we celebrate a new chapter in the glorious history of the Asian Cup here in the UAE.

“This is the second time the UAE has staged this competition and the fact that the competition has now doubled in size demonstrates how far Asian football has progressed in 22 years.

“In addition to more teams and more opportunities, the AFC wants to reward success. I am pleased to announce tonight that the prize money for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 will total almost 15 million dollars and the winners of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 will collect 5 million dollars.”

The new trophy was unveiled by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and former UAE international Zuhair Bakheet during the glittering AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Final Draw at the Burj Khalifa.

Designed and made by world renowned silversmiths Thomas Lyte of London, the new trophy eloquently communicates the powerful spirit of football’s second oldest continental football competition.

Thomas Lyte craftsmen have designed and made globally some of the most iconic sporting trophies and the new AFC Asian Cup took these makers over 450 hours to craft, passing through the hands of 12 different craftsmen.

AFC President Shaikh Salman said: “Since 1956 we have had the same trophy and in keeping with the new and exciting future of the competition, the AFC decided to commission a new trophy, one that captures the excitement and drama of the tournament ahead.

“The AFC has trusted Thomas Lyte for all of our trophy designs since 1997 and I am happy to see this relationship flourish with this magnificent trophy which is fitting of the crowning jewel of the AFC’s competitions.”

In a grand spectacle at the United Arab Emirates Burj Khalifa, hosts UAE, who were positioned in first place in Group A, will kick-off Asia’s most prestigious tournament against Bahrain at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on January 5, 2019.

The host nation will be looking to improve on their second place finish the last time the competition was held in the UAE in 1996, but will face formidable opponents in India and Thailand who complete the cast in Group A.

Meanwhile defending champions Australia were drawn in Group B with 2004 and 2011 quarter-finalists Jordan, Palestine, and Syria, who return to the competition following their absence in Australia 2015.

Continent powerhouses and 2015 finalists Korea Republic, who are on the hunt for their first title since 1960, were drawn in Group C with two-time runners-up China PR as well as two debutants in the UAE 2019 - Kyrgyz Republic and Philippines.