In a special video message to participants, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary, Dato’ Windsor John, said: “The last time the People’s Republic of China hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 2004, it was staged in just four cities. At the time, Asia’s top 16 teams competed in 32 matches, which is a stark difference to the 24 teams who will be competing across 51 matches in 2023.

The 2023 AFC Asian Cup, which is scheduled to kick off in June, will be held in professional football stadiums in 10 host cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xian, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Suzhou, where the renovation and construction of all venues have made significant progress.

Goals from international stars Temwa Chawinga and Bia Zaneratto were followed by an own goal from Zhai Qingqei and a further strike from Chinese international Lyu Yueyun, as Liu Lin’s side sealed the title in emphatic style.

Jiangsu had been chasing their second consecutive league title under Frenchman Jocelyn Precheur, but they were well beaten by a rampant Wuhan.

One of the best regarded female referees China PR has ever seen, Cui was announced to join the match officials’ team for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France. Just as she was working against the clock to prepare herself for her second women's football extravaganza - she worked as an assistant referee at Canada 2015 – Cui was urgently taken to hospital at the start of last year after an unexpected heart attack.

The duo, who both play for Guangzhou Evergrande, are among a 28-man squad that features six players from the Chinese Super League champions and who will continue the country’s preparations for the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 next year.

Fast forward and the midfielder is now called Li Ke, he has a Chinese passport and plays for China PR, trying to help them reach the FIFA World Cup for only the second time in their history.

As an established broadcaster – who operates dedicated sports channels Sport 1, Sport 1 HD and Sport 2 in the region – SIA Sport Media will make major AFC national team and club competitions available in these territories for the first time ever, and offer high-quality broadcasting services via established pay-TV channels.