Asian Cup 2015 venues and match schedule unveiled

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 Local Organising Committee (LOC) have unveiled the match schedule and host venues for the 2015 competition.

The competition will kick off at AAMI Park in Melbourne on 9th January 2015 with an opening ceremony and Socceroos match and will culminate in the Final at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on 31st January 2015.

The other three competition venues are Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Canberra Stadium in the ACT and Newcastle Stadium in NSW.

LOC Chief Executive Michael Brown said the announcements marked a significant milestone in the planning of AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.

Brown explained "the Asian Cup in Australia will be a three week, 32 match festival of football culminating in the Final at Stadium Australia on 31st January.

"We are pleased to have now locked in five top class venues for the competition and finalised the match schedule.

"This will allow the detailed planning for the event to progress on schedule to ensure Asian Cup Australia 2015 is a world-class event and maintains Australia's international reputation as a great host for the world's best sporting contests."

Brown said the Socceroos qualifying games would be played in Melbourne on 9th January; Sydney on 13th January; and Brisbane on 17th January 2015.

He added "the four Quarter Finals will be played on 22nd and 23rd January 2015 and we are very excited that on Australia Day 2015 the first Semi Final will be played at Stadium Australia (ANZ Stadium).

"The second Semi Final will be played in Newcastle on 27th January 015 and the city will also host the 3rd v 4th play-off on 30th January 2015."

AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 is being jointly-funded by the Australian Government and the Queensland, NSW, ACT and Victorian Governments.

Federal Minister for Sport Kate Lundy added "the Asian Cup offers a unique opportunity to showcase Australia as a world-class host for major sporting events and as an attractive tourist destination.

"The spin-off from the Cup will be enormous for Australia with a global TV audience of more than 2.5 billion people expected and an estimated 45,000 international visitors set to visit our shores."

ANZ Stadium Managing Director Daryl Kerry expressed his delight that the venue had been selected to host all Sydney games during the tournament, stating "the Asian Cup offers us a further opportunity to showcase the Stadium as a world-class venue, and Sydney Australia as a fantastic place to come and visit.

"The staging of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia is just reward for the growth of football in this country. The tournament will attract hundreds of thousands of fans and will take the Stadium and Sydney to an estimated global TV audience of more than 2.5 billion people."

More than 45,000 international visitors are expected to visit Australia during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

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