Manama, March 9 (IANS): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) won the bid on a unanimous vote to host the Asian Cup in 2019, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Monday.
"The UAE won the right unanimously," AFC chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
It will be the second time that the UAE will organise the tournament having previously staged it in 1996, when the hosts lost a penalty shootout in the final to Saudi Arabia.
The UAE bid proposed to organise the tournament in three cities -- Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al-Ain -- all of which have stadiums that could host the games. A new stadium in Dubai with a capacity for 25,000 fans is also promised to be built for the tournament.