ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the place of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup within contemporary mega-mediasport, focusing on the role of the media and event promoters in the representation of the 2015 tournament that took place in the perhaps geo-politically unlikely location of Australia for the first time after 15 previous tournaments in other locations. The AFC once constitutionally required its members to be spatially part of Asia, the relaxation of this qualification means that the AFC Asian Cup now involves the non-Asian nation of Australia, which in 2006 left the Oceania Football Confederation to join the larger AFC. In the specific domain of sport, mature and increasingly saturated mediasport markets in North America and Europe have seen systematic attempts to cultivate sports and fans in populous, economically advancing Asian contexts. Each Fédération Inter nationale de Football Association (FIFA) Confederation has a competition both for clubs and nations.
