A record 800 million football fans from more than 120 countries are expected to watch AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015, which kicks off in Melbourne on Friday (January 9).

Australian fans will be able to watch all 32 matches of the biggest football tournament ever staged Down Under live in HD on FOX SPORTS.

ABC TV will broadcast all Socceroos group matches on two-hour delay and finals games live (if they qualify).

Football fans throughout the rest of Asia, North Africa, Brazil, Europe, New Zealand, USA and Canada will also receive live coverage of the 23-day tournament culminating in the Final at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on January 31.

The Socceroos will play their group matches in Melbourne (vs Kuwait in the tournament opener on January 9), Sydney (vs Oman, January 13) and Brisbane (vs Korea Republic, January 17) as they vie for a place in the Quarter-finals (Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney, January 22-23) and Semi-finals (Sydney, January 26 and Newcastle, January 27).

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Alex Soosay said the time zone of the matches being played was a major factor behind the anticipated record television audience.

“The tournament is being played in a time zone similar to the largest Asian markets of East Asia while the participation of nine West Asian countries gives us confidence of the expected TV audience,” he said.

“The AFC Asian Cup has grown in stature in all aspects over the last 15 editions and I am confident that this edition will break all records in terms of attendance and television viewership.”

FOX SPORTS will begin its LIVE match-day coverage with a one-hour ‘Asian Cup Hub’ preview show, with all matches on FOX SPORTS 505, and simultaneous matches on FOX SPORTS 506.

FOX SPORTS CEO, Patrick Delany, said: “The Asian Cup is without question the biggest football tournament ever staged in Australia and FOX SPORTS will give it the full ‘World Cup’ treatment – every game LIVE in HD with no ad breaks during play on a dedicated channel, plus the finest on-air team to bring it all to life.”

ABC Director of Television, Richard Finlayson, said: “The ABC is thrilled to be the official free-to-air broadcaster of the AFC Asian Cup 2015. We are committed to bringing all Australians the excitement of this major event wherever they are with coverage on ABC TV, ABC iview and ABC Radio.”

The AFC Asian Cup is Asia’s biggest football competition and was established in 1956.

The 16 nations to qualify for AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 are Australia as hosts, defending champions Japan, Korea Republic and 2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners DPR Korea, along with Bahrain, China, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine and Uzbekistan.

The tournament is being financially supported by the Australian Government and the NSW, Victorian, Queensland and ACT Governments.

Tickets are on sale now at www.afcasiancup.com/tickets For more information on AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 visit www.afcasiancup.com

FOX SPORTS SCHEDULE: Group Stage Matches

ASIAN CUP

Fri, 9 Jan Australia Kuwait 8.00pm (DST)
Sat, 10 Jan Korea Republic Oman 4.00pm
Sat, 10 Jan Uzbekistan DPR Korea 6.00pm
Sat, 10 Jan Saudi Arabia China 8.00pm
Sun, 11 Jan UAE Qatar 6.00pm
Sun , 11 Jan Iran Bahrain 8.00pm
Mon, Jan 12 Japan Palestine 6.00pm
Mon, Jan 12 Jordan Iraq 8.00pm
Tue, Jan 13 Kuwait Korea Rep 6.00pm
Tue, Jan 13 Oman Australia 8.00pm
Thu, Jan 15 Bahrain UAE 6.00pm
Thu, Jan 15 Qatar Iran 8.00pm
Fri, Jan 16 Palestine Jordan 6.00pm
Fri, Jan 16 Iraq Japan 8.00pm
Sat, Jan 17 Oman Kuwait 8.00pm ( FS 506)
Sat, Jan 17 Australia Korea Republic 8.00pm
Sun, Jan 18 China DPR Korea 8.00pm
Sun, Jan 18 Uzbekistan Saudi Arabia 8.00pm ( FS 506)
Mon, Jan 19 Qatar Bahrain 8.00pm
Mon, Jan 19 Iran UAE 8.00pm ( FS 506)
Sat, Jan 20 Iraq Palestine 8.00pm (FS 506)
Sat, Jan 20 Japan Jordan 8.00pm

FINALS

Thu, Jan 22 Quarter Final 1 6.30pm
Thu, Jan 22 Quarter Final 2 9.30pm
Fri, Jan 23 Quarter Final 3 5.30pm
Fri, Jan 23 Quarter Final 4 8.30pm
Mon, Jan 26 Semi Final 1 8.00pm
Thu, Jan 29 Semi Final 2 8.00pm
Fri, Jan 30 3rd/4th Play-off 7.30pm
Sat, Jan 31 Final 8.00pm

ABC BROADCAST DETAILS: ABC TV

• Every group round game featuring the Socceroos will be broadcast on ABC TV and simulcast on ABC iview, commercial free and in its entirety. All Socceroos finals matches will be broadcast live on ABC TV and ABC iview.
• Every other game night, ABC will screen a 30-minute highlight package bringing you expert analysis and the best of the day’s action across all four groups.
• Esteemed ABC sports broadcaster and AFC Asian Cup Ambassador Stephanie Brantz will lead a team of national and international experts on ABC TV’s coverage.

ABC Radio
• Every Socceroos game and all finals will be broadcast live on ABC Radio.
• The ABC Radio commentary team will be led by ABC Grandstand’s Francis Leach, who is also an AFC Asian Cup Ambassador.
• For ABC Radio broadcast details go to abc.net.au/grandstand

COUNTRIES AND STATIONS BROADCASTING THE AFC ASIAN CUP 2015

COUNTRIES TV STATIONS

Asia Australia FOX SPORTS, ABC

China CCTV5, Beijing TV, Guangdong TV, PPTV,
SINA, SOHU

Indian Subcontinent
(Satellite & Cable) Fox International Channels

Indonesia RCTI

Iran IRIB

Japan TV Asahi, NHK

Korea Republic KBS N, MBC Sports+, SBS Korea

Malaysia TV3

Middle East & North Africa BeIn Sport, Al Kass

Philippines ABS-CBN

South East Asia(Satellite & Cable) Fox International Channels

Thailand Channel 7 (BBTV)

Rest of the World Brazil TV Globo

Europe Eurosport

New Zealand SkyNZ

USA & Canada One World Sport