Asian Cup Football Geography: The winner missed the Asian Cup, and Israel was kicked out of the AFC due to political conflicts
In January 2024, the 18th Asian Cup 2023 will be held in Qatar.
In 1956, Hong Kong, China (then British Hong Kong) hosted the first Asian Cup. Since 1956, the Asian Cup has been held 17 times. In the previous 17 Asian Cups, a total of 9 champions were produced. The nine champions are Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Korea, Israel, Kuwait, Australia, Iraq and Qatar.
Of these 9 champions, 7 have participated in this Asian Cup. There are two teams that will not be able to participate. The two teams are Israel and Kuwait.
Israel is special because it has left Asia and joined Europe. In March next year, Israel will compete in the European Championship play-offs for a ticket to the European Championship.
Israel's secession from the European Union was not voluntary, but was expelled from the UEFA family by the AFC due to political conflicts. Asian Cup Football Geography, let's walk into Israel together to understand the story of Israel's secession from Asia and its entry into Europe.
Where is Israel
Israel is located in the western part of Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria and Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel has a coastline to the west with the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) to the south.
In terms of physical geography, Israel is a real Asian country.
During the AFC period, the record was outstanding
Before World War I, Palestine belonged to the Ottoman Empire (the predecessor of Turkey). After World War I, the Ottoman Empire was defeated and dismembered. The Palestinian areas were under British trusteeship.
England is the birthplace of modern football. Football came to Palestine. In 1928, an independent football association was formed. At that time, Israel and the entire Palestinian region were under the British Mandate, so the name of the place was not Israel or Palestine, but "Eretz Israel/Palestine Football Association".
In 1929, the "British Empire Mandate of Palestine" joined FIFA and became a member of FIFA.
After World War II, Arabs and Jews in Palestine referred the issue of land restoration to the United Nations. In accordance with General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, Palestine was divided into Jewish and Arab states. The General Assembly resolution was unanimously boycotted by the Arab world, and therefore a Palestinian State was not immediately established. The Jews agreed to UN Resolution 181 and established Israel.
In May 1948, after the establishment of Israel, it inherited the name of the "British Empire Mandate of Palestine" and joined FIFA. Palestine did not join FIFA because it was not formed.
In 1954, the AFC was founded in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and Israel joined the AFC and became a member of the AFC.
From September 1 to 15, 1956, the first Asian Cup was held in Hong Kong, China. Israel participated in one Asian Cup finals. In the end, 2 wins and 1 loss, 4 points, won the runner-up.
From October 14 to October 23, 1960, the second Asian Cup was held in South Korea. Israel finished second with 2 wins, 1 loss and 4 points.
In the 1964 Asian Cup, Israel won all three games as the host and won the first and only continental trophy in the team's history.
Held in Iran from 10 to 19 May 1968, the finals were held by five teams in a single round-robin group stage, with the first-time host country, Iran, winning the championship. Israel finished third with 2 wins and 2 losses.
In the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Israel participated as an Asian team. At that World Cup, Israel was in the same group as Viking Sweden, Azzurri Italy and Sky Blue Uruguay.
Israel finished bottom of the group with 2 draws and 1 loss, failing to qualify. Although Israel did not make it out of the group, they were able to make Israel's fans proud of their record by equalling Nordic powerhouse Sweden and world champion Italy.
During its affiliation with the AFC, Israel participated in one World Cup (1970) and four Asian Cups in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968. Israel has participated in four Asian Cups, winning one championship, two runners-up (1956, 1960) and one third place finish (1968).
Having participated in the Asian Cup finals four times, Israeli football has an outstanding record in the early days.
Removed from the AFC for political reasons
Israel participated in only four Asian Cups before being expelled from the AFC. The reason for the delisting is simple: it is because of the contradictions between Israel and the Arab world and the Islamic world.
As we said above, UN Resolution 181 was supported by the Jews but opposed by the Arabs. Thus, Israel (the Jewish state) was established, and the Arab state of Palestine was not.
The refusal of the Arab countries to recognize Israel's independence has intensified the contradictions between Israel and the Arab countries.
In 1948, the first Middle East war broke out between Israel and Arab countries.
After the First Middle East War, Israel occupied West Jerusalem and the region of Galilee. The first Middle East war deepened the hostility between Israel and the Arab world.
At the same time, non-Arab Islamic countries from Asia, such as Pakistan and Indonesia, gained independence.
These Islamic countries are one-sidedly pro-Palestinian because of their religion and refuse to recognize Israel as a state. Israel is hostile to the Arab and Islamic worlds.
The 2023 U20 World Cup was originally held in Indonesia. Israel's refusal to admit to Indonesia as a participating country is proof of Indonesia's hostility towards Israel. FIFA thus stripped Indonesia of its eligibility to host, and Argentina eventually took over.
From the outbreak of the first Middle East war in 1948 to 1982, Israel fought four more Middle East wars with Arab countries.
After the Fourth Middle East War (October 1973), the Arab countries could no longer wrest territory from the Israelis by means of war.
Football became a means for the Arabs to take revenge on Israel.
In 1974, the Kuwait Football Federation proposed a plan to remove Israel from the Asian region.
This programme was supported by most of the Arab countries of West Asia, as well as by other Islamic countries such as Malaysia (which pursued a policy of hostility to Israel after independence), Indonesia, Pakistan, etc.
Since then, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, Malaysia, and Indonesia have jointly pressured the AFC to expel Israel from the AFC. The AFC votes on Israel's status.
In the end, the vote to expel Israel from the AFC won by a narrow margin (17 votes in favor, 6 abstentions and 13 votes). Israel was thus expelled from the AFC.
Although Israel was expelled from the AFC, Israel was not expelled from FIFA. From 1974 to 1990, Israel was placed by FIFA in different regions to participate in the World Qualifiers.
In 1992, UEFA admitted Israel as a member. At this point, Israel has completed the formalities of joining the European Union. Became a member of UEFA. In the European Championship held in the same year as this Asian Cup, although Israel could not get a direct place, it won the play-off place by virtue of the advantage of being the first in Category B.
I don't know, this time, Israel will be able to qualify for the European Cup.