Football Federation Australia is "ramping up" preparations for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 with the appointment of new members of the Local Organising Committee (LOC). The tournament is the pinnacle event of the 46 nation Asian Football Confederation, the largest affiliated continental constituent of the world football body, FIFA.

Football is supposed to be a glamourous career. Scoring goals in front of adoring fans and all that crap. Not if you're name is Khairul Amri it ain't though.
The poor bastard spends most of his time injured. He's 27 in March, should be at the peak of his powers but guess what? He's gonna be out for the next 12 weeks with another injury.

Well what other conclusion could you make!

Football is unquestionably Australia's team participation sport, boasting higher participation than the three other football codes combined

This is the official figures in the FFA's Strategic Plan.
With the focus back on the linking of the football community we can really push on to improve the game across the community.

We are one week into the SEA Games football competition and the games have been marked by pitifully low attendances so far. While Timor Leste attracted plenty of supporters for their games at Lebak Bulus Cambodia have been followed by a few embassy staff and teams like Thailand and Singapore have seen their support swallowed up by the cavernous Bung Karno Stadium.

The China national soccer team (simplified Chinese: 中国国家足球队; traditional Chinese: 中國國家足球隊) remains an Asian power despite failing to qualify for the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa and not advancing beyond the group stage of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. The team is currently ranked 70th in the world by FIFA and is made [.

Back in 2008 Malaysia were drawn against Thailand, Vietnam and Laos in the ASEAN Football Federation Cup. After defeating Laos 3-0 hopes were high in the homeland that finally the Hariamau would make an impression in the region's leading competition. But successive defeats against Vietnam and Malaysia soon ended those hopes.

South Asians' Middle East mission
Nepal, who are coached by former England international Graham Roberts, eased into the second round with a 7-1 aggregate win over Timor Leste but will find a much sterner challenge in the shape of Jordan as the two teams meet for the first time.

Been looking forward to this game ever since the World Cup Qualifiers were announced a few months back. OK, Malaysia had to overcome a tricky Chinese Taipei first but they did so and now we have it.
Singapore are one of the most successful teams in the history of Malaysian football, as Chairman Mao would have said the neighbours are like lips and teeth.

Singapore fans may have queued overnight to buy tickets for the World Cup Qualifier against Malaysia this Saturday but they have been lees keen to commit to the second leg.
4,000 tickets were bought within hours of going on sale, though applicants could buy a maximum of four per person which could see a flooded black market and banks of empty seats if scalpers had moved in hoping for a quick killing.

The poor performance of China's national team is a concern for the entire Asian football family, the recent World Sport Group data on television audiences for the AFC Asian Cup disclosed this week. From an audience of 748 million in 2004 when China was a cup finalist, Asian Cup viewership has dived with that country's fading fortunes: 655 million in 2007 and 484 million in 2011.

The Asian Football Confederation's exclusive marketing and media partner, Lagardere's Singapore-based subsidiary, World Sport Group, has released selected data on the television audiences of the finals of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup played in Qatar during 7–29 January 2011. The figures indicate a significantly declining trend in the television audience when China and South East Asian countries are

Japan, China and Korea were the top three viewership markets with Japan capturing 43.2 percent of the total AFC Asian Cup 2011 audience, according to CSM Media Research released by the Asian Football Confederation

But will we ever use money in football wisely in Australia?
Socceroos are the big big drawcard and with World Cup qualifiers on FTA in coming years and the Asian Cup in Australia in 2015 we have a lot to sell.
Not to mention the A-League which is what really needs the money to kick on.

Bobotoh, fans of Persib Bandung, have asked club officials to be stricter at the turnstiles after they claimed up to 35% of spectators were entering the stadium without buying tickets. Rather, they would slip the turnstile operator a small sum of money and he would let them in.
This is no surprise of course.

Germany vs Australia (Socceroos) 29th March 2011- 29/3/11 2011 International Friendly Final score:- Germany v Australia 1-2 ( Mario Gomez/ Carney, Wiltshire pen) Australia upset Germany in an international friendly as second half goals from Carney and Wiltshire give the Socceroos a 2-1 win. Germany vs Socceroos 1-0 ( Mario Gomez goal vs Australia) Germany [.

*** Hundreds of ticket holders were locked out of Qatar's Khalifa Stadium for the AFC Asian Cup final between Japan and Australia on Saturday. The Qatari organizers acknowledged that the gates to the stadium had been shut well in advance of kick-off, causing many fans to be denied entry and miss the entire match.

Japan defeated Australia 1-0 on Saturday to hoist its fourth AFC Asian Cup title. The Blue Samurai battled Australia through extra time, with substitute Tadanari Lee breaking the deadlock in the 99th minute. Check out his goal! Not a bad way to open your account for your country:
Japan becomes the third nation to qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, after host Brazil and 2010 FIFA World Cup champion Spain.

Substitute forward Tadanari Lee's 109th minute volley gave Japan a 1-0 win over Australia in the final of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 on Saturday. The victory sees the Blue Samurai win their fourth Asian Cup title and first since 2004. Though outshot 11 to 8 by the Socceroos, Japan had the edge in possession throughout [.

It required working overtime but Japan's reward was well worth the wait as the defeated Australia 1-0 in the AFC Asian Cup final at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

An extra-time from substitute forward Tadanari Lee left the Socceroos needing an equalizer within 11 minutes but fatigue kicked in as Tim Cahill and crew failed to overturn the deficit.

Australia vs Japan AFC Asian Cup 2011- January 29, 2011 Final score:- Australia 0-1 Japan ( Tadanari Lee) Tadanari Lee's strike in the second half of extra time gives Japan their fourth consecutive Asian Cup title as they beat Australia 1-0 at the Khalifa International Stadium. Australia vs Japan 0-1 ( Tadanari Lee 109′ goal [.

South Korea defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 to take third place in the AFC Asian Cup 2011 on Friday. The win secures an automatic place for the Koreans at the 2015 tournament in Australia. Korea went up 3-0 in the first-half on goals from Koo Ja-Cheo and Ji Dong-Won (2) before Uzbekistan fought back with goals on either [.

Australia have reached the 2011 AFC Asian Cup final in Qatar this weekend after crushing Uzbekistan by six goals to nil in yesterday's semi-final. Japan also went through but did it the hard way as Alberto Zaccherroni's men needed a penalty shoot out to get the better of arch-rivals South Korea.

There were six different scorers for the Socceroos as they put Uzbekistan to the sword in a game which was expected to be a lot closer than it was.

Australia have reached the 2011 AFC Asian Cup final in Qatar this weekend after crushing Uzbekistan by six goals to nil in yesterday's semi-final. Japan also went through but did it the hard way as Alberto Zaccherroni's men needed a penalty shoot out to get the better of arch-rivals South Korea.

There were six different scorers for the Socceroos as they put Uzbekistan to the sword in a game which was expected to be a lot closer than it was.

Australia is into the final of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 following a 6-0 trouncing of 10-man Uzbekistan in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday. The Socceroos will now meet fellow Asian powerhouse Japan in the tournament final on January 29th. Australia dominated play throughout proceedings and opened the scoring in the 5th minute courtesy of veteran Harry [.

Uzbekistan vs Australia AFC Asian Cup 2011 Semifinal- January 25, 2011 Current score:- Uzbekistan 0-4 Australia ( Harry Kewell, Sasa Ognenovski, David Carney, Brett Emerton) Australia aim to reach their first ever Asian Cup final as they play Uzbekistan in the semifinals. The Socceroos will face Japan in the finals of the tournament.

Japan 2-2 South Korea Asian Cup- Semifinal- January 25, 2011 Final score:- Japan 2-2 South Korea ( Ryoichi Maeda, Hajime Hosogai/ Ki Sung Yeung, Jae-Won Hwang) Japan beat arch rivals South Korea on penalties to reach the finals of the 2011 Asian Cup after the scores were tied 2-2 at the end of 120 minutes [.

Regional rivals Japan and South Korea battled to a 2-2 draw that had to be settled via penalty kicks in their AFC Asian Cup 2011 semi-final meeting on Tuesday. Japan triumphed 3-0 in the shootout following 120 minutes of soccer and will now face the winner of the Australia vs. Uzbekistan semi final for the [.

Substitute midfielder Yoon Bit-garam's 105th minute goal put South Korea into the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 with a 1-0 victory over fellow regional powerhouse Iran on Saturday. The result sets up a meeting with archrival and fellow tournament favorite Japan on Tuesday. Teams: Iran: Mahdi Rahmati; Jalal Hosseini, Hadi Aghili, Ehsan Haji Safi, Mohammad Nosrati [.

Australia vs Iraq AFC Asian Cup 2011 Quarterfinal- January 22, 2011 Final score:- Australia 1-0 Iraq ( Harry Kewell 118′ goal) An extra time Harry Kewell goal sends Australia into the semifinals of the 2011 Asian Cup at the expense of defending champions Iraq. This is the first time in the history of the Asian [.

Uzbekistan vs Jordan Asian Cup 2011 Quarterfinal- January 21, 2011 Final score and result:- Uzbekistan 2-1 Jordan ( Ulugbek Bakayev*2/ Bashar Yaseen) Jordan fall again at the quarterfinal hurdle as Uzbekistan beat them 2-1 to move into the semifinals of the Asian Cup. Both Uzbek goals came from Ulugbek Bakayev.

Man of the match Shinji Kagawa scored two goals and assisted on another as 10-man Japan defeated hosts Qatar 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 on Friday. Qatar surprisingly went ahead in the 12th minute on Sebastian Suria's goal before Borussia Dortmund midfielder Kagawa equalized in the 28th following a period of [.

Japan vs Qatar Asian Cup 2011- Quarterfinal January 21, 2011- 16.25 local time kick off. A spot in the semifinal at stake here as favourites Japan take on local side Qatar in the first QF of the 2011 Asian Cup. Related posts:Qatar vs Uzbekistan Asian Cup Highlights 2011 Qatar vs Uzbekistan January 7, 2011 AFC [.

More photos » Koki Nagahama - Getty Images

3 days ago: DOHA QATAR - JANUARY 17: A Japanese fan is seen prior to the AFC Asian Cup Group B match between Saudi Arabia and Japan at Al-Rayyan Stadium on January 17 2011 in Doha Qatar.

Defending champions Iraq qualified for the quarter-final stages of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup along with Group D winners Iran as the full line-up for the next round is known.

Iraq got through a tough tie against North Korea on Wednesday with a slender 1-0 win thanks to a 22nd minute Karrar Jassim goal.

Defending champions Iraq qualified for the quarter-final stages of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup along with Group D winners Iran as the full line-up for the next round is known.

Iraq got through a tough tie against North Korea on Wednesday with a slender 1-0 win thanks to a 22nd minute Karrar Jassim goal.

In the latest round of 2011 AFC Asian Cup matches being played in Qatar there were no shocks to be had as Australia and South Korea confirmed their status as the two top teams in Group C and progressed to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Australia finished top of the group when defeating Bahrain 1-0 in their final group match which was played today.

In the latest round of 2011 AFC Asian Cup matches being played in Qatar there were no shocks to be had as Australia and South Korea confirmed their status as the two top teams in Group C and progressed to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Australia finished top of the group when defeating Bahrain 1-0 in their final group match which was played today.

South Korea vs India Asian Cup- Group C- January 18, 2011 Final result and full time score:- South Korea 4-1 India (Dong-Won Ji*2, Ja-Cheol Koo, Heung-Min Son/ Sunil Chhetri ) This South Korea vs India fixture saw the Koreans run out 4-1 winners and hand India their third successive defeat of the tournament.

Australia vs Bahrain Asian Cup Group C- January 18, 2011 Final result and full time Score :- Australia 1-0 Bahrain ( Mile Jedinak) This Australia vs Bahrain Asian Cup fixture was a must win fixture for Bahrain at the Asian Cup 2011. However they went down 1-0 to the Socceroos, who qualify as group winners [.

There were eight goals in the final two Group B games in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and the results determined who would meet up with Group A's top two, Uzbekistan and Qatar, in the next round.

Japan sealed top spot in Group B turning over Saudi Arabia by five goals to nil. The Japanese went for it straight from the first whistle and were duly rewarded with a 3-0 lead in the first twenty minutes thanks to a brace from Shinji Okazaki and a strike from Ryoichi Maeda.