BANGKOK, 7 July 2007 — Soccer fever returns to the world’s largest continent today when the most ambitious Asian Cup on record gets under way in Thailand.

Over the next 23 days, 16 teams representing a combined total of more than 1.5 billion people will do battle for Asia’s most coveted soccer prize, with reputations and national pride also at stake.

Four countries will host a major tournament for the first time in the sport’s history, with fans from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam given a rare glimpse of the likes of Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura, Newcastle United’s Mark Viduka, Liverpool’s Harry Kewell and Frankfurt’s Naohiro Takahara.

Organizers admit having so many hosts has been a headache, and there are major concerns about the weather with officials fearing they may have to postpone some of the matches in Vietnam because of a typhoon. “There is no way we would risk the safety of players if the weather is too bad... but at this stage we don’t expect that will happen,” AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam told a news conference yesterday.

But the overwhelming mood is one of excitement and great anticipation from fans in four countries deeply passionate about soccer.

Much of the interest has centered around Australia, who are making their first appearance in the tournament after ditching Oceania in search of bigger tournaments and tougher opposition.

“Australia have added a whole new flavor to the Asian Cup and created a lot of new interest,” Hammam said.

“I think this is the best move the AFC has ever made... but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for them. It’s going to be a great competition between 16 teams.”

The Australians are determined to show their impressive run at last year’s World Cup in Germany was no fluke, and that some “sexy” soccer from their cast of European-based players can bring them a debut title.

However, having won three of the last four tournaments, few will dare to write off Japan, even though the current side is a shadow of their 2002 World Cup team.

Japan’s hopes of winning their third straight title rest with Takahara and Nakamura and a little less tinkering from Bosnian coach Ivica Osim, who has selected 51 players since last year’s World Cup.

Two-times champions South Korea have been badly hit by injuries and the absence of English Premier League trio Park Ji-sung (Manchester United), Lee Young-pyo (Tottenham Hotspur) and Seol Ki-hyeon (Reading) makes their bid to end a 47-year drought all the more tricky.

A fitting choice to host the opening match is soccer-mad Thailand, where players are receiving rock-star receptions and the Kingdom’s police force is bracing itself for a three-week illegal betting frenzy.

The Thais take on a poorly-prepared but determined Iraqi side in Bangkok today, with Australia, keen to play down their favorites tag, facing Oman tomorrow in the second Group A match.