[5] Qatar, India and Iran all lodged interest in hosting the 2011 AFC Asian Cup,[6] while Australia also considered making a late bid.

Qatar was announced as host nation on 29 July 2007, during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.

[1][2]The teams finishing first, second and third in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and the host nation for the 2011 competition, received automatic byes to the finals.

The AFC Challenge Cup acted as a further qualification competition for eligible countries within the emerging and developing category of member associations.

For marketing of the event, the organisers opted for the slogan "Yalla Asia" with a song sung by international artists Jay Sean and Karl Wolf, featuring Radhika Vekaria.

Yalla Asia was composed and written by Radhika Vekaria, Max Herman and Zoulikha El Fassi.

The music video features Football Free Stylers Abbas Farid and Soufiane Touzani.

There were kids and families, not causing any problem, being confronted by riot police and being told they weren't getting in", according to Andy Richardson, Al Jazeera's sports correspondent.

[21] The AFC stated that the gates were closed early for security concerns and organisers did not anticipate an influx of Japanese and Australian fans.