[1] The tournament was won by Australia after defeating South Korea 2–1 in extra time in the final, thereby earning the right to participate in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, which was hosted by Russia.

They recorded their worst finish in the Asian Cup since the 1996 edition in the United Arab Emirates, being knocked out in the quarter-finals by that team in a penalty shootout.

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

Excluding hosts Australia, none of the other 11 members of the ASEAN Football Federation qualified, nor did any of the South Asian national teams.

[13] In addition, at the time of the draw, the identity of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup winners (Palestine) was not known yet, and they were automatically placed into Pot 4.

The five host cities for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Newcastle, were announced on 27 March 2013, with a total five stadiums to be used.

The ball provided a design for real flight, accuracy and control, and features Nike Aerowtrac grooves and a micro-textured casing.

[22] The AFC decided three match officials from New Zealand would take part in the tournament, despite the country being in the Oceania Football Confederation.

During a match, all remaining squad members not named in the starting team were available to be one of the three permitted substitutions (provided the player was not serving a suspension).

In doing so, it became the first major international football tournament since the 1930 FIFA World Cup to record a result for every group stage match.

In all matches in the knockout stage, if the score were level at the end of 90 minutes, two 15-minute periods of extra time would take place.

With a 2–0 victory over Uzbekistan in extra time, South Korea set a tournament record for appearing in ten semi-finals.

The host country, Australia, reached the final four for the second consecutive time after overcoming China PR by the same score.

This was both Iraq's and the United Arab Emirates' second appearances in a third place playoff at the AFC Asian Cup, with the teams contesting in 1976 and 1992 respectively.

Mathew Ryan Dhurgham Ismail Kwak Tae-hwi Trent Sainsbury Cha Du-Ri Massimo Luongo Omar Abdulrahman Ki Sung-Yeung Ali Mabkhout Tim Cahill Son Heung-Min Source: AFC Technical Report The 2015 Asian Cup achieved 26 consecutive matches without a draw, the most of any major football tournament, breaking the previous record of 18 set at the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay.

[34] Ali Mabkhout broke the record for fastest goal at the AFC Asian Cup, scoring after just 14 seconds for the United Arab Emirates against Bahrain in their group stage match.

This goal also marked for the first time a Slovene scored in an Asian Cup game, as Jaka's being Slovenian descent.

[36] Tim Cahill and Mark Bresciano became the first men's players to win two different confederation titles, having previously won the 2004 OFC Nations Cup.

[46] The logo depicts a stylised player, kicking a football from the east coast of Australia across country towards Asia.

[48] The mascot, a wombat native to Australia, wore the colours of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, red and yellow.

Due to a hostage taking in Sydney in December 2014, security was increased for all team bases and stadiums, in addition to police escorts for all official activities.

[55] During a doping test, Jordan's Ahmad Hayel was required to drink so much water to produce a urine sample, that he developed hypothermia and was rendered unconscious.

[57] On 24 January 2015, following the country's elimination from the tournament, it was revealed that the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) had lodged a formal complaint to FIFA against their quarter-final opponent.

According to documents seen by Agence France-Presse, the 27-year-old tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexanamine, in results that were verified by a WADA-approved laboratory in Cologne.

[58] The Iranian national team remained in Australia whilst awaiting a response from FIFA and a final decision by the AFC disciplinary committee.

[59] On 25 January, the AFC disciplinary committee decided that the FFIRI protest was unfounded, and, therefore, dismissed the case, with Iraq, cleared to take its place in their semi-final match against South Korea the following day.