The United Arab Emirates on Monday won a unanimous vote to host the Asian Cup in 2019, the Asian Football Confederation said.

"The UAE won the right unanimously," AFC chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said. The UAE and Iran had been in competition to organise the tournament.

It will be the second time that the UAE has organised the continent's showcase tournamnent having previously staged it in 1996, when the hosts lost a penalty shootout in the final to Saudi Arabia.

The UAE bid proposed to organise the tournament in three cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al-Ain, which have all have stadiums that could host the games.

It also promised to build a new stadium in Dubai with a capacity for 25,000 fans.