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AUSSIES TAKING PART

by isport

It looks like the Australian national football team will be taking part in the next year's East Asian Cup after all.

The inclusion of the Australian national football team into the tournament demanded the voting of major footballing countries like Japan.

In the end, Australia seem to be winning their battle to enter into the prestigious East Asian Cup after it was revealed that Japan had become the latest nation to allow the Australians to compete in this tournament. The competition will take place in July in China and it will include some of the best national football teams from Asia.

The participation of the Australian national football team was in doubt due to their location. However, a meeting has been held in the last couple of days to discuss over their participation. It has been decided in the meeting that Japan will be in favour of Australia taking part in the tournament.

This is a major step towards their entry into the tournament given that Japan are recognised to be one of the best in this region. It is also thought that the committee was extremely impressed with the commitment and quality shown by Australia in recent years, which will certainly add to the value of the competition.

"We have to think of how it would affect the marketing and administration of the tournament. But (Australia's presence) would certainly raise the level of competition, so we want to include them as soon as possible," JFA vice president Kozo Tashima said after announcing his decision. The previous edition was held in Tokyo, Japan. China managed to win the competition back then. They will be looking to retain the trophy when it comes to their homeland this time around, but are likely to face stiff opposition from the likes of Australia and Japan.