The Blue Samurai, who broke Australian hearts with an extra-time winner in the 2011 final, will prepare in the Hunter Valley ahead of their opening match in Newcastle on January 12.

Japan, featuring World Cup star Keisuke Honda, will meet newcomers Palestine in their first match before travelling to Brisbane to play 2007 champions Iraq on January 16 and Melbourne to take on Jordan on January 20.

Honda and fellow European-based stars such as Yuto Nagatomo, Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki will arrive in Cessnock on January 3, training at Cessnock Sportsground.

This will give them nine days to get ready for the 2015 Asian Cup, the biggest football tournament ever held in Australia.

Javier Aguirre’s team, soon to play the Socceroos in a significant friendly in Osaka on November 18, are the most prominent side yet to announce their pre-competition plans.

They follow the lead of China, who will set up at Campbelltown in Sydney’s west, Bahrain (Ballarat), Jordan (Mulgrave in Melbourne’s east), United Arab Emirates (Gold Coast) and Oman and Qatar (both Canberra). Uzbekistan has also confirmed they will arrive on January 3 and train initially at Rockdale in Sydney’s south.

“This is a massive boost for Cessnock, Newcastle and the whole Hunter Valley,” CEO of the Asian Cup Local Organising Committee, Michael Brown said.

“To attract a team of Japan’s stature to the region speaks volumes for the Hunter, which has traditionally been one of the most passionate football areas in Australia.

“With less than three months to go until kick-off, this announcement takes the excitement and anticipation up another notch.

“The look and feel of the tournament is really starting to take shape.

“And of course in the back of everyone’s minds is the possibility that Japan and Australia could once again contest the final.”

The idea for Cessnock to put its hand up as a training camp base was first suggested by councillor Morgan Campbell in April 2013.

Cessnock Mayor Bob Pynsent described the selection as a brilliant opportunity for the town. 

“Our residents live for sport and are so excited to welcome the Japanese team as visitors to our magnificent area,” he said.

“We know this is a brilliant opportunity and cannot wait to showcase our world-renowned Hunter Valley food, wine, recreation and relaxation and for the Japanese to experience the best of Australian hospitality in their time with us.”

Cr. Campbell, a self-confessed football tragic, said he was “absolutely stoked” with the news.

“I always knew we could attract a team, but to get the biggest team in Asia is quite amazing,” he said.

“It’s going to be a great thing for local football fans, but also local businesses.

“There are more than four billion people in Asia, and around 130 million in Japan. We’re going to be on their nightly news.

“Lots of people deserve to be thanked, from the council staff who prepared the bid to the Goannas volunteers who had the ground looking sparkling on the day it was inspected.

“Without them we would never have pulled it off.”

The AFC Asian Cup is Asia’s biggest football competition and was established in 1956.

The 16 nations to qualify for AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 are Australia as hosts, defending champions Japan, Korea Republic and 2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners DPR Korea, along with Bahrain, China, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Palestine.

The 16 finalists will take part in a 23-day festival of football in five cities which the Socceroos will kick off against Kuwait on January 9 in Melbourne, with the final set for Sydney’s Stadium Australia on January 31.