The UAE won the right to stage the 2019 Asian Cup on Monday … a tournament not well known in the rest of the world but a very big deal in Asia.

Almost as big a deal to Asia as the African Cup of Nations is to Africa.

Way bigger than North America’s generally limp championship, the badly named Concacaf Gold Cup. (Which is happening in the U.S. this summer, if you haven’t heard, and you probably have not.)

In part, this is about a part of the world where soccer tends to reign supreme, an unrivaled No. 1.

The Asian Cup is the continental championship, and the Asian Football Confederation has 47 members — from Lebanon in the west to Japan and Australia in the east.

So, winning the right to host is a big deal, too. Especially four years hence, when the tournament will expand from 16 to 24 teams — taking in more than half of the AFC and creating a tournament only eight teams short of World Cup dimensions.

Originally, 11 nations indicated interest in hosting in 2019, but they all fell away, except for Iran. Some because of individual issues, some perhaps because they knew the UAE would be a very strong candidate.

It was Iran and the UAE, then, and as often happens in Asia, the country which realized late it had no chance to win — that would be Iran — dropped out of the campaign just before the vote.

The UAE likes to host international soccer events.

The 1996 Asian Cup. The 2003 Fifa World Youth Championship. The 2009 and 2010 Fifa Club World Cups (won by Barcelona and Inter Milan, respectively) and the 2013 Fifa Under 17 World Cup.

As well as the Gulf Cup of Nations in 1982, 1994 and 2007.

It makes perfect sense for the tournament to be here.

–The UAE can afford it.

–The UAE has millions of Asian expats who might have a chance to see their native country competing right here in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Al Ain. (India, feel free to qualify.)

–It has been 19 years since the UAE hosted the Asian Cup, so it was due … and it was also set to be in west Asia this time round, after being held in Australia in January.

And, too, who wants to go to Iran for … anything? At present, it is very hard to get into the country at all, and Iran also has a law banning women from attending soccer matches. No. Really.

Even the AFC, which is hardly a beacon of progressiveness, probably thought twice about that bit of Iran’s bid — even though the No. 2 guy in the organization said he had no problem with Iran’s “no women” laws.

The 2019 UAE tournament will be held in the three cities mentioned, above, in six stadiums — five already standing, and a sixth, in Dubai, where construction is set to begin soon on a big facility, (And a big stadium has been conspicuously missing from the Dubai portfolio. World’s tallest building, world’s biggest mall, sure … but a soccer stadium that holds more than 10,000 people? No.)

Qatar is the other country in the west that might have made sense, in terms of financial resources, but 1) Qatar hosted in 2011 and 2) Qatar has the 2022 World Cup, which is preoccupying them.

The UAE Football Association people were giddy, even if it was a walkover competition, at the end.

The country will put on a fine tournament, in 2019. The UAE is a tourist destination, in January, and it has approximately 1,000 four-star hotels, and the infrastructure and stadiums are in place.

It made too much sense.