Italian soccer star Alessandro Del Piero was named the Global Ambassador for the upcoming 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Del Piero, who is currently associated with Sydney FC, will take up the role as an ambassador for the championship to be held in Australia in January.

The former Juventus star was very ecstatic on his role and his involvement with the 16th edition of Asian's football number one tournament.

Del Piero said after the announcement in Sydney on Tuesday, "I am very proud to be associated with the biggest football tournament ever held in Australia, the country that has become my home for the past two years."

"Asia is the fastest growing region in world football ... To be given the responsibility of hosting Asia's premier championship is a huge honour for Australia."

"To be given the responsibility of serving as global ambassador for that championship is a huge honour for me."

The 2015 Asian Cup is supposed to kick-start on Jan 9, 2015 and the final will be on Jan 31 in Sydney.

Sixteen nations will take part in this upcoming tournament, with only one nation yet to confirm joining the AFC challenge cup.

The 15 qualified nations for the cup are: Japan, Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Bahrain, China, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and of course, the host Australia.

Del Piero can be considered as a perfect choice as an ambassador. Once a star player for Italy, he now captains Sydney FC in the A-League. His long record as a footballer ranked him as one of the topmost goal scorer of Italy with 342 goals.

He was also named in FIFA 100, a list of 125 great players of all time specifically selected by Pele for a centenary celebration of FIFA. Del Piero was also voted the best European players for past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee poll.