SINGAPORE (AFP) -- India, Iran and Qatar are in the running to host the 2011 Asian Cup finals after the deadline to express an interest expired.

The three countries have all put their hat in the ring and must now formally declare in writing their official candidature by April 1, the Asian Football Confederation said.

A final decision will be made on July 28, the day before the final of the 2007 Asian Cup. This year's event is being co-hosted by Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, with Japan the defending champions.

The AFC added it is set to rubberstamp a plan to create a rotating system for the Cup, whereby it is held in Central, South or West Asia in 2011 before reverting to East Asia or the ASEAN region in 2015.

While Qatar and Iran qualified for this year's finals, India remains an underachieving footballing nation, with a lack of professionalism and player development hindering its progress.

It finished bottom of its group table in qualifying, conceding 24 goals and scoring just two.

Iran, three-times Asian Cup champions, has held the tournament twice before, in 1968 and 1976, while Qatar played host in 1988. India has never hosted the event since the first edition in 1956 in Hong Kong.

The host country automatically qualifies for the finals.