May 22 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has released details of the qualification draw for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 which will be held Thursday, May 25.
There are 43 teams in the Qualifiers, which will be played from September 4 to 12 this year in 11 centralised venues.
The draw will create 10 groups of four teams with the last group containing three teams. Groups will be played in a single round-robin format. The 11 group winners and four best second-placed teams will qualify for Qatar 2024 which will be played between April 15 to May 3, 2024.
Qatar is playing in the qualifiers although the country qualifies as hosts. All its matches will be treated as friendlies.
Qatar has rapidly become a key host of AFC events. In January 2024 it will host the rearranged 2023 Asian Cup that was originally going to be played in China.
The draw seeding is based on AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 rankings. Teams that did not participate have been added as the lowest-ranked teams.
The 11 host nations are Bahrain, China PR, Indonesia, Jordan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam. They will be placed into the same Pot and drawn into separate groups at the beginning of the Draw.
Saudi Arabia are the current U23 Asian champions, having won the title last year beating hosts Uzbekistan in the final. Qatar 2024 will be the sixth edition of the U23 Asian Cup.
The teams will be divided into 11 groups – 10 groups will comprise four teams each, with the last group to contain three. Each group will be played at a centralised venue in a single round-robin format, with the 11 group winners and four best second-placed teams among all groups qualifying for the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024. They will join Qatar, who have received automatic qualification as Host, to form the final cast of 16 at the tournament, to be played between April 15 to May 3, 2024.
Rankings
1-11: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Japan, Australia, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Korea Republic, Thailand, Jordan, United Arab Emirates
12-22: Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Tajikistan, Bahrain, Myanmar, Cambodia, Syria, India, Singapore, Indonesia
23-33: Kyrgyz Republic, Palestine, Yemen, Timor-Leste, Chinese Taipei, Lebanon, Laos, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, China, Maldives, Oman
34-35 + unranked: Mongolia, Philippines, Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, China PR, DPR Korea, Guam, Macau, Pakistan + Qatar
Pots
Pot 1: Japan, Australia, Iraq, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates
Pot 2: Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Syria, India, Singapore
Pot 3: Kyrgyz Republic, Palestine, Yemen, Timor-Leste, Chinese Taipei, Lebanon, Laos, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, China, Maldives, Oman
Pot 4: Mongolia, Philippines, Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, DPR Korea, Guam, Macau, Pakistan, Qatar
Hosts Pot: Bahrain, China PR, Indonesia, Jordan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
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