AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers set to begin

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR, The qualifiers for the AFC U-19 Championship 2016 are set to start on Monday, with Groups G and H getting the process underway.

A total of 43 Member Associations including finals hosts Bahrain and reigning champions Qatar will compete in the qualifiers and they will be divided into two zones – the West Zone which has 25 teams and the East Zone with 18 teams.

Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals while hosts Bahrain received an automatic qualification (total 16 teams).

If Bahrain finish top of their qualifying group or one of the five second best-placed teams, the next (sixth) second placed team will qualify for the final competition.

WEST ZONE
Group A: Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka (hosts), Bhutan
Group B: Yemen, Saudi Arabia (hosts), Turkmenistan, Syria
Group C: UAE, Palestine (hosts), India, Afghanistan
Group D: Qatar (hosts), Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan
Group E: Iran (hosts), Kuwait, Jordan, Nepal
Group F: Iraq, Bahrain, Maldives, Tajikistan (hosts)

EAST ZONE
Group G: Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Brunei, Timor-Leste
Group H: Thailand, Korea Republic, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Northern Mariana Islands
Group I: DPR Korea, China, Malaysia, Macau
Group J: Japan, Australia, Philippines, Laos

The qualifiers will conclude on October 6, 2015.

Iran’s first Group E match will be played on October 2nd, 2015 vs. Nepal.