A'bad to host AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers in Nov
The draw for the qualifiers will be held on Thursday.
The 38 countries participating in the qualifiers will be drawn into seven groups (three groups of six teams and four groups of five teams each). The group winners will qualify for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026, joining nine participating AFC teams in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025, who have already directly qualified for the tournament.
On India getting the hosting rights, AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said, "It is a matter of great pride for India to be one of the hosts, and I am particularly pleased to see Ahmedabad take centre stage.
This is an excellent chance for our boys to perform on home soil, and for the city to showcase its capability to host elite international competitions."
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He added, "I sincerely hope that our boys qualify for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, which serves as the gateway to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and take another important step forward in Indian football's long-term development pathway."
Minister of sports and youth affairs Harsh Sanghavi said, "This is a proud moment for Indian football and Gujarat.
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It's an opportunity for the state to showcase its love for the beautiful game, its world-class hospitality, and our rising football culture. Hosting a prestigious event such as this will position Ahmedabad on the Asian football map."
The statement elaborated that the 38 teams competing in the qualifiers have been divided into six pots based on the seeding and pot allocation principle, which takes into account the team's performance in the past three tournaments (2025, 2023, and 2018). While India are in Pot 2, they will be placed in an additional hosts pot for the purpose of the draw to ensure all hosts are drawn in separate groups. China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan are the other six hosts.
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