India is set to know of its opponent for the AFC U-17 and U-20 Asian Cup Qualifiers, which will kick off in October and September of this year respectively.
In the U-17 Asian Cup, the Blue Cubs have featured a total of nine teams. Out of these appearances, the side reached the quarter finals twice. The most recent outing was in 2023, when the team failed the make it out of the group stages.
On the other hand, the U-20 Indian boys have taken part in the Asian Cup for a mammoth 22 times, out of which they came out as winners of the tournament, jointly with Iran, back in 1974. It was in 2006 when the U-20 side last took part in the group stages.
Who will host the AFC U-17 and U-20 Asian Cup 2025?
Saudi Arabia is set to stage the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2025, while the 42nd edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup will be held in China PR, with both decisions subject to ratification by the AFC Executive Committee.
When and where will the draw for AFC U-17 and U-20 Asian Cup 2025 qualifiers take place?
The official draw ceremonies will take place on Thursday, June 13 at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the U-17 event to begin at 11:30pm (IST), followed by the U-20 draw at 1:30pm (IST).
How many teams will participate in the AFC U-17 and U-20 Asian Cup 2025 qualifiers?
Qualifiers for the 20th edition of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup will take place between October 19 and 27 and feature 43 teams, who will be divided into 10 groups – seven of four each and three of five.
Meanwhile, the AFC U-20 Asian Cup Qualifiers for the 2025 iteration, to be played from September 21 to 29, will see 45 teams split into five groups of four each and five groups of five.
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How does the draw work?
Each draw will commence from the Hosts Pot, followed by Pots 5 to 1 respectively; each pot will be completely emptied before moving on to the next, with teams allocated to groups in alphabetical order.
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At the start of the draws, the teams that will serve as centralised hosts will be separately allocated to a Hosts Pot to ensure that they will be drawn into different groups.
The pot allocations for each draw, with teams arranged according to rankings, are as follows:
Pots for AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers:
Pots for AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers:
What is the format of qualification into the AFC Asian Cup?
All 10 group winners, along with the five best-placed runners-up, will progress to the respective final tournaments. They will be joined by the hosts, who automatically qualify.
Every group of both qualifying tournaments will be contested in a centralised league format, with teams to be seeded into five pots based on their final rankings from the corresponding previous edition.
Who is the most successful team in the AFC U-17 and U-20 Asian Cup?
Japan is the most successful team in the U-17 Asian Cup, with four titles (1994, 2006, 2018, 2023) while South Korea holds that record in the U-20 category, with 12 times (1959, 1960, 1963, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2012).
When, where to watch the draw for the U-17 and U-2- AFC Asian Cup?
The draws can be live streamed on the official YouTube channel of the AFC Asian Cup.
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