India to open their campaign against Brunei Darussalam on 23rd October

Forty-two Asian national teams including defending champions Japan, runner’s-up  Korea, Republic, India and host Saudi Arabia are all geared up to secure their spot in the AFC Men’s U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025. With the Qualifiers, kicking off on Saturday, 19th October, 2024 the league will witness Asia’s brightest young talent engage in fierce contests for a chance to shine on the journey to football glory.

Following Lebanon’s withdrawal since the draw in June this year, the remaining participating sides have been split into 10 groups – six of four, one of three and three of five as they battle in a centralised league format, which runs until 27th October.

All group winners, along with the five best-placed runners-up, will progress to the 20th edition of the Finals, with two-time winners Saudi Arabia (1985, 1988) automatically qualifying as they host the tournament for the second time after 1992.

Reigning champions Japan will aim to qualify for a 15th consecutive time and 17th overall – both records – while 11 teams are targeting a maiden Finals appearance. They include Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Macau, Maldives, Mongolia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palestine and the Philippines.

Two of those sides that will go head to head in the very first match of these Qualifiers on 19th October, will feature the Maldives and Bhutan kicking off Group C at the Dalian Football Youth Training Centre. It is the 12th and seventh qualifying respectively for the pair, with Bhutan searching for their first ever victory. Two-time winners China PR (1992, 2004) host Bahrain at the Dalian Puwan Stadium as they target a 16th qualification, with the latter – runners-up in 1988 – hoping to seal an eighth appearance and first since 2008. On 21st October, last year’s finalists Korea Republic – champions in 1986 and 2002 – will take on Bhutan at the Dalian Football Youth Training Centre, in search of a 16th qualification and sixth in a row.

Macau are participating in their 10th Qualifiers and will aim to win their first ever point when they face the Philippines, taking part for a 13th time, in Group B at the National Sports Complex of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Cambodia then take to the pitch in front of their home fans for their ninth Qualifiers against Bangladesh, who last qualified in 2006 and are targeting a seventh Finals. Afghanistan, whose two Finals have come in the last two editions, start their quest for a third on 21st October against the Philippines.

The hosts for Group A, 2010 quarter-finalists Jordan last appeared in 2018 and are hunting a fourth qualification. They face Syria, who finished fourth in 2006 and have not qualified since their sixth Finals in 2014, at the Prince Mohammad Stadium in Zarqa. Champions in 2010 and 2014, DPR Korea have not featured since 2018 and are eyeing a 12th Finals as they open their Qualifiers at 9pm against Hong Kong, China, whose sole appearance to date came in 2014. Having reached the last four in 2023, the Islamic Republic of Iran will aim to qualify for a tenth consecutive Finals and 13th overall, and the 2008 winners will take on Hong Kong, China on 21st October.

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Important facts ahead of the AFCU17 Men’s Qualifiers:

A) Quest for maiden debut: Out of the 47 members nations, 42 of them will be participating in the qualifiers, 31 sides have previously featured in the Finals. The 12 nations hoping to make their debut are Cambodia, Philippines, Macau, Bhutan, Maldives, Brunei Darussalam, Chinese Taipei, Palestine, Mongolia, Northern Mariana Islands, Lebanon and Guam.

B) Battle of champions: Six out of the 10 groups contain former champions with four-time winners Japan (1994, 2006, 2018, 2023) drawn in Group F with Qatar, who triumphed in 1990. Two other groups also feature two former champions each battling for qualification with Islamic Republic of Iran (2008) and DPR Korea (2010, 2014) in Group A while Group E has Iraq (2016) and Uzbekistan (2012)

C) Making of future stars: The competition has a rich history of unearthing the next generation of Asian stars with many luminaries gracing previous editions, none more obvious than Son Heung-min who helped Korea Republic finish runners-up in 2008. Other who have featured in this competition include Sardar Azmoun (IR Iran, 2010), Takumi Minamino (Japan, 2010), Hwang Hee-chan (Korea Republic, 2012), Meshaal Barsham (Qatar, 2014) and Ali Jasim (Iraq, 2018)

D) Eyeing another consecutive championship title: From the first edition in 1985 until the 17th edition in 2016, no team managed to retain the title but that run was broken in the last edition in 2023 when Japan successfully defended their title after defeating Korea Republic 3-0 in the final. Should they navigate their way to the Finals, they will be looking to be the first nation to win the competition three times in a row.

E) World stage awaits: As the 42 national teams look to make their way to the Finals, becoming champions of the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025 is not only the prize. With the FIFA U-17 World Cup being expanded to 48 teams beginning the 2025 edition in Qatar, there will be more spots up for grabs for Asian teams in the continental showpiece.

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The remaining seven groups commence on Wednesday, 23rd October, starting with Group E at New Taipei’s Fu Jen University. Uzbekistan, champions in 2012 and semi-finalists in 2023, have previously qualified on 10 occasions while their opponents Palestine, are contesting their 13th Qualifiers. The home side, Chinese Taipei, will play as they seek qualification to the Finals for the first time; 2016 champions Iraq, looking to seal an 11th qualification, are the opposition.

Group D’s backdrop is provided by Chonburi Stadium, Thailand and finds defending SAFF champions India, searching for a fourth straight qualification and 10th overall, will seek to gain maximum points in their opening encounter against Brunei Darussalam (Brunei) outfit who are participating in their ninth Qualifiers. Thailand, the 1998 champions eyeing a sixth straight Finals and 13th overall, will expect to be backed by a partisan home crowd for their opener against Turkmenistan, whose sole qualification came in 2008.

Malaysia, who have six Finals under their belt, will try to make it five qualifications in a row when their Group H campaign starts at the Lao National Stadium KM16 in Vientiane against the United Arab Emirates. Home side Laos’ hunt for a fourth Finals appearance starts on 25th October against the United Arab Emirates, who last appeared for a seventh instance in 2016.

In Group I, Yemen are on a quest to notch their fourth consecutive qualification and seventh overall, and face a Myanmar side that last qualified – for a fourth time – in 2006 at the Viet Tri Stadium. Meanwhile, hosts Vietnam have their sights set on a fourth straight Finals and ninth in total, as they welcome the Kyrgyz Republic – whose sole involvement came in 2016.

Runners-up in 2018, Tajikistan can achieve a third consecutive qualification and fifth in total, with a Guam side involved in their 14th Qualifiers in their way first in Group J at the Bishan Stadium. Singapore will aim to rise to the challenge of qualifying for a third occasion and first since 2008 on home turf, starting with Oman as the two-time champions (1996, 2000) come calling with an eye on an 11th appearance and first since 2018.

Qatar will have a 12th qualification on their minds when the 1990 champions open Group F against Mongolia, taking part in their ninth qualifying campaign, at the Aspire Academy Pitch 7 in Doha. With their record fourth title in 2023, Japan will aim to become the first ever nation to retain the crown for the second time in a row, and will open their campaign against Nepal at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha against Nepal, whose last of three appearances to date came in 2014.

The final pair of fixtures on the opening match day are scheduled to be played in Group G at the Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium in Mishref. On home soil at, Kuwait are aiming to end an absence stretching back to 2014 with a sixth qualification as they meet Indonesia, who last made the Finals in 2018 and are eyeing a seventh involvement. Australia are the former team with 21 consecutive wins in the Qualifiers, dating back to 2011 and have qualified for each of the last seven Finals; they meet the Northern Mariana Islands, who will be hoping to pick up their first ever point in their sixth Qualifiers.

Photo Action: An opportunity to compete with the best in the continent (Photo courtesy The AFC)