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With just under a year to go for the 2024 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup – Indonesia, 24 teams across Asia will embark on their qualifying journey this Saturday, April 22.
To be played in a single round-robin league format at a centralised venue for each of the eight groups, Round 1 of the Qualifiers for the ninth AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup will run until April 30 with the group winners progressing to Round 2.
Five teams – Bahrain, Bhutan, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and Iraq – have withdrawn since the draw for the Qualifiers was made in November 2022, leaving the remaining teams to be divided into eight groups of three.
The opening match of the Qualifiers takes place in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where the Group C hosts will be keen to build on the momentum of their maiden qualification from the previous edition. Vietnam will face Palestine at 4pm on April 22 at the Yanma Field at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, with Uzbekistan – the third team of the group – taking on Palestine two days later.
Guam, who will host a centralised AFC tournament for the first time since 2012, are targeting a second qualification on merit after their debut appearance in 2013. They open their Group G campaign, also on April 22, against the Philippines at 7pm at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Lebanon, the third team in the group, serve as their opposition two days later.
Staying with the East Zone, Group B will get underway on April 24 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The home side welcomes Australia in the opener at 3pm at the Mongolian Football Federation Center Stadium before playing Chinese Taipei two days later. Australia and Chinese Taipei wrap up the group with the final matchday on April 28.
Also on April 24, Group F will open at the historic 82-year-old Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek with a match between hosts Kyrgyz Republic and Myanmar at 8pm. India then kickstart their journey against the hosts two days later before facing Myanmar to wrap up the three-team group on April 28.
The schedules for the remaining four groups will run between April 26 and 30.
The participants in Group A will duel at the Buriram City Stadium in Buriram, with hosts Thailand, who have played at every AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup to date, going first against the Northern Mariana Islands at 6pm. The latter then face Malaysia two days later at the same time and place, before an all-ASEAN clash between Thailand and Malaysia on April 30.
The sunny island city of Singapore welcomes Bangladesh and Turkmenistan in Group D, with the latter making their debut in the Qualifiers. The visiting pair commence their campaign at 8pm at the Jalan Besar Stadium, with the hosts in action two days later against Turkmenistan.
Fresh off hosting the recent Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 Asian Qualifiers Round 1, the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan will be the setting for three teams in Group E. The hosts face South Korea – the only team in Round 1 to have won the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup – at 6pm, before battling Hong Kong two days later.
The Prince Mohammad Stadium in Zarqa, Jordan, will be the venue for all three matches in Group H, which sees Nepal face Iran at 4pm on the first matchday. The hosts clash with Nepal two days later before wrapping up the group action against Iran on April 30.
The eight group winners will advance to the 2024 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup – Indonesia Qualifiers Round 2, scheduled for September 16 to 24. They will be divided into two groups and the top two teams from each will join the three highest seeded sides from the 2019 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship – Thailand with defending champions Japan, North Korea, and China – and hosts Indonesia in the Finals, set for April 7 to 20, 2024.
*All times indicated are in respective local times
