AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifying Draw to Take Place on Thursday

The road to the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2026 will take its next step on Thursday, 29 May, as the official qualifying draw is set to take place at 3:00pm local time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

A total of 44 national teams will discover their fate as they vie for places in the seventh edition of the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time in January 2026.

11 Groups, 1 Goal: Qualification

The draw will split the 44 participating nations into 11 groups of four teams each. Matches will be played in a single round-robin format, with all matches within a group hosted by one country. The qualifying fixtures are slated to run from 1 to 9 September 2025.

Fifteen spots are up for grabs in the final tournament. Hosts Saudi Arabia, the reigning champions from the 2022 edition, qualify automatically. They will be joined by the 11 group winners and the four best second-placed teams across all groups.

Debutants and Format

This year’s qualification round sees two newcomers enter the fray: Bhutan and the Northern Mariana Islands, both set to make their debut in AFC U-23 competition.

Teams will be seeded into four pots ahead of the draw, based on a points system derived from their final rankings across the last three U-23 Asian Cup tournaments.

The tournament is seen as a key step in youth development across Asia and often serves as a platform for emerging stars to break into their senior national teams and professional ranks.