India is among the seven hosts of the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 qualifiers, scheduled to be played from November 22 to 30, 2025.
Which countries are hosting the qualifiers?
Apart from India, China PR, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Kyrgyz Republic, and Jordan are the other six hosts.
Which Indian city will host the matches?
The matches in India will be played at The Arena in Ahmedabad.
When is the draw?
The draw for the qualifiers will take place on August 7.
What is the draw format?
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 38 teams have been divided into six pots based on the seeding and pot allocation principle, which takes into account the team’s performance in the last three tournaments (2025, 2023, and 2018).
India is in which pot?
While India is in Pot 2, it will be placed in an additional ‘hosts pot’ for the purpose of the draw to ensure all hosts are drawn in separate groups.
Pots for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers Draw:
Pot 1: Australia, Yemen, IR Iran, Oman, Thailand
Pot 2: Afghanistan, Malaysia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Laos, Kuwait
Pot 3: Singapore, Bahrain, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Palestine
Pot 4: Syria, Mongolia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Brunei Darussalam
Pot 5: Nepal, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Lebanon
Pot 6: Macau, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
Hosts Pot: China PR, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Myanmar, Kyrgyz Republic, Jordan.
Qualification format
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, which has already directly qualified for the tournament.
Qualifiers Dates:
November 22-30, 2025
