2020 AFC U-16 Championship
بطولة آسيا تحت 16 سنة 2020
Tournament details
Host countryBahrain
DatesCancelled[1]
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)3 (in 3 host cities)

The 2020 AFC U-16 Championship would have been the 19th edition of the AFC U-16 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-16 national teams of Asia. It was scheduled to take place in Bahrain, who had been appointed as the host by the AFC on 17 September 2019.[2] It was originally scheduled between 16 September and 3 October 2020, but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4]

The AFC announced the cancellation of the tournament on 25 January 2021, leaving the hosting rights for the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup with Bahrain.[1]

Originally, the top four teams of the tournament would have qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru as the AFC representatives. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2021 U-17 World Cup was also cancelled, with hosting rights for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup still with Peru.[5]

This edition was expected to be the last to be played as an under-16 tournament, as the AFC have proposed switching the tournament from under-16 to under-17 starting from 2023.[6]

Japan were the defending champions.

Qualification

Qualifying was played from 14 – 22 September 2019.[7] Bahrain also participated in the qualifiers, even though they had already qualified automatically as hosts.

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.[8]

Team Qualified as Appearance Previous best performance
 BahrainHosts8thRunners-up (1988)
 TajikistanGroup A winners4thRunners-up (2018)
 IndiaGroup B winners9thQuarter-finals (2002, 2018)
 IranGroup C winners12thChampions (2008)
 Saudi ArabiaGroup D winners11thChampions (1985, 1988)
 QatarGroup E winners11thChampions (1990)
 United Arab EmiratesGroup F winners8thRunners-up (1990)
 ChinaGroup G winners15thChampions (1992, 2004)
 AustraliaGroup H winners7thSemi-finals (2010, 2014, 2018)
 North KoreaGroup I winners12thChampions (2010, 2014)
 JapanGroup J winners16thChampions (1994, 2006, 2018)
 South KoreaGroup K winners15thChampions (1986, 2002)
 Yemen1st best runners-up6thRunners-up (2002)
 Indonesia2nd best runners-up7thFourth place (1990)
 Uzbekistan3rd best runners-up10thChampions (2012)
 Oman4th best runners-up11thChampions (1996, 2000)

Draw

The draw of the final tournament was held on 18 June 2020, 14:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur.[9][10] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship final tournament and qualification, with the hosts Bahrain automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Final Draw (prior to the tournament's cancellation)
Group A  Bahrain  North Korea  Iran  Qatar
Group B  Tajikistan  Oman  Yemen  United Arab Emirates
Group C  South Korea  Australia  India  Uzbekistan
Group D  Japan  Indonesia  Saudi Arabia  China

References

  1. 1 2 "Latest update on AFC Competitions in 2021". Asian Football Confederation. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  2. ↑ "Uzbekistan, Bahrain recommended as hosts for 2020 AFC U-19 & U-16 Championships". AFC. 17 September 2019.
  3. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2020". AFC. 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". AFC. 10 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Update on FIFA Women's World Cup and men's youth competitions". FIFA. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends changes to youth competitions". AFC. 26 November 2018.
  7. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". AFC. 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "High quality cast for Finals". AFC. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  9. ↑ "Stage set for 2020 AFC U-16 & U-19 Championship draws". AFC. 17 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Asia's future stars discover contenders for Bahrain 2020 challenge". AFC. 18 June 2020.
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