2020 AFC U-16 Championship

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]

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 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
Main article: 2020 AFC U-16 Championship 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. "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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