Saudi Arabia is the host of the U17 Asian Cup for the period 2026-2028

Delegates attending the meeting. (Photo: AFC)

The decision was made after the AFC Competitions Committee comprehensively assessed the dossiers and organizational capacity of the three candidate federations: Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), Chinese Football Association (CFA) and Iraq Football Federation.

Accordingly, both SAFF and CFA fully met the standards for organizing the tournament. However, as CFA has been awarded the right to host the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup for the period 2026-2028, AFC decided to hand over the hosting rights of the men’s tournament to SAFF to ensure diversity, fairness and reasonable allocation among member federations.

Ahead of the AFC Champions League Elite 2025 final between Al Ahli Saudi FC and Kawasaki Frontale on May 3, Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan – in his capacity as Head of the AFC Competitions Committee, sent his best wishes to the two teams, and acknowledged and highly appreciated the tournament organization work of SAFF and the local organizing committee in Jeddah.

At the meeting, the AFC Competition Committee also approved many important contents such as: Regulations for organizing AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026, new version of AFC equipment regulations in 2025, adjusted competition regulations in AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026, AFC Champions League Two 2025/26 and AFC Challenge League 2025/26, in which special emphasis is placed on new regulations on substitution when there are signs of concussion - showing concern for player safety.

For AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26, new regulations on determining final rankings in case of withdrawal of teams were also approved, ensuring transparency and fairness in the organization process.

The AFC Competitions Committee also unanimously approved the 2026–2030 competition schedule, with a request for flexible adjustments to avoid overlapping with major international tournaments organized by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), such as the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup.

Another notable point is that the AFC agreed to exempt the Lebanese U17 team from disciplinary action after the country’s Football Federation was forced to withdraw from the 2025 AFC U17 Championship qualifiers due to security reasons. The decision demonstrates the spirit of humanity, while also reflecting the AFC’s sharing and flexibility in operations in the face of unforeseen circumstances.

Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper