DILI (20 March 2016) – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has released details of the official draws for the next phase of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, as well as the final stages of the AFC’s U-16 and U-19 Championships in India and Bahrain respectively.
First on the agenda is the April 7 draw at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Play-off, which will be played among the eleven lowest ranked Member Associations of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2.
A mere five days later, attention turns to the Mandarin Oriental hotel in the Malaysian capital when the eyes of the world will be on the draw for the final round of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Qualifiers. In total, 12 teams will be involved in the proceedings, namely the eight group winners and the four best second-placed teams from the currently on-going qualification process.
Bahrain will then host the final draw for the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 on April 30 in Manama, with some 16 teams set to learn their fate.
A further 16 sides from across Asia are then involved in May 4 for the final draw for the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 extravaganza in Goa, India.
In addition, the final draw for the AFC Futsal Club Championship 2016 will also be held in May, which the final draws for both the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 and the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 are set to take place on April 14 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil.
THE DRAWS IN BRIEF:
AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Play-off = April 7, 2016
2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Qualifiers Final Round = April 12, 2016
Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 = April 14, 2016
Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 = April 14, 2016
AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 Final Draw = April 30, 2016
AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 Final Draw = May, 2016
AFC Futsal Club Championship 2016 Final Draw = May, 2016
