BANGKOK (5 Sept 2018) – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competitions Committee have recommended at their meeting in Tokyo that the AFC U23 Championship 2020 be hosted by the Football Association of Thailand.
The tournament, won by Uzbekistan when held in China PR this year, has added significance in 2020 as it will provide qualification for the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo in that year.
When it was held in Qatar in 2016, Japan came from behind in a thrilling final to beat Korea Republic and both countries were joined by third place Iraq at the Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro that year.
Japan will qualify as hosts in 2020 and they will be joined by three other teams from the AFC making the Confederation representation four – one more than in 2016.
The AFC Competitions Committee also decided that clubs involved in neutral matches must play all their ‘home’ matches at the same venue and that venue must be in a Member Association which does not have a team in the same group.
They also recommended that the host club shall have the right to nominate the neutral venue unless there are security or safety concerns surrounding the choice or that there are issues with the facilities at the chosen venue.
