JAKARTA (13 April 2012) – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have chosen the isle of Riau in Indonesia to host Group E of the qualifying round of the inaugural Under-22 Asian Cup. The two venues for the qualifiers are the Riau Main Stadium in Pekanbaru and also Kaharuddin Nasution Stadium in Rumbai.
Indonesia are in Group E against powerhouses Australia and Japan as well as Singapore, Timor and Macau. The qualifying round will take place from 23 June to 3 July 2012.
“We got the confirmation from the AFC this week and their team will visit Riau next week to inspect the stadiums there,” said Tri Goestoro, the secretary general of the FA of Indonesia (PSSI).
“The announcement shows that the AFC have confidence in the PSSI to host such a big event.”
At the same time too, the AFC also appointed Oman to host Group A, Laos for Group F (Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, Hong Kong Laos and Thailand), and Myanmar for Group G (Chinese Taipei, Korea Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam).
The remaining hosts for Groups B, C, and D have yet to be decided. Brunei are the only team from ASEAN not taking part.
Two top finishers in each group will qualify for the finals that will be staged in June 2013 in a country that has yet to be determined.
AFC UNDER-22 ASIAN CUP QUALIFIERS
GROUP E: Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Timor and Macau
GROUP F: Laos, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand
GROUP G: Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, Korea Republic, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam
