Hosts Qatar drawn with Australia for AFC U-23 Asian Cup

The final draw for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 took place in Doha yesterday. Sixteen teams from across Asia were drawn into four groups. The tournament will take place between April 15 to May 3, 2024, with the top three teams qualifying to the men’s football tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, while the fourth-placed team will participate in a Play-off against an opponent from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for a chance to compete at the Olympics.In Group A, hosts Qatar will face Australia, Jordan and this year’s only debutants Indonesia. Group B brings together Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and China. In Group C, there is Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Thailand and Tajikistan. Group D includes Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kuwait and Malaysia. This will be the 6th edition of the biennial competition. Iraq, Japan, Uzbekistan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia claimed the first five iterations of the competition.For Jassim al-Jassim, CEO of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Local Organising Committee (LOC), this tournament will showcase Asia’s next generation of footballers as they compete for a place on the world stage at next year’s Summer Olympics. "Being able to host Asia’s best young talent is an exciting prospect for Qatar, and for the continent. Not only does this tournament give countries the chance to build strong football foundations, but it also acts as an important milestone for young players looking to make their mark on the international stage,” he said.Al-Jassim added: "Qatar has established as a global destination for sporting events, and will be an ideal host for a competition of this nature especially in that it will come only a few months after the AFC Asian Cup, and just over a year after a successful FIFA World Cup in 2022. It proves, once again, that Qatar is a go-to destination for major sporting events.”The AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will be played for the first time on FIFA World Cup stadiums, and will take advantage of Qatar’s modern footballing infrastructure, most notably the country’s compact nature.