Saudi Arabia to host 2025 Asian Cup draw

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is preparing to conduct the draw for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia, on January 23 at the AFC headquarters in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. The tournament, scheduled to be held from April 3 to 20, will see the participation of 16 teams, including the host Saudi Arabia, which is organizing the tournament for the second time in its history after the 1992 edition. The tournament includes strong teams, including Japan, the title holder, in addition to 12 teams that returned to participate after appearing in the previous edition in 2023, reflecting a high level of competitiveness. The eight teams that reach the quarter-finals will also secure their qualification for the U-17 World Cup, which will be hosted by Qatar in 2025. The participating teams are classified into four pots based on their results in the past three editions (2016, 2018, 2023), as the pots include teams such as Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, and Iran in the first level, which increases expectations of strong and exciting confrontations in this edition.