Saudi Arabia recommended as host of AFC U17 Asian Cup™ from 2026 to 2028
Jeddah: Saudi Arabia have been selected as the hosts of the next three editions of the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competitions Committee at its fourth meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia today.
09/05/2025 17:55:55
Following a comprehensive Bid Evaluation process as well as an overall risk assessment exercise, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) was selected by the Committee from among three bidders, which included the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the Iraqi Football Association.
The Committee noted that both the CFA and SAFF met the hosting requirements of the competition but also recognised the earlier decision by the AFC Women’s Football Committee to award the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup™ 2026 – 2028 to the CFA, and consequently agreed to award the men’s equivalent to the SAFF as part of efforts to ensure diversity and equity in the larger host selection process.
Ahead of the eagerly anticipated Final between Al Ahli Saudi FC and Kawasaki Frontale later today, Chairperson Dr Tran Quoc Tuan took the opportunity to wish both clubs the very best of success and applauded the SAFF and the Local Organising Committee on the exceptional organisation of the AFC Champions League Elite™ Finals Jeddah 2025.
The Committee also approved the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ 2026 Regulations, the AFC Equipment Regulations (Edition 2025) as well as amendments to the Competitions Regulations of the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2026, the AFC Champions League Two™ 2025/26 and the AFC Challenge League™ 2025/26, specifically addressing the provisions on concussion substitutions.
Furthermore, the amendments to the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 Competition Regulations, specifically the updated provisions to determine the final ranking of participating clubs in the event of withdrawals as well as the latest AFC Competitions Calendar 2026-2030, were also approved with a mandate given to make the necessary adjustments to the club competitions in the event it clashes with any FIFA competition (i.e. FIFA Arab Cup 2025).
Additionally, the Committee also noted the unprecedented circumstances and critical situation faced by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) in the lead up to the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ 2025 Qualifiers and recognised the LFA’s withdrawal from the competition as a case of force majeure.
All decisions need to be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee before taking effect and the latest Competition Regulations as well as the updated AFC Competitions Calendar 2026-2030 will be made available on the-AFC.com in due course.
Source: AFC
