28 teams were drawn across eight groups during the virtual draw of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers that took place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
The first four groups consist of four teams each, while the remaining four groups will see three teams competing against each other. The AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers will be held from 13-25 September 2021 with one team from each group hosting the event.
The winners of each group will make it to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which will see 12 teams taking part in the grand event. Four teams have qualified for the final round of the league, which includes hosts India, defending champions Japan, runners-up Australia and third-placed China.
The top three teams from the 2018 edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup alongside hosts India made it to the Asian Cup without competing in the Qualifiers.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup will kickstart on January 20 next year, with the grand finale scheduled to be held on February 6.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 Qualifiers Groups
Three-time champions Chinese Taipei will play host to the Group A games, which will see Bahrain, Turkmenistan and Laos compete alongside them for the top spot.
Tajikistan will host Vietnam, Maldives and Afghanistan in the Group B fixtures while Indonesia will host three-time winners DPR Korea, Singapore and Iraq in the Group C matches.
The United Arab Emirates, Guam, Lebanon and Myanmar from Group D will battle out in Myanmar for the sole spot available in the Finals.
Uzbekistan, Nepal & Bangladesh will host the Group E, F & G matches. The host for Group H, however, is yet to be decided.
Here is the full list of groups and the teams competing in each of them:
Group A: Chinese Taipei (H), Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Laos.
Group B: Vietnam, Tajikistan (H), Maldives, Afghanistan.
Group C: DPR Korea, Singapore, Iraq, Indonesia (H).
Group D: Myanmar (H), United Arab Emirates, Guam, Lebanon.
Group E: Korea Republic, Uzbekistan (H), Mongolia.
Group F: Philippines, Hong Kong, Nepal (H).
Group G: Jordan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Bangladesh (H).
Group H: Thailand, Palestine, Malaysia.
(H - Host)