VFF President presides over important AFC meeting: Selecting host for U.17 Asian Championship

According to the latest decision by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Saudi Arabia will host the AFC U-17 Championship finals in the 2026-2028 period.

On May 3rd, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competition Committee held its fourth meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, chaired by Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan – Member of the Standing Committee, Head of the AFC Competition Committee, and President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). At the meeting, the Competition Committee unanimously agreed to select Saudi Arabia as the host for the next three AFC U-17 Championship finals, from 2026 to 2028.

The decision was made after evaluating the nominations and overall risks from three candidates: the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the Chinese Football Association (CFA), and the Iraqi Football Association.

Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström

Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan (center, seated) presides over the meeting of the AFC Competition Committee.

PHOTO: VFF

The AFC Competitions Committee stated that both SAFF and CFA met the requirements to host the tournament. However, since CFA had already been awarded the right to host the 2026–2028 AFC U-17 Women's Championship, to ensure diversity and fairness in tournament allocation, the AFC decided to choose SAFF to host the corresponding men's tournament.

Also within the framework of the meeting, the AFC Competitions Committee approved several important items such as: Regulations for the 2026 AFC U-17 Championship, AFC Equipment Regulations (2025 version), amendments to the Competition Regulations for the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship, AFC Champions League Two 2025-2026 and AFC Challenge League 2025-2026 – especially new regulations on substitutions due to concussions.

Additionally, updates to the AFC Champions League Elite 2025-2026 Competition Regulations regarding how the final ranking is determined in the event of a team's withdrawal have also been approved.

The AFC schedule for the period 2026–2030 has also been approved, with the requirement for flexible adjustments to avoid scheduling conflicts with FIFA tournaments, such as the FIFA Arab Cup 2025.

Notably, the meeting also unanimously acknowledged the force majeure circumstances of the Lebanese Football Federation, as the country's U.17 national team was forced to withdraw from the 2025 U.17 Asian Championship qualifiers due to security concerns. The decision to waive disciplinary action in this case demonstrates flexibility and humane understanding from the AFC.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chu-tich-vff-chu-tri-cuoc-hop-quan-trong-cua-afc-chon-chu-nha-giai-u17-chau-a-185250503225325985.htm