AFC U-17 dates changed

KUALA LUMPUR - The Asian Football Confederation have brought forward the dates of the AFC U-17 Championship, to be held in Singapore later this year.

Originally scheduled for September 6-21, the final rounds of the tournament will now begin on Saturday, September 2 and conclude with the final on Saturday, September 16.

According to the AFC, the decision to change the dates was taken by its Competitions Committee to ensure that the tournament begins and ends on a weekend.

Fourteen of the 16 spots in the final rounds have already been decided with hosts Singapore to be joined by Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Nepal, Tajikistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Japan, China and DPR Korea.

One of the remaining spots in the final will be decided later this week when Qualifying Group I matches involving Australia, Indonesia and Laos take place in Vietiane. The last qualifier will be the winner of a playoff between Korea Republic and a team from the ASEAN region.

The AFC U-17 Championship is a qualifying competition for next year’s FIFA U-17 World Championship. The top three teams at the last AFC U-17s – China, DPR Korea and Qatar – competed at the 2005 FIFA U-17s in Peru.