2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup
| 2028年AFC U23アジアカップ | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Japan |
| Dates | TBA |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
← 2026 2032 → | |
The 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup is the upcoming 8th edition of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. A total of 16 teams played in the final tournament. Players born on or after 1 January 2005 are eligible to participate.
The tournament will take place in January or in April 2028 and will be hosted by Japan, which secured the hosting rights on 30 July 2026, following a competitive bidding process that included submissions from Jordan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Qatar, and Uzbekistan as well as the United Arab Emirates, who subsequently withdrew earlier.[1]
The tournament will act as the AFC qualifiers for the men's football tournament at the 2028 Summer Olympics in the United States. Only the teams in the tournament finals will qualify for the Olympics as AFC representatives. A total of 16 teams will compete in the tournament.
Host selection
Japan was selected as the host for this competition by the Asian Football Confederation Competitions Committee on 30 July 2026.[2] This marked the first time that Japan was hosting this competition.
Qualification
Qualification matches will be played between 7 June to 15 June 2027.[3]
Qualified teams
The following teams qualified for the 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
| Team | Qualification method | Date of qualification | Appearance(s) | Previous best performance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | First | Last | ||||
 Japan |
Hosts | 30 July 2026 | 7th |
Champions (2016, 2024, 2026) | ||
Venues
To be confirmed.
Draw
| 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup – Draw |
The draw will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2027.
The 16 teams will be placed into four groups of four teams, with seeding based on their performance in the previous three editions of the tournament (2022, 2024, and 2026). As hosts, Japan are ranked as the top seeded team.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 2005 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team will register a squad of 18 to 23 players, including a minimum of three goalkeepers (Regulations Article 26.3).
Broadcasting rights
| Territory | Rights holder | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Japan |
||
 United States |
CBS SPORTS | |
 India |
FanCode | |
 Thailand |
BG SPORTS | |
 Vietnam |
TV360 |
See also
- 2028 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (AFC qualifiers for the 2028 Summer Olympics women's football tournament)
References
- ↑ "Japan to host AFC U23 Asian Cup 2028™". the-afc.com. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Japan to host AFC U23 Asian Cup 2028". the-AFC. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "Asian Football Calendar (July 2026 – June 2027)". the-afc.com. 10 July 2026. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
External links
- AFC U-23 Asian Cup, the-AFC.com