Bahrain get tough group for futsal Asian Cup

TDT | Manama                                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain were yesterday drawn in a challenging group for the preliminary round of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 17 to 28 April in Bangkok.

The official draw took place yesterday at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur. Bahrain are in Group D along with Iran, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Group A features hosts Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and China; Group B includes Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Australia; and Group C is composed of defending champions Japan, Tajikistan, South Korea and Kyrgyzstan.

The top four finishers at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand 2024 will qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024, which will take place between September 14 and October 6 next year, marking the first time the global showpiece will be held in Central Asia.

Should Uzbekistan—who have already qualified for the World Cup as hosts—advance to the semi-finals, the four losing quarter-finalists will play off for the fourth ticket. Bahrain booked their seats in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024 after finishing as runners-up in their qualifying group, which was hosted by the Kingdom.

The nationals won two of their three assignments and have qualified for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup for only the fourth time in the tournament’s history. The nationals previously also played in the 2002, 2018 and 2022 tournaments, with their best finish in the 2018 event in Taiwan where they reached the quarter-finals. Next year’s event is Bahrain’s third successive appearance in the continental competition.