The AFC U-17 Asian Cup, formerly known as the AFC U-16 Championship and AFC U-17 Championship, is a football competition, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held once every two years for Asian under-17 teams that also serves as a qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The top 8 countries qualify to participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Up to 2000, the tournament was for U-16 teams. Between 2002 and 2006 it was held as an under-17 tournament. Between 2008 and 2020, it was switched back to a U-16 Championship. The AFC then returned it to an under-17 tournament starting from 2023. Moreover, the tournament would also be rebranded from the "AFC U-16 Championship" to the "AFC U-17 Asian Cup".

On 24 May 2024, AFC announced that the tournament will be held annually from 2026.

Results

Tournament names

  • 1985–2000: AFC U-16 Championship
  • 2002–2006: AFC U-17 Championship
  • 2008–2020: AFC U-16 Championship
  • 2023–present: AFC U-17 Asian Cup
ChampionsScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth place
EditionYearHostFinalThird place matchNumber of teams
11985QatarSaudi Arabia0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)QatarIraq1–0Thailand7
21986South Korea0–0 (5–4 p)QatarSaudi Arabia2–0North Korea8
31988ThailandSaudi Arabia2–0BahrainChina1–1 (4–3 p)Iraq10
41990United Arab EmiratesQatar2–0United Arab EmiratesChina5–0Indonesia7
51992Saudi ArabiaChina2–2 (a.e.t.) (8–7 p)QatarSaudi Arabia2–1North Korea8
61994QatarJapan1–0 (a.e.t.)QatarOman3–2Bahrain10
71996ThailandOman1–0ThailandBahrain0–0 (4–1 p)Japan10
81998QatarThailand1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p)QatarBahrain5–1South Korea10
92000VietnamOman1–0IranJapan4–2Vietnam10
102002United Arab EmiratesSouth Korea1–1 (5–3 p)YemenChina1–0Uzbekistan12
112004JapanChina1–0North KoreaQatar2–1Iran16
122006SingaporeJapan4–2 (a.e.t.)North KoreaTajikistan3–3 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)Syria15
EditionYearHostFinalLosing semi-finalists1
ChampionsScoreRunners-up
132008UzbekistanIran2–1South KoreaJapan and United Arab Emirates16
142010North Korea2–0UzbekistanAustralia and Japan16
152012IranUzbekistan1–1 (3–1 p)JapanIran and Iraq16
162014ThailandNorth Korea2–1South KoreaAustralia and Syria16
172016IndiaIraq0–0 (4–3 p)IranJapan and North Korea16
182018MalaysiaJapan1–0TajikistanAustralia and South Korea16
—2020BahrainCancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
192023ThailandJapan3–0South KoreaIran and Uzbekistan16
202025Saudi ArabiaUzbekistan2–0Saudi ArabiaNorth Korea and South Korea16
21202616
222027
232028

Notes

  • 1 No third-place match was played.

Most successful national teams

TeamChampionsRunners-upThird placeFourth placeSemi-finalistsTotal
Japan4 (1994, 2006, 2018, 2023)1 (2012)1 (2000)1 (1996)3 (2008, 2010, 2016)10
South Korea2 (1986, 2002)3 (2008, 2014, 2023)—1 (1998)2 (2018, 2025)8
North Korea2 (2010, 2014)2 (2004, 2006)—2 (1986, 1992)2 (2016, 2025)8
Saudi Arabia2 (1985, 1988)1 (2025)2 (1986, 1992)——6
Uzbekistan2 (2012, 2025)1 (2010)—1 (2002)1 (2023)5
China2 (1992, 2004)—3 (1988, 1990, 2002)——5
Oman2 (1996, 2000)—1 (1994)——3
Qatar1 (1990)5 (1985, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1998)1 (2004)——7
Iran1 (2008)2 (2000, 2016)—1 (2004)2 (2012, 2023)6
Thailand1 (1998)1 (1996)—1 (1985)—3
Iraq1 (2016)—1 (1985)1 (1988)1 (2012)4
Bahrain—1 (1988)2 (1996, 1998)1 (1994)—4
Tajikistan—1 (2018)1 (2006)——2
United Arab Emirates—1 (1990)——1 (2008)2
Yemen—1 (2002)———1
Syria———1 (2006)1 (2014)2
Indonesia———1 (1990)—1
Vietnam———1 (2000)—1
Australia————3 (2010, 2014, 2018)3
Total (20 editions)202012121680

Note:

  • Results as hosts in bold.

Awards

TournamentBest playerTop goal scorerGoalsFair play award
2002 United Arab EmiratesSouth Korea national under-17 football team Cha Gi-sukUnknownSouth Korea
2004 JapanChina national under-17 football team Dalei WangQatar national under-17 football team Yusef Ahmed7Unknown
2006 SingaporeJapan national under-17 football team Yoichiro KakitaniSyria national under-17 football team Mohamad Jaafar6Japan
2008 UzbekistanSouth Korea national under-17 football team Lee Jong-hoIran national under-17 football team Kaveh Rezaei6South Korea
2010 UzbekistanUzbekistan national under-17 football team Timur KhakimovUzbekistan national under-17 football team Timur Khakimov5Not awarded
2012 IranJapan national under-17 football team Taro SugimotoSouth Korea national under-17 football team Hwang Hee-chan5Not awarded
2014 ThailandSouth Korea national under-17 football team Lee Seung-wooSouth Korea national under-17 football team Lee Seung-woo5South Korea
2016 IndiaIraq national under-17 football team Mohammed DawoodIraq national under-17 football team Mohammed Dawood6Iraq
2018 MalaysiaJapan national under-17 football team Jun NishikawaMalaysia national under-17 football team Luqman Hakim5Japan
2023 ThailandJapan national under-17 football team Gaku NawataJapan national under-17 football team Gaku Nawata5Japan
2025 Saudi ArabiaUzbekistan national under-17 football team Sadriddin KhasanovUzbekistan national under-17 football team Asilbek Aliev5Saudi Arabia

Participating nations

Legend:

  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • SF – Semi-finalists
  • QF – Quarter-finals
  • GS – Group stage
  • Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
  • DQ – Disqualified
  • •• – Qualified but withdrew
  • • – Did not qualify
  • × – Did not enter
  • × – Withdrew / Banned / Entry not accepted by FIFA
  • XX — Country not affiliated to AFC at that time
  • XX — Country did not exist or national team was inactive
  • – Hosts
  • – Not affiliated to FIFA
Nation19851986198819901992199419961998200020022004200620082010201220142016201820232025Total
Afghanistan×××××××××ו×וDQ••GSGSGS3
Australia•QFSFQFSFGSSFQFGS8
Bahrain•GS2nd•GS4th3rd3rd••••GS•••••••7
Bangladesh×GS••GS••GSGS×GSGSDQ••×••••6
ChinaGS•3rd3rd1stGSGS•GS3rd1stQFGSGSGSGS••GSGS16
Hong Kongו••×••••••••••GS••••1
India•••GS••GS••QFGS•GS•GS•GSQFGS•9
Indonesia×GSGS4th••••••••GSGS••×QF•QF7
Iranו••••GSGS2nd×4thQF1stGSSFQF2ndGSSFGS13
Iraq3rd•4th××GS×GS••QFGSDQQFSF•1stGS••10
JapanGS•GSו1st4thGS3rdGSGS1stSFSF2ndQFSF1st1stQF17
Jordanו•GS•••••••••QFו•GS••3
Kuwait•••••••••GS•QF••GSQFGS×ו•5
Kyrgyzstan×ו••••DQ•••GS•••1
Laos×××××ו•••GSDQ••GS•••GS•3
Malaysiaו••••×•••GS•GS••QFGSGSGS•6
Myanmar×GS××××וGSGS•GSו••••••4
Nepal•×•••×וGSוGS•••GSו••3
North Korea×4thGS•4th••GSו2nd2ndDQ1stGS1stSFQF×SF12
Omanו••×3rd1stGS1st×QF••GSGSGSQFQF•GS11
Pakistan×××ו×ו•GSו••••××××1
Qatar2nd2ndGS1st2nd2nd•2nd•QF3rd••••GS••GS•11
Saudi Arabia1st3rd1st••3rdGS•••••QFQF•GSGSGS•QF2nd12
Singapore•••••••••••GSGS•••••••2
South Korea•1stGSGS•GSGS4th•1stQFQF2nd•QF2ndGSSF2ndSF16
South YemenGS••1
Syria•××××××××QF×4thQFQFQFSF••••6
Tajikistan×ו•×•3rdDQGS•••2ndGSQF5
Thailand4th•GS•GS•2nd1stGS×GS•••GSGSGSGSQFGS13
Timor-Leste×××GS•×••××1
Turkmenistan×ו••••GS•×••×••1
United Arab Emirates•••2ndGSGS•••QF••SFQF••QFוQF8
UzbekistanGSGS••4thGS•QF2nd1stQFQF•SF1st11
Vietnam××××××××4thGSGSGS•GS••QFGSGSGS9
Yemenו••××2nd•GSDQ•GS•GSGSQFGS7

Teams not yet to qualify : Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Lebanon, Maldives, Macau, Mongolia, Palestine, Philippines, Sri Lanka

Summary (1985–2025)

RankTeamPartMWDLGFGAGDPoints
1Japan178049131819792+105160
2South Korea167441141916077+83137
3Iran135930111811167+44101
4China166528172011385+28101
5Qatar11492712108247+3593
6North Korea12582416189572+2388
7Saudi Arabia13542510199058+3285
8Uzbekistan11522510179196−585
9Oman1146207197968+1167
10Iraq1044199166149+1266
11Australia833184116652+1458
12Thailand1350177267184−1358
13Bahrain733138125346+747
14United Arab Emirates831119115152–142
15Syria62710983933+639
16Yemen82786133239−730
17Tajikistan5227782845−1728
18Vietnam93168173571−3626
19India93067173668−3225
20Indonesia82555152359−3620
21Malaysia61952122141−2017
22Kuwait62243152850−2215
23Bangladesh62033141659−4312
24Myanmar4122281236−248
25Jordan310145823−157
26Laos392071125−146
27Nepal310127631−255
28Kyrgyzstan13102211−93
29Afghanistan39108434−303
30South Yemen1302145−12
31Singapore26024318−152
32Pakistan1301226−41
33Hong Kong1300306−60
34Timor-Leste1300319−80
35Turkmenistan13003112−110

Men's U-17 World Cup qualifiers

Legend

  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarter-finals
  • R2 – Round 2
  • GS – Group stage
  • – Hosts
  • – Not affiliated to AFC
  • Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
TeamChina 1985Canada 1987Scotland 1989Italy 1991Japan 1993Ecuador 1995Egypt 1997New Zealand 1999Trinidad and Tobago 2001Finland 2003Peru 2005South Korea 2007Nigeria 2009Mexico 2011United Arab Emirates 2013Chile 2015India 2017Brazil 2019Indonesia 2023Qatar 2025Total
AustraliaOFC memberR2R2R23
Bahrain4thGS2
ChinaQFGSGSGSGSQF6
IndiaGS1
IndonesiaGSQ2
IranGSR2R2QFR25
IraqGSR22
JapanQFGSGSGSGSQFR2R2R2R2Q11
North KoreaQFR2GSR2GSQ6
Oman4thQFGS3
QatarGSQF4thGSGSQFGSQ8
Saudi ArabiaQFGS1stQ4
South KoreaQFGSGSQFR2QFGSQ8
SyriaR2GS2
TajikistanPart of Soviet UnionR2GSQ3
ThailandGSGS2
United Arab EmiratesGSR2GSQ4
UzbekistanPart of Soviet UnionQFR2QFQ4
YemenGS1

See also

Sources

  • Garin, Erik; Stokkermans, Karel. . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.

External links