WAFF U-23 Championship
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The WAFF U-23 Championship (Arabic:بطولة غرب آسيا لكرة القدم تحت 23 عام) is an annual international football competition organised by the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) for the men's under-23 national teams of West Asia.
Results
| Edition | Year | Host | Final | Third place playoff or losing semi-finalists | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||
| 1 | 2015 | Qatar | Iran | 2–0 Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha | Syria | Qatar | 3–0 Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha | Yemen | ||
| 2 | 2021 | Saudi Arabia | Jordan | 3–1 Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam | Saudi Arabia | Iraq and Syria | ||||
| 3 | 2022 | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | 3–1 King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah | Qatar | Syria | 1–0 King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah | Oman | ||
| 4 | 2023 | Iraq | Iraq | 1–1 (5–4 p) Al-Madina Stadium, Baghdad | Iran | Jordan and Oman | ||||
| 5 | 2024 | Saudi Arabia | South Korea | 2–2 (4–3 p) Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz | Australia | Saudi Arabia | 2–2 (4–2 p) Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz | Egypt | ||
| 6 | 2025 | Oman | Oman | 3–1 Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat | Jordan | Syria | 1–0 Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat | Bahrain |
Teams reaching the top four
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Semi-finalist | Total (Top 4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 1 (2022) | 1 (2021) | 1 (2024) | – | – | 3 |
| Iran | 1 (2015) | 1 (2023) | – | – | – | 2 |
| Oman | 1 (2025) | – | – | 1 (2022) | 1 (2023) | 3 |
| Jordan | 1 (2021) | 1 (2025) | – | – | 1 (2023) | 3 |
| Iraq | 1 (2023) | – | – | – | 1 (2021) | 2 |
| South Korea | 1 (2024) | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Syria | – | 1 (2015) | 2 (2022, 2025) | – | 1 (2021) | 4 |
| Qatar | – | 1 (2022) | 1 (2015) | – | – | 2 |
| Australia | – | 1 (2024) | – | – | – | 1 |
| Yemen | – | – | – | 1 (2015) | – | 1 |
| Egypt | – | – | – | 1 (2024) | – | 1 |
| Bahrain | – | – | – | 1 (2025) | – | 1 |
- Results from host teams shown in bold
Comprehensive team results by tournament
Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th – Fourth place
- SF – Semi-finals (no third place match)
- GS – Group stage
- Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
- • – Did not qualify
- × – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
- – Hosts
- No longer or not a WAFF member
For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.
| Team | 2015 Qatar (10) | 2021 Saudi Arabia (11) | 2022 Saudi Arabia (6) | 2023 Iraq (9) | 2024 Saudi Arabia (8) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2nd | 1 | ||||
| Bahrain | GS | GS | GS | × | × | 3 |
| Egypt | 4th | 1 | ||||
| Iran | 1st | 2nd | 2 | |||
| Iraq | × | SF | × | 1st | 6th | 3 |
| Jordan | GS | 1st | × | SF | 5th | 4 |
| Kuwait | × | GS | × | × | × | 1 |
| Lebanon | × | GS | GS | GS | × | 3 |
| Oman | GS | GS | 4th | SF | × | 4 |
| Palestine | GS | GS | × | GS | × | 3 |
| Qatar | 3rd | × | 2nd | × | × | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | GS | 2nd | 1st | × | 3rd | 4 |
| South Korea | 1st | 1 | ||||
| Syria | 2nd | SF | 3rd | GS | × | 4 |
| Thailand | 7th | 1 | ||||
| United Arab Emirates | GS | GS | × | GS | 8th | 4 |
| Yemen | 4th | GS | × | GS | × | 3 |
Awards
| Tournament | Most Valuable Player | Top goalscorer(s) | Goals | Best goalkeeper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Iran Amir Arsalan Motahari | Qatar Akram Afif | 4 | Iran Mohammad Reza Akhbari |
| 2021 | Jordan Yazan Al-Naimat | Jordan Mohammad Aburiziq | Saudi Arabia Nawaf Al-Aqidi | |
| 2022 | Saudi Arabia Ahmed Al-Ghamdi | Oman Al Faraj Al Kiyumi Oman Nasser Al Rawahi Saudi Arabia Ahmed Al-Ghamdi Saudi Arabia Ziyad Al-Johani Saudi Arabia Mohammed Maran Syria Mohamad Rihanieh | 2 | Syria Waseem Ayoub |
| 2023 | Iraq Muntadher Mohammed | Iraq Hussein Abdullah | 3 | Iraq Kumel Al-Rekabe |
Winning coaches
| Year | Team | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Iran | Iran Mohammad Khakpour |
| 2021 | Jordan | Jordan Ahmad Hayel |
| 2022 | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia Saad Al-Shehri |
| 2023 | Iraq | Iraq Radhi Shenaishil |
| 2024 | South Korea | South Korea Myung Jae-yong |
Overall team records
Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.
As of 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan | 4 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 27 |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 4 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 24 |
| 3 | Syria | 4 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 20 | –2 | 19 |
| 4 | Iran | 2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 16 |
| 5 | Iraq | 3 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 16 |
| 6 | Qatar | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 15 |
| 7 | Oman | 4 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 13 |
| 8 | Palestine | 3 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | –1 | 13 |
| 9 | Yemen | 3 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 16 | –6 | 11 |
| 10 | South Korea | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 |
| 11 | United Arab Emirates | 4 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 16 | –6 | 7 |
| 12 | Bahrain | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 15 | –9 | 6 |
| 13 | Australia | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 5 |
| 14 | Egypt | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 |
| 15 | Thailand | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | –6 | 3 |
| 16 | Kuwait | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –1 | 2 |
| 17 | Lebanon | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 17 | –10 | 2 |