October 1 – A record 29 teams will enter qualification for the 2027 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup next week, with eight places in the finals in China up for grabs.
The qualification field is the largest in the history of the competition, surpassing the previous record of 28 teams, before the COVID in 2019.
The 29 teams have been divided into eight groups, with only the group winners progressing. They will join defending champions Korea DPR, Japan, Australia and hosts China, who qualified automatically after reaching the semi-finals of the 2026 edition.
Bhutan is the new name in the field and will become the 38th different nation to take part in the qualifiers when they take on Thailand in Chonburi.
They are among a bloated group trying to reach the finals for the first time: Cambodia, Iraq, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates and Macau are also chasing maiden appearances.
At the other end of the scale, Korea Republic have won all nine qualifiers they have played and started against the United Arab Emirates in Tajikistan, while Thailand have never missed a final and started at home against Bhutan.
Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Tajikistan and Thailand are the eight hosts of the centralized qualifying groups.
There has already been a change in format, with Iran pulling out of Group C, so the qualifiers are one short of that good number of 30. That leaves Chinese Taipei, Cambodia and hosts Laos, fighting for a single qualifying spot with better odds in Vientiane.
Other stories in the qualifiers will be Chinese Taipei’s quest for back-to-back finals appearances, Lebanon looking for an immediate return after debuting in 2026, while the Philippines are chasing a third finals appearance after also making it last time.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)
