AFC Futsal Championship to be yearly event

20 March 2005

AFC - In an effort to boost the popularity of the game, the Asian Football Confederation will continue to host its Futsal Championship on a yearly basis until 2008. Member Associations will be invited to announce their intention to host the yearly event.

For 2006, the host is expected to be from the Central and South region, while the 2007 host will be from West Asia. In 2008, the Championship will be hosted in East Asia.

Format of competition for 2006:

Number of teams: 16 teams

Mode of Championship:

There will be two stages to the Championship. The first stage will be a preliminary / qualification tournament, leading to the Final Competition.

Qualification to the Final Competition

The top 8 futsal teams from the 2005 AFC Futsal Championship held in Vietnam (22 May – 4 June 2005) will qualify automatically to the 2006 championship.

The hosting Member Association will have automatic qualification.

The remaining seven teams will be decided from the preliminary / qualification tournament.