January 16 – After a four-break due to the covid-forced cancellation of the 2021 championship, elite national team beach soccer is returning to Asia with the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup Thailand 2023.
The draw for the 16 team finals will be held later this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at AFC headquarters. The competition will be played March 16 – 26, in Pattaya.
On the line will not just be the AFC title but qualification for the 2023 Beach Soccer World Cup to be played in Dubai, UAE, in November-December.
The AFC has three qualification slots for the world finals. They will be taken by the two finalists from the Thailand championship, and the winner of the third placed play-off.
For the draw this week the AFC has seeded teams into four pots determined by the final ranking of the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019.
Hosts Thailand are the top seed, with three-time champions Japan and two-time winners United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the second and third places respectively, followed by Oman in the fourth place and Palestine in the fifth.
Japan are the current champions, having beaten the UAE on penalties in the final in 2019, while Oman beat Palestine (also on penalties) in the third placed play off.
Country Pots:
Pot 1: Thailand, Japan, UAE, Oman
Pot 2: Palestine, Lebanon, Islamic Republic of Iran, Bahrain
Pot 3: Malaysia, China PR, Kuwait, Afghanistan
Pot 4: Kyrgyz Republic, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
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