Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has introduced the championship as a new age-group competition. The host Nepal will take on Bhutan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the Group C qualifiers. Uzbekistan and the Maldives were also in the same group but pulled out of the tournament at the last moment.[break]
According to All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) President and AFC Vice-president Ganesh Thapa, all the participating nations have been divided into eight groups for the qualifiers. Winners of all the groups will qualify for the final rounds of the championship.
ANFA has appointed Bal Gopal Maharjan, Sunil Kumar Shrestha and Mrigendra Mishra as the coaches of the Nepali U-14 team. ANFA had announced a 20-member youth team on Saturday. Nepal will take on Afghanistan in the opening match of the qualifying round.
According to ANFA, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday evening while Bhutan is arriving on Monday.
Related story
Nepal to host AFC U-16 qualifiers
