KATHMANDU, April 21: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has unveiled the draw for upcoming qualifiers of AFC U-16 Championship 2018 and AFC U-19 Championship 2018 scheduled for September 16 to 24 and October 31 to November 8 respectively.
Nepal which has been chosen as the host of Group D of AFC U-16 qualifiers will take on defending champion Iraq, India and Palestine. All the group matches will be played at ANFA Complex, Satdobato.
Similarly, Nepal has been drawn alongside host Kyrgyz Republic, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman in Group A of the AFC U-19 qualifiers.
A total of 45 nations from the continent have been divided into 10 groups during the draw for the AFC U-16 qualifiers held at AFC House, Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Altogether ten group winners and five best runners-up will advance to the finals.
Similarly, if the host of the final tops its group or is among the five best runners-up, the sixth best runner-up also qualifies for the final.
Likewise, 43 nations have been divided into 10 groups in AFC U19 draw held on the same day. The top ten teams from the 10 groups alongside five best runners-up will join the host of the championship in the final rounds.
However, the hosts of the both U-16 and U-19 championships are yet to be revealed.
Meanwhile, the continental football governing body has also released the fixtures of the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers scheduled for July 19 to 23. Nepal which is pitted in Group D will start its qualifying campaign taking on host UAE on July 19. Two days later, Nepal will compete with Uzbekistan before facing Lebanon on July 23 in the last match.
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