AIPS ASIA News:

The quest for glory in the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup™ China 2025 kicks off on Tuesday, May 6 as the highly anticipated competition returns for a third edition.
 
Six years after the previous tournament in 2018, 12 contenders will assemble in Hohhot to vie for the crown. The eventual top three teams will claim the three available berths at the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, to be hosted by the Philippines – who have automatically qualified – in November.
 
Nine teams progressed from the first ever Qualifiers in January to join hosts China PR and 2018’s top two, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Japan, in the Green City. Two sides are gearing up for their competition debuts, namely Australia and the Philippines, while IR Iran will gun for a third crown in as many editions.
 
The Hohhot Sports Centre will stage all 26 matches, starting with the Group A clash at 5pm between Uzbekistan (FIFA Rank: 18) and Chinese Taipei (25). Making their third appearance, Uzbekistan reached the last eight in 2018 and have emerged as the runners-up in all three editions of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Women’s Futsal Championship to date. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei reached the Quarter-finals on their debut in 2018 and will eye an improvement here.
 
In the evening at 8pm, first-time hosts China PR (26) will mark their third involvement as the 2018 Quarter-finalists commence their campaign against Australia (unranked), who enjoyed an impressive Asian debut by winning all four games in the Qualifiers.
 
The exciting court action continues the next morning on May 7 when reigning champions IR Iran (9) take on the Philippines (59) at 11am in the opening match of Group B. The Central Asians have won each of their 10 matches in tournament history and come up against an opponent eager to impress ahead of a historic World Cup on home soil.
 
The second pair in Group B will face off at 5pm, where both Vietnam (11) and Hong Kong, China (31) will make their third appearances. The Southeast Asians achieved their best ever finish of fourth in 2018 and head into this campaign as champions of the inaugural ASEAN Women’s Futsal Championship in 2024, while they have finished as runners-up at all five Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to date. The East Asians, meanwhile, are aiming to reach the Knockout Stage for the first time.
 
In the afternoon at 2pm, Group C gets underway with a clash between Thailand (6) and Bahrain (36). Third at each of the previous editions, the Thais are the highest-ranked side in Asia and five-time SEA Games champions. Their opponents, who return for a second time after making their debut in 2018, finished third at the last two West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Women’s Futsal Championships.
 
The first Matchday concludes with the second Group C showdown at 8pm, which features two-time runners-up Japan (10) and Indonesia (24), who made it to the last eight on their debut in 2018.

Courtesy AFC