ACFutsal Draw to Unveil Indonesia 2026 Qualifiers Journey

Kuala Lumpur: The road to the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Indonesia 2026 will be revealed on Thursday when the official Qualifiers draw ceremony takes place at 3 pm at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 31 teams, including the UAE, have confirmed their participation in the 11th Qualifiers, which will take place between 20th to 24th September. The draw will divide them into eight groups-seven groups of four and one group of three-with each to be played in a centralised league format. According to Emirates News Agency, staging the Continental showpiece for a second time following their first in 2002, Indonesia have qualified automatically and will be joined by 15 sides-the eight group winners and the seven best-ranked runners-up from the Qualifiers-at the 18th edition of the Finals, which is scheduled to commence next January. Bangladesh and Pakistan are set to make their Qualifiers debuts, while the quartet of Iran, Japan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan will aim to maintain their record of appearing at ev ery edition to date. For the first time, the seeding for the draw will be based on the latest FIFA Futsal Men's World Ranking. The cast will be split into four pots, along with an additional Hosts Pot. The pot allocations, based on the FIFA rankings as of 4th April, are as follows: Pot 1 includes Iran, Thailand, Japan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Iraq. Pot 2 comprises Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, and Malaysia. Pot 3 consists of China PR, Chinese Taipei, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Mongolia, and Macau. Pot 4 features Hong Kong, China, Brunei, Palestine, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The Hosts Pot includes Thailand, Kuwait, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and China PR.