AFC Women’s Asian Cup is all set to kickstart in India from 20th January 2022. The final match will be held on 6th February. Mumbai and Pune are the respective hosts to the 20th edition of the tournament. All the matches for the Women’s Asian Cup will be taking place at the Mumbai Football Arena and the Balewadi Stadium.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup: Teams
From this season, there’s an increase in the total number of teams playing in the tournament. It has been upgraded from eight to twelve. India has instinctively qualified to be the host to this edition. The other qualifiers are Japan, Australia, and China who came first, second and third sequentially in Asian Cup 2018.
The AFC Women’s Football Committee put forward India’s name as the host of this edition and the approval came in June 2020. This is the first time after 1979, that India will be hosting this tournament. It is also the first time, in the competition’s history, the expansion from eight to twelve teams has taken place.
Qualifying Stage for 2023 FIFA WC
The Asia Cup is the final stage to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, taking place in Newzealand and Australia. As the co-hosts, Australia has qualified already.
Five teams will have the scope to qualify directly through the knockout stage, which shall include playoffs. The other two teams will proceed to the inter-confederation play-offs.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup: Venues
Initially, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, and Navi Mumbai were announced as the host cities of the tournament. However, in July, this year, AFC’s revised announcement declared Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune as the hosts.
Squads
All the teams need to enter a squad with at least 18 members. The maximum is 23. Additionally, every team must have a minimum of 3 goalkeepers. The best two teams of every group and two of the three finest third-placed teams advance for the quarter-finals. An interesting tournament awaits us at the beginning of the coming year!
