AlKass Digital
Jakarta, Indonesia- Former champions Qatar will be hoping to reclaim the AFC U-19 Championship trophy as the biennial event kicks off Thursday in Indonesia with 16 continental teams targeting title glory.?
Qatar won the 2014 edition held in Myanmar after defeating North Korea in the final and subsequently qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup staged in New Zealand the following year.
The 2014 triumph helped Qatar significantly in strengthening their pool of players as it unearthed stars like Akram Afif, who is now a key member of senior Qatar team. Afif scored the winning goal in Qatar's 2014 title win.
The Qatar U-19 team - under coach Bruno Miguel - has been preparing for the event for the last few months playing a series of friendlies.
Last week the Qatar squad reached Indonesia well in advance to acclimatise with the conditions.
The young Al Anabi brigade is undergoing intensive training in Indonesia ahead of their tomorrow's opening match against regional rivals UAE.
Qatar are placed in Group A along with the hosts and Chinese Taipei besides the UAE. The former champions will play their second match against Indonesia on October 21 before taking on Chinese Taipei in their final group game on October 24.
Japan will be defending the title as they won the previous tournament two years ago in Bahrain, thanks to a tense penalty shootout win against Saudi Arabia.
Hosts Indonesia will begin their bid for success against Chinese Taipei at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium tomorrow.
Japan, who sailed through their qualifiers, are in Group B alongside five-time champions Iraq, while Korea Republic find themselves in Group C from where they will look to add to the 12 titles they have won since the competition began in 1959.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will have Tajikistan, China PR and Malaysia for company in Group D as they seek to claim a third title.
Three stadiums will be used for this year's AFC U-19 Championship, namely the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta itself, the Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium which is to the east of Jakarta's metropolitan area and the Pakansari Stadium in Bogor located directly south of Indonesia's capital.
The quarter-finals of the tournament will be played on October 28 and 29 while the semi-finals are scheduled to be played on November 1. The final will be played on November 4.
Then known as the AFC Youth Championship, the competition burst into life some 59 years ago when Korea Republic claimed their first of 12 titles in 1959.
Played annually until 1978, it became known as the AFC U-19 Championship from 2008 and now appears on the footballing calendar every two years.
Besides Japan and Qatar, recent winners include: Korea Republic (2012), DPR Korea (2010) and the United Arab Emirates (2008).