TEHRAN – The race to qualify for the next edition of Asia’s most prestigious women’s national team football competition marked its latest milestone with 37 Member Associations (MAs) confirming their interest in competing in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026.
The Participating MAs will be aiming to clinch the eight available berths to join host Australia and the top three sides from the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 – defending champion China, runner-up Korea Republic and third-placed Japan – at the 2026 Continental showpiece, which will be held from March 1 to 21, 2026.
The 33 teams that have submitted their interest and are poised to participate in the qualifiers are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, DPR Korea, Guam, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Palestine, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers will see the teams battle in a group stage format across centralized venues from June 23 to July 5, 2025 with the host associations and draw mechanics to be determined and communicated in due course.