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2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup
International football competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup will be the 21st edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women's national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
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Australia was officially ratified as the host nation by the AFC Women's Football Committee on 15 May 2024.[1]
The final tournament will serve as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. This will be the last time the qualifications will be linked, as a standalone qualifier for the FIFA Women's World Cup will be held starting from the 2031 edition onwards. For the first time, the final tournament will also serve as the penultimate stage of Asian qualification for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with all eight quarter-finalists qualifying for the 2028 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[2]
China are the defending champions.
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Host selection
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The following four football associations submitted their interest to host the tournament by the 31 July 2022 deadline.[3] Australia was selected as the host nation by the AFC Women's Football Committee on 15 March 2024 following the withdrawals of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.[4]
Australia – Australia submitted its interest in hosting the tournament also on 31 July. The country has previously hosted the 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup, where they finished runners-up. Australia also hosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup alongside New Zealand, which is the first FIFA Women's World Cup to be hosted by two nations. The country also hosted the Men's 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Cancelled bids
Jordan – Jordan previously hosted the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, where they finished bottom of the group stage. Jordan also hosted the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the first in an Arab country.
Saudi Arabia – On 21 April 2022, Saudi Arabia submitted its bid in hosting the tournament. Saudi Arabia has never hosted any major women's football tournament, although it hosted the men's FIFA Confederations Cup from 1992 to 1997 and will host the men's Asian Cup in 2027.[5] On 2 December, the Saudi delegation submitted its bid to host the 2026 edition.[6] On 23 February 2024, Saudi Arabia withdrew their bid.[7]
Uzbekistan – The Central Asian nation submitted its interest on 21 April 2022. The country had never hosted a major women's football tournament before, though it has played in the women's Asian Cup five times. The country has hosted various men's youth competitions, such as the 2008 and 2010 AFC U-16 Championships, the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup and the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup. On 23 February 2024, Uzbekistan withdrew their bid.[7] The AFC ultimately awarded Uzbekistan the 2029 Women's Asian Cup hosting rights, as the sole bidder.[1]
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Qualification
The host country Australia qualified automatically, along with the top three teams from the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.[8]
Qualified teams
The following twelve teams qualified for the tournament:
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Venues
Games will be held in venues across New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.[9] The five selected venues were officially recommended for formal ratification by the AFC on 12 November 2024.[10]
On 27 February 2025, one year before the start of the tournament, Football Australia confirmed the opening game would be held at Perth Stadium, and final held at Stadium Australia.[11]
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Draw
For the first time in the tournament's history, seeding will be based on the latest FIFA Women's World Ranking at the time of the draw. Previously, the teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous final tournament and qualification rankings.[12]
Group stage
Group A
First match(es) will be played: 1 March 2026. Source: AFC
Group B
First match(es) will be played: 3 March 2026. Source: AFC
Group C
First match(es) will be played: 4 March 2026. Source: AFC
Ranking of third-place teams
First match(es) will be played: 1 March 2026. Source: AFC
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Knockout round
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Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 14 March 2026 – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Group A Winner | ||||||||||
| 18 March 2026 – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Group B/C Third Place | ||||||||||
| Quarter final 1 Winner | ||||||||||
| 15 March 2026 – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Quarter final 3 Winner | ||||||||||
| Group C Winner | ||||||||||
| 21 March 2026 – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Group A/B Third Place | ||||||||||
| Semi final 1 Winner | ||||||||||
| 14 March 2026 – Perth | ||||||||||
| Semi final 2 Winner | ||||||||||
| Group B Winner | ||||||||||
| 17 March 2026 – Perth | ||||||||||
| Group C Runner-up | ||||||||||
| Quarter final 2 Winner | ||||||||||
| 13 March 2026 – Perth | ||||||||||
| Quarter final 4 Winner | ||||||||||
| Group A Runner-up | ||||||||||
| Group B Runner-up | ||||||||||
Play-in matches for
19 March 2026 – Gold Coastinter-confederation play-offs | ||||||||||
| 19 March 2026 – Gold Coast | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
The winners will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The losers will advance to the play-in matches.
Play-in matches
The winners will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The losers will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Semi-finals
Final
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Qualified teams for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup
The following six teams from AFC will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. Two more teams may qualify via the inter-confederation play-offs.[13]
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References
External links
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