46 Asian countries who are members of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have submitted their entries to participate in the upcoming 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers, while 44 countries have expressed their intentions to play the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship.
The AFC has reduced the number of teams in each qualifying group to no more than five, with most groups comprising of just four teams each.
The draws for the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers and 2018 AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers will take place on Friday, 21 April 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The reigning champions of the AFC U-16 Championship are Iraq, who defeated Iran 4-3 on penalties in last year’s final.
Meanwhile, Japan will look to defend their title in the AFC U-19 Championship.