Kuala Lumpur, June 23 (IANS) The road to the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Indonesia 2026 will be revealed on June 26, when the official Qualifiers draw ceremony takes place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A total of 31 teams have confirmed their participation in the 11th Qualifiers, which will take place between September 20 to 24. The draw will divide them into eight groups – seven groups of four and one group of three – with each to be played in a centralised league format.

India, ranked 135, will be in Pot 4 alongside Hong Kong, China (118), Brunei Darussalam (119), Palestine (121), Cambodia (125), Bangladesh (unranked) and Pakistan (unranked).

Staging the Continental showpiece for a second time following their first in 2002, Indonesia have qualified automatically and will be joined by 15 sides – the eight group winners and the seven best-ranked runners-up from the Qualifiers – at the 18th edition of the Finals, which is scheduled to commence next January.

Bangladesh and Pakistan are set to make their Qualifiers debuts while the quartet of Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan will aim to maintain their record of appearing at every edition to date.

For the first time, the seeding for the draw will be based on the latest FIFA Futsal Men’s World Ranking. The cast will be split into four pots, along with an additional Hosts Pot. The pot allocations, based on the FIFA rankings as of April 4 indicated in brackets, are as follows:

Pot 1: Islamic Republic of Iran (5), Thailand (11), Japan (13), Uzbekistan (23), Vietnam (31), Afghanistan (33), Kuwait (40), Iraq (41)

Pot 2: Tajikistan (44), Kyrgyz Republic (48), Saudi Arabia (50), Australia (52), Lebanon (53), Myanmar (56), Korea Republic (70), Malaysia (76)

Pot 3: China PR (79), Chinese Taipei (82), Bahrain (83), United Arab Emirates (97), Maldives (106), Timor-Leste (109), Mongolia (112), Macau (115)

Pot 4: Hong Kong, China (118), Brunei Darussalam (119), Palestine (121), Cambodia (125), India (135), Bangladesh (unranked), Pakistan (unranked)

Hosts Pot: Thailand (11; Seeding: 1), Kuwait (40; 1), Tajikistan (44; 2), Kyrgyz Republic (48; 2), Saudi Arabia (50; 2), Myanmar (56; 2), Malaysia (76; 2), China PR (79; 3)

–IANS

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