AFC U-20 Championship

About AFC U-20 Championship

AFC U-20 Championship History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage

The AFC U-20 Asian Cup, formerly known as the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship, is a biennial international association football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-20 national teams of Asia. The competition has been held since 1959. Between 1959 and 1978, the tournament was held annually (without qualification); since 1980, it has been held every two years. The 1980 AFC Youth Championship had a qualification stage for first time.

The tournament has been played in a number of different formats during its existence. Currently, it consists of two stages, similar to the AFC's other Asian Championship competitions. The qualifying stage is open to all AFC members and the final stage is contested between 16 teams. The most recent edition, the 40th, was held in Indonesia. The AFC have proposed switching the tournament from under-19 to under-20 starting from 2023. Moreover, the tournament will also be rebranded from the "AFC U-19 Championship" to the "AFC U-20 Asian Cup".