Zee Sports to Telecast AFC U-20 Championship LIVE and Exclusive
The AFC U-20 Championship is held every two years and is open to players under the age of 19. The future stars of Asian football will be playing in this tournament and most of them will in all likelihood represent their countries in the 2010 FIFA W.Cup. This tournament also acts as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The top four sides in the AFC Youth Championship will advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be played in Canada from June 30 to July 22 next year. The Korea Republic claimed the AFC Youth Championship crown in 2004 with a 2-0 win over China in Kuala Lumpur. Countries competing in this edition of championship are Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, China, UAE, Thailand, Australia, Japan, North Korea, Iran, Tajikistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Vietnam and hosts India.
India was joint winners in 1974 (Bangkok) with Iran after the Final ended in a 2-2 deadlock. But to repeat that performance, the hosts will have to pull up their socks as they are in difficult Group A with defending champions Korea Republic, Central Asian debutants Kyrgyzstan and Jordan. India will be looking up to East Bengal striker Vimal Pariyar, Churchill Brothers midfield duo of Ong Tshering Lepcha and Th. Nooba Singh to create the furore.
As hosts of Asia’s premier youth tournament India have prepared meticulously over the last year under veteran Uzbek coach Islam Akhmedov. In the run up to the preparations for this prestigious tournament the Indian colts have taken part in two major tournaments. The first was the inaugural AFC Challenge Cup in which they held their own against senior teams from Afghanistan (2-0), Chinese Taipei (1-1) and the Philippines (0-0) before going down to Nepal 3-0 in the quarterfinals. The other tournament was the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Sri Lanka where they drew with Afghanistan (0-0) and Nepal (1-1) but defeated Bangladesh 2-1 to make the last four. They went down to Sri Lanka 7-6 on penalties and later lost the third-fourth-place playoff to Nepal 2-0.
Telecast Schedule AFC Youth Championship
S.No |
Match |
Date |
Venue |
Time |
1 |
Korea Republic vs. Jordan |
Oct 29 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
15:30 onwards |
2 |
India vs. Kyrgyzthan |
Oct 29 |
SaltLake, Kolkata |
18:30 onwards |
3 |
China PR vs. Australia |
Oct 30 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
15:30 onwards |
4 |
Thailand vs. UAE |
Oct 30 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
18:30 onwards |
5 |
Jordan vs. India |
Oct 31 |
SaltLake, Kolkata |
15:30 onwards |
6 |
Kyrgyzthan vs. Korea Rep |
Oct 31 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
18:30 onwards |
7 |
Saudi Arabia vs Malaysia |
Nov1 |
Sree Kanteerava, Bangalore |
15:30 onwards |
8 |
UAE vs China PR |
Nov 1 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
18:30 onwards |
9 |
Korea Republic vs India |
Nov 2 |
SaltLake, Kolkata |
14:30 onwards |
10 |
China PR vs Thailand |
Nov 3 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
14:30 onwards |
11 |
Quarter Finals |
Nov 6 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
15:30 onwards |
12 |
Quarter Finals |
Nov 6 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
18:30 onwards |
13 |
Semi Finals |
Nov 9 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
15:30 onwards |
14 |
Semi Finals |
Nov 9 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
17:00 onwards |
15 |
Third Place Play Off |
Nov 12 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
15:30 onwards |
16 |
Finals |
Nov 12 |
Salt Lake, Kolkata |
17:00 onwards |
Catch all the action LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on Zee Sports