2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup

The 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, the biennial international futsal championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in Thailand between 17 and 28 April.[1]

2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup
ฟุตซอลเอเชียนคัพ 2024
Tournament details
Host countryThailand
Dates17–28 April
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Iran (13th title)
Runners-up Thailand
Third place Uzbekistan
Fourth place Tajikistan
Tournament statistics
Matches played35
Goals scored177 (5.06 per match)
Top scorer(s)Iran Saeid Ahmadabbasi
(8 goals)
Best player(s)Iran Saeid Ahmadabbasi
Best goalkeeperIran Bagher Mohammadi
Fair play award Thailand
2022
2026

A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament. Japan, the defending champions, were eliminated in the group stage for the first time. Iran claimed their thirteenth Futsal Asian Cup after winning the final against the host Thailand 4–1. Uzbekistan defeated Tajikistan 3–1 on penalties following a 5–5 draw in the third place play-off.

Semi-finalists including Iran, Tajikistan and Thailand qualified for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup besides Uzbekistan who automatically qualified as host. As Uzbekistan reached the semi-finals, a play-off round was held to determine the last Asian spot at the Futsal World Cup. Afghanistan won the play-off round.

Many accomplishments were achieved at the tournament. Afghanistan made their debut and also advanced to the quarter-finals. In the group stage, Myanmar gained their first win, while South Korea gained their first point in 14 years. Tajikistan made their first appearance in the semi-finals, while Thailand reached the final for the first time in 12 years. All five teams from Central Asia advanced to the quarter-finals, with three of them reaching the semi-finals.

Host selection

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India and Thailand expressed interest to host the tournament.[2][3] Later, Thailand was selected as hosts by the AFC Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee on 5 September 2023.[4]

Teams

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The draw for the qualifiers was held on 22 June 2023.[5] The host Thailand qualified directly for the final tournament, while the other teams competed in the qualifying stage for the remaining 15 spots. The qualifiers were played between 7 and 13 October 2023.

Qualified teams

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Of the 16 teams appearing, 11 teams were returning after appearing in the 2022 edition.

Afghanistan were the only debutant in the competition, while Australia marked their return for the first time in 8 years. China, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar also qualified for the first time in 6 years. Iran, Japan, Thailand and Uzbekistan were the only four teams to qualify for every edition.

Three nations from the previous edition failed to qualify (Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Lebanon) and other two nations from the previous edition did not enter to qualifiers (Oman and Turkmenistan).

Team Method of qualification Date of qualification Finals appearances Last appearance Previous best performance
  Thailand Hosts 5 September 2023[4] 17th 2022 Runners-up (2008, 2012)
  China Group A winners 13 October 2023 13th 2018 Fourth place (2008, 2010)
  Afghanistan Group B winners 11 October 2023 1st Debut None
  Saudi Arabia Group B runners-up 11 October 2023 3rd 2022 Group stage (2016, 2022)
  Iran Group C winners 11 October 2023 17th 2022 Champions (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018)
  Kyrgyzstan Group C runners-up 11 October 2023 16th 2018 Fourth place (2006, 2007), Semi-finals (2005)
  Vietnam Group D winners 9 October 2023 7th 2022 Fourth place (2016)
  South Korea Group D runners-up 9 October 2023 15th 2022 Runners-up (1999)
  Tajikistan Group E winners 9 October 2023 12th 2022 Quarter-finals (2007, 2022)
  Myanmar Group E runners-up 9 October 2023 2nd 2018 Group stage (2018)
  Kuwait Group F winners 9 October 2023 13th 2022 Fourth place (2003, 2014)
  Bahrain Group F runners-up 9 October 2023 4th 2022 Quarter-finals (2018)
  Uzbekistan Group G winners 9 October 2023 17th 2022 Runners-up (2001, 2006, 2010, 2016)
  Iraq Group G runners-up 9 October 2023 13th 2022 Fourth place (2018)
  Japan Group H winners 11 October 2023 17th 2022 Champions (2006, 2012, 2014, 2022)
  Australia Group H runners-up 11 October 2023 8th 2016 Fourth place (2012)

Draw

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The draw was held on 14 December 2023 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[6][7]

The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams, with seeding based on their performance at the qualification and the final of the previous edition.[8] Seeding was shown in parentheses except the team who previously did not participate, which were denoted by (–).

The host Thailand automatically seeded to Pot 1 and placed into the first position of Group A.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  Thailand (4) (hosts)
  Japan (1)
  Iran (2)
  Uzbekistan (3)
  Tajikistan (5)
  Kuwait (7)
  Vietnam (8)
  Saudi Arabia (9)
  Iraq (10)
  Bahrain (11)
  South Korea (15)
  Myanmar (16)
  Afghanistan (17)
  Kyrgyzstan (18)
  Australia (20)
  China (–)

Venues

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The tournament was held at two venues in Bangkok.

Bangkok
Bangkok Arena Indoor Stadium Huamark
Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 8,000
   

Squads

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Each team was required to registered a squad with a minimum of 14 players and a maximum of 25 players, at least two of whom had to be goalkeepers (Regulations Article 23).[1]

Group stage

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Tiebreakers

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Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 7.3):[1]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Thailand (H) 3 3 0 0 10 2 +8 9 Advance to the knockout stage
2   Vietnam 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
3   Myanmar 3 1 1 1 4 7 −3 4
4   China 3 0 0 3 2 7 −5 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Vietnam  1–1  Myanmar
Report
Referee: Ebrahim Mehrabi Afshar (Iran)
Thailand  3–1  China
Report
Referee: Hiroyuki Kobayashi (Japan)

China  0–1  Vietnam
Report Nhan Gia Hưng   10:51 (pen.)
Referee: Gelareh Nazemi Deylami (Iran)
Myanmar  0–5  Thailand
Report
Referee: Nikita Afinogenov (Uzbekistan)

Thailand  2–1  Vietnam
Report
Referee: Eisa Abdul Houssain (Kuwait)
Myanmar  3–1  China
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Wahyu Wicaksono (Indonesia)

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Uzbekistan 3 3 0 0 10 4 +6 9 Advance to the knockout stage
2   Iraq 3 2 0 1 12 7 +5 6
3   Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 6 10 −4 3
4   Australia 3 0 0 3 6 13 −7 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Uzbekistan  3–2  Australia
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Eisa Abdul Houssain (Kuwait)
Saudi Arabia  1–5  Iraq
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Pornnarong Grairod (Thailand)

Australia  2–4  Saudi Arabia
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: An Ran (China)
Iraq  1–4  Uzbekistan
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Husain Al-Bahhar (Bahrain)

Uzbekistan  3–1  Saudi Arabia
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Fahad Al-Hosani (United Arab Emirates)
Iraq  6–2  Australia
Report
Referee: Ebrahim Mehrabi Afshar (Iran)

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Tajikistan 3 1 2 0 5 3 +2 5 Advance to the knockout stage
2   Kyrgyzstan 3 1 2 0 10 9 +1 5
3   Japan 3 1 1 1 8 4 +4 4
4   South Korea 3 0 1 2 5 12 −7 1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Tajikistan  2–0  South Korea
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Hassan Al-Gburi (Iraq)
Japan  2–3  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Andrew Best (Australia)

Kyrgyzstan  2–2  Tajikistan
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Abdulaziz Al-Sarraf (Kuwait)
South Korea  0–5  Japan
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Zari Fathi (Iran)

Japan  1–1  Tajikistan
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Trương Quốc Dũng (Vietnam)
South Korea  5–5  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Referee: Lee Po-fu (Chinese Taipei)

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Iran 3 3 0 0 12 4 +8 9 Advance to the knockout stage
2   Afghanistan 3 1 1 1 7 8 −1 4
3   Kuwait 3 1 1 1 5 8 −3 4
4   Bahrain 3 0 0 3 6 10 −4 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Iran  3–1  Afghanistan
Report
Referee: Fahad Al-Hosani (United Arab Emirates)
Kuwait  2–1  Bahrain
Report
Referee: Anatoliy Rubakov (Uzbekistan)

Afghanistan  3–3  Kuwait
Report
Referee: Ryan Shepheard (Australia)
Bahrain  3–5  Iran
Report
Referee: Liu Jianqiao (China)

Iran  4–0  Kuwait
Report
Referee: Benjapol Mucharoensap (Thailand)
Bahrain  2–3  Afghanistan
Report
Bangkok Arena, Bangkok
Referee: Andrew Best (Australia)

Knockout stage

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In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out without extra time is used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10).[1]

The competition of the play-offs depended on the performance of Uzbekistan, who qualified automatically for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup as hosts. Uzbekistan advanced to the semi-finals, therefore the play-offs format was held for the remaining four quarter-final losers to play a single elimination play-off. The winner of the play-off 3 qualified the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Play-off 3Play-off 1 and 2Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
24 April
  Thailand3
26 April  Iraq226 April
  Iraq3  Thailand (p)3 (6)
  Afghanistan524 April  Tajikistan3 (5)
  Tajikistan (a.e.t.)2
28 April  Afghanistan128 April
  Afghanistan5  Thailand1
  Kyrgyzstan324 April  Iran4
  Uzbekistan2
26 April  Vietnam126 April
  Vietnam2  Uzbekistan3 (4)Third place play-off
  Kyrgyzstan324 April  Iran (p)3 (5)28 April
  Iran6  Tajikistan5 (1)
  Kyrgyzstan1  Uzbekistan (p)5 (3)

Quarter-finals

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Winners qualified for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup. Losers advanced to the play-offs.

Tajikistan  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Afghanistan
Report

Iran  6–1  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Referee: Pornnarong Grairod (Thailand)

Thailand  3–2  Iraq
Report
Referee: Anatoliy Rubakov (Uzbekistan)

Uzbekistan  2–1  Vietnam
Report
Referee: Eisa Abdul Houssain (Kuwait)

Play-off 1 and 2

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Iraq  3–5  Afghanistan
Report
Referee: Husain Al-Bahhar (Bahrain)

Vietnam  2–3  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Referee: Ebrahim Mehrabi Afshar (Iran)

Play-off 3

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The winner qualified for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Afghanistan  5–3  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Referee: Anatoliy Rubakov (Uzbekistan)

Semi-finals

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Thailand  3–3 (a.e.t.)  Tajikistan
Report
Penalties
6–5
Referee: Ryan Shepheard (Australia)

Uzbekistan  3–3 (a.e.t.)  Iran
Report
Penalties
4–5
Referee: Hiroyuki Kobayashi (Japan)

Third place play-off

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Tajikistan  5–5  Uzbekistan
Report
Penalties
1–3
Referee: Hassan Al-Gburi (Iraq)

Final

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Thailand  1–4  Iran
Report
Referee: Fahad Al-Hosani (United Arab Emirates)

Winners

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2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup
 
Iran
Thirteenth title

Awards

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Top scorer Best player Best goalkeeper Fair-play award
  Saeid Ahmadabbasi   Saeid Ahmadabbasi   Bagher Mohammadi   Thailand

Goalscorers

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There have been 177 goals scored in 35 matches, for an average of 5.06 goals per match. Scores in play-off matches for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup were included but not considered for the top goalscorer.

8 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Team rankings

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As per statistical convention in futsal, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.[10] The AFC published the tournament standings in August 2024.[11] Statistics in play-off matches for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup are included in this table. The team rankings will be used for seeding in the qualification draw and the final draw of the next edition.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Final result
1   Iran 6 5 1 0 25 9 +16 16 Champions
2   Thailand (H) 6 4 1 1 17 11 +6 13 Runners-up
3   Uzbekistan 6 4 2 0 20 13 +7 14 Third place
4   Tajikistan 6 2 4 0 15 12 +3 10 Fourth place
5   Afghanistan 6 3 1 2 18 16 +2 10 Eliminated in
quarter-finals[a]
6   Kyrgyzstan 6 2 2 2 17 22 −5 8
7   Vietnam 5 1 1 3 6 8 −2 4
8   Iraq 5 2 0 3 17 15 +2 6
9   Japan 3 1 1 1 8 4 +4 4 Eliminated in
group stage[b]
10   Kuwait 3 1 1 1 5 8 −3 4
11   Myanmar 3 1 1 1 4 7 −3 4
12   Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 6 10 −4 3
13   South Korea 3 0 1 2 5 12 −7 1
14   Bahrain 3 0 0 3 6 10 −4 0
15   China 3 0 0 3 2 7 −5 0
16   Australia 3 0 0 3 6 13 −7 0
Source: AFC[12]
(H) Hosts
  1. ^ The results of play-off matches were considered for the final standings published by the AFC,[12] in contradiction to the AFC's general principle that play-off matches for international competitions are not to be considered for the stadings.[10]
  2. ^ For 9th to 16th place, teams are ranked in descending order as follows: position in the group stage, points in all group matches, goal difference in all group matches, goals scored in all group matches, disciplinary points in all group matches and drawing of lots.[10]

Qualified teams for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup

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Semi-finalists including Iran, Tajikistan and Thailand qualified for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup besides Uzbekistan who automatically qualified as host. As Uzbekistan reached the semi-finals, a play-off round was held to determine the last Asian spot at the Futsal World Cup. Afghanistan won a play-off round. Thailand were the only team from ASEAN in the Futsal World Cup among the Central Asian teams.

Tajikistan and Afghanistan made debut. Iran, Thailand and Uzbekistan continued their appearing. Iran have been the most appearances in the Futsal World Cup with eight and the most successful team from AFC with the third place in 2016. Thailand and Uzbekistan have appeared for the sixth and second time, respectively, with their best finish at the round of 16.

Japan and Vietnam who previously qualified in 2021 stopped qualifying in the Futsal World Cup for the sixth and third time, respectively. Japan were eliminated in the group stage for the first time by a loss to Kyrgyzstan and a draw to Tajikistan. Vietnam were eliminated in the play-offs after being defeated by Kyrgyzstan.

The following five teams from AFC qualified for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in the FIFA Futsal World Cup
  Uzbekistan 23 June 2023[13] 2 (2016, 2021)
  Tajikistan 24 April 2024 0 (debut)
  Iran 24 April 2024 8 (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2021)
  Thailand 24 April 2024 6 (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2021)
  Afghanistan 28 April 2024 0 (debut)
1 Italic indicates host for that year.

Marketing

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Official song

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The official song of the tournament, "What a Goal" by Ford Trio and Chucky Factory Land, was released on 4 April 2024.[14]

Mascot

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"Ramma Chana" was the mascot of the tournament. "Rama" refers to Phra Ram, main figures of Ramakien which is a Thai version of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. "Chana" means win in Thai. It was formed by combining many types of animals such as onyx dragon, macchanu, elephants, tigers, cats, and kirin, creating a new character similar to the animals of Himavanta.[15]

Sponsorship

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Official Global Partners
Official Global Supporters

Broadcasting rights

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The broadcasters around the world that acquired the rights to the tournament included:[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024 Competition Regulations" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2023.
  2. ^ "India to bid for next year's FIFA Congress and Futsal Asian Cup". 14 April 2023 – via The Economic Times - The Times of India.
  3. ^ "ไทยเตรียมเสนอเป็นเจ้าภาพฟุตซอลชิงแชมป์เอเชีย 2024". 11 September 2022 – via MCOT.
  4. ^ a b "Thailand recommended as host for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024". the-AFC. Asian Football Confederation. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  5. ^ "2024 Qualifiers groups finalised". the-AFC. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Thailand 2024 cast to discover Group Stage contenders". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Asian Football Calendar (Oct 2023 – Sep 2024)". the-afc. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Teams set to discover AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024 Qualifiers journey". the-AFC. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  9. ^ "AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand 2024 Match Schedule" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  11. ^ "AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024 Technical Report now available!". the-afc. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  12. ^ a b "AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024 Technical Report" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Uzbekistan to host the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  14. ^ "เพลงประกอบการแข่งขัน Futsal Charity Match มีชื่อว่า ซัดตุง แต่งโดยวง Ford Trio และ Chucky Factory Land". Main Stand. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  15. ^ "เปิดที่มา รามมาชนะ แมสคอตประจำศึกฟุตซอล เอเชี่ยน คัพ 2024". Matichon. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  16. ^ "AFC and Continental Tires announce renewal of sponsorship rights deal". Asian Football Confederation. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  17. ^ "AFC and Credit Saison announce renewal of sponsorship rights deal". Asian Football Confederation. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  18. ^ "AFC and NEOM announce four-year global sponsorship rights deal". Asian Football Confederation. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  19. ^ "AFC and Qatar Airways announce global partnership". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  20. ^ "AFC and Visit Saudi announce global sponsorship rights deal". Asian Football Confederation. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  21. ^ "AFC and Yili announce global sponsorship rights deal". Asian Football Confederation. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  22. ^ "AFC and Kelme announce new global partnership deal". Asian Football Confederation. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  23. ^ "AFC and KONAMI sign new sponsorship and licensing deal". Asian Football Confederation. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  24. ^ "AFC Futsal Asian Cup: Where to Watch". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
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