India to begin AFC U-23 championship qualifiers against Uzbekistan

India have been clubbed with Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Syria in the 2016 Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Under-23 Championship qualifying round.

India will play their Group E first match against Uzbekistan March 27. They will next face Syria March 29 and round off their qualifying round campaign against hosts Bangladesh March 31, according to an AFC release.

The Indian team will begin preparations for the qualifiers from March 1. They finished fourth in a six-team group in its inaugural edition last year. Iraq are the defending champions of the tournament.

Ten group winners and five best-second placed teams from all groups (total 15 teams) will qualify for the final competition. Qatar, being the tournament’s hosts, will get automatic qualification.

The qualifiers will be held from March 23 to 31, next year, and the tournament proper will be played in January 2016.

The 2016 AFC Under-23 Championship will serve as the Olympics qualifiers in every alternate edition. The top three teams from the 2016 edition will represent Asia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

IANS