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2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup

2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup
Tournament details
Host countryAustralia
Dates1–21 March 2026 (2026-03-01 – 2026-03-21)
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Venue5 (in 3 host cities)
← 2022
2029 →

The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup will be the 21st edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women's national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Australia was officially selected as the host nation by the AFC Women's Football Committee on 15 May 2024.[1]

The tournament will serve as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. This will be the last time the qualifications will be linked, as a standalone qualifier for the FIFA Women's World Cup will be held starting from the 2031 edition onwards. For the first time, the tournament will also serve as the penultimate stage of Asian qualification for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with all eight quarter-finalists qualifying for the 2028 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[2]

China are the defending champions.

Host selection

Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup bids

The following four football associations submitted their interest to host the tournament by the 31 July 2022 deadline.[3] Australia was selected as the host nation by the AFC Women's Football Committee on 15 March 2024 following the withdrawals of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.[4]

Cancelled bids

  • Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia – On 21 April 2022, Saudi Arabia submitted its bid in hosting the tournament. Saudi Arabia has never hosted any major women's football tournament, although it hosted the men's FIFA Confederations Cup from 1992 to 1997 and will host the men's Asian Cup in 2027.[5] On 2 December, the Saudi delegation submitted its bid to host the 2026 edition.[6] On 23 February 2024, Saudi Arabia withdrew their bid.[7]
  • Uzbekistan Uzbekistan – The Central Asian nation submitted its interest on 21 April 2022. The country had never hosted a major women's football tournament before, though it has played in the women's Asian Cup five times. The country has hosted various men's youth competitions, such as the 2008 and 2010 AFC U-16 Championships, the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup and the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup. On 23 February 2024, Uzbekistan withdrew their bid.[7] The AFC ultimately awarded Uzbekistan the 2029 Women's Asian Cup hosting rights, as the sole bidder.[1]

Qualification

Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification

The host country Australia qualified automatically, along with the top three teams from the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.[8]

  Teams qualified
  Teams did not qualify
  Teams did not enter
  Country has no women's team or is not a FIFA member

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the tournament:

Team Method of
qualification		 Date of
qualification		 Finals
appearance		 Last
appearance		 Previous best
performance
 Australia Hosts 15 May 2024 7th 2022 Champions (2010)
 China 2022 champions 18 December 2024 16th 2022 Champions (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2022)
 South Korea 2022 runners-up 18 December 2024 14th 2022 Runners-up (2022)
 Japan 2022 third place 18 December 2024 18th 2022 Champions (2014, 2018)
 Iran Group A winners 19 July 2025 2nd 2022 Group stage (2022)
 India Group B winners 5 July 2025 10th 2022 Runners-up (1979, 1983)
 Bangladesh Group C winners 2 July 2025 1st N/a Debut
 Chinese Taipei Group D winners 5 July 2025 15th 2022 Champions (1977, 1979, 1981)
 Vietnam Group E winners 5 July 2025 10th 2022 Sixth place (2014, 2022)
 Uzbekistan Group F winners 5 July 2025 6th 2003 Group stage (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003)
 Philippines Group G winners 5 July 2025 11th 2022 Semi-finals (2022)
 North Korea Group H winners 5 July 2025 11th 2010 Champions (2001, 2003, 2008)

Venues

All matches will be held in venues across New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.[9] The five selected venues were officially recommended for formal ratification by the AFC on 12 November 2024, including one venue (Stadium Australia) used in the 2015 men's Asian Cup and two venues (Stadium Australia and Perth Rectangular Stadium) used in the 2023 Women's World Cup.[10]

On 27 February 2025, it was confirmed the opening game would be held at Perth Stadium, with the final held at Stadium Australia.[11]

About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
1000km
621miles
3
3 Sydney
3 Sydney
2
2 Perth
2 Perth
1
1 Gold Coast
1 Gold Coast
Location of the host cities of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup venues
Sydney
Stadium Australia Western Sydney Stadium
Capacity: 79,500 Capacity: 30,000
Perth
Perth Stadium Perth Rectangular Stadium
Capacity: 60,000 Capacity: 19,500
Gold Coast
Gold Coast Stadium
Capacity: 28,000
Note
  • Table shows AFC's stated capacities and may differ from the stadium's actual capacity[12]

Draw

The draw was held on 29 July 2025 in Sydney.[13]

The seeding was based on the June 2025 FIFA Women's World Ranking.[14] Previously, the teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous final tournament and qualification rankings.[13][15]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

Squads

Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup squads

Each team has to register a squad of a minimum of 18 players and maximum of 26 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Article 24.4).

Match officials

On 7 October 2025, the AFC announced the list of 14 referees, 16 assistant referees, two stand-by referees, two stand-by assistant referees and eleven video match officials for the tournament.[16][17] Video assistant referees (VAR) would be used from the group stage for the first time in the competition's history.

Referees
Assistant referees
  • Australia Madelaine Allum
  • Australia Emma Kocbek
  • China Bao Mengxiao
  • China Xie Lijun
  • India Riiohlang Dhar
  • Japan Makoto Bozono
  • Japan Chihiro Ikki
  • Kyrgyzstan Ramina Tsoi
  • South Korea Park Mi-suk
  • South Korea Lee Soo-bin
  • Palestine Heba Saadieh
  • North Korea Hyon Un Mi
  • Thailand Supawan Hinthong
  • Thailand Nuannid Donjangreed
  • United Arab Emirates Amal Badhafari
  • Vietnam Ha Thi Phuong
Video assistant referees
Stand-by referees
  • Malaysia Zainal Nurul Ain Izatty
  • Vietnam Bùi Thị Thu Trang
Stand-by assistant referees
  • Iran Bahareh Seifinahavandi
  • Jordan Sabreen Ala'badi

Ceremonies

Opening ceremony

On 27 January 2026, the organising committee announced that Audrey Nuna would be performing at the opening ceremony ahead of the first game at Perth Stadium on 1 March.[18][19] She will also perform an exclusive half-time performance that will not be broadcast.[20]

Group stage

The top two teams of each group and the two best third-placed teams will qualify for the quarter finals.

All times are local.[21]

Group A

Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Australia South Korea Iran Philippines
1  Australia (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage — 8 Mar — 1 Mar
2  South Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 2 Mar —
3  Iran 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking 5 Mar — — 8 Mar
4  Philippines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 Mar — —
First match(es) will be played: 1 March 2026. Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Australia v Philippines
Report (FIFA)
South Korea v Iran
Report (FIFA)
Philippines v South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Iran v Australia
Report (FIFA)
Iran v Philippines
Report (FIFA)
Australia v South Korea
Report (FIFA)

Group B

Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification North Korea China Bangladesh Uzbekistan
1  North Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage — 9 Mar — 3 Mar
2  China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 3 Mar —
3  Bangladesh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking 6 Mar — — 9 Mar
4  Uzbekistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 Mar — —
First match(es) will be played: 3 March 2026. Source: AFC
North Korea v Uzbekistan
Report (FIFA)
China v Bangladesh
Report (FIFA)
Bangladesh v North Korea
Report (FIFA)
Uzbekistan v China
Report (FIFA)
Bangladesh v Uzbekistan
Report (FIFA)
North Korea v China
Report (FIFA)

Group C

Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Japan Vietnam India Chinese Taipei
1  Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage — 10 Mar — 4 Mar
2  Vietnam 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 4 Mar —
3  India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking 7 Mar — — 10 Mar
4  Chinese Taipei 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 7 Mar — —
First match(es) will be played: 4 March 2026. Source: AFC
Japan v Chinese Taipei
Report (FIFA)
Vietnam v India
Report (FIFA)
Chinese Taipei v Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
India v Japan
Report (FIFA)
Japan v Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
India v Chinese Taipei
Report (FIFA)

Ranking of third-place teams

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A  Iran 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B  Bangladesh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C  India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 1 March 2026. Source: AFC

Knockout stage

Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup knockout stage

The four quarter-final winners will qualify directly for the 2027 Women's World Cup, while the four quarter-final losers will compete in the play-in matches to determine the final two direct qualifiers, and the two Asian representatives in the inter-confederation play-offs.

In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner if necessary.

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 14 March – Sydney (SA)
 
 
 Group A winner
 
 18 March – Sydney (SA)
 
 Group B/C third place
 
 Quarter-final 1 winner
 
 15 March – Sydney (SA)
 
 Quarter-final 3 winner
 
 Group C winner
 
 21 March – Sydney (SA)
 
 Group A/B third place
 
 Semi-final 1 winner
 
 14 March – Perth (PRS)
 
 Semi-final 2 winner
 
 Group B winner
 
 17 March – Perth (PS)
 
 Group C runner-up
 
 Quarter-final 2 winner
 
 13 March – Perth (PRS)
 
 Quarter-final 4 winner
 
 Group A runner-up
 
 
 Group B runner-up
 
19 March – Gold Coast
Quarter final 1 loser
Quarter final 3 loser
19 March – Gold Coast
Quarter final 2 loser
Quarter final 4 loser

Quarter-finals

The winners will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The losers will advance to the play-in matches.

Group A runner-upvGroup B runner-up
Group B winnervGroup C runner-up
Group A winnervGroup B/C third place
Group C winnervGroup A/B third place

Play-in matches

The winners will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The losers will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Quarter-final 1 loservQuarter-final 3 loser
Quarter-final 2 loservQuarter-final 4 loser

Semi-finals

Quarter-final 2 winnervQuarter-final 4 winner
Quarter-final 1 winnervQuarter-final 3 winner

Final


Qualified teams for FIFA Women's World Cup

The following six teams from AFC will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. Two more teams may qualify via the inter-confederation play-offs.[22]

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA Women's World Cup[a]
TBD 13 March 2026
TBD 14 March 2026
TBD 14 March 2026
TBD 15 March 2026
TBD 19 March 2026
TBD 19 March 2026
  1. ^ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Australia and Uzbekistan confirmed as 2026 and 2029 AFC Women's Asian Cup hosts". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  2. ^ "AFC unveils breakthrough reforms to strengthen Women's National Team Competitions". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Four Member Associations express interest to host AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Australia and Uzbekistan recommended as hosts for 2026 and 2029 editions of AFC Women's Asian Cup". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Saudi Arabia, Australia among four nations to bid for 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup". Inside the Games. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabia submits bid to host AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026". Arab News. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Australia set to host 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup after others withdraw bids". Sportcal. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Asian Football powerhouses qualify for AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026". Football Australia. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  9. ^ Nicholson, Paul (22 April 2024). "Aussies announce states to host Women's Asian Cup 2026". Inside World Football. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  10. ^ Comino, Matt (13 November 2024). "Three host cities confirmed for 2026 Women's Asian Cup as five venues selected & dates locked in". ALeagues.com.au. Australian Professional Leagues. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Perth to host Matildas in Women's Asian Cup opener". The West Australian. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Host City | AFC WAC 2026". WomensAsianCup2026.com.au. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  13. ^ a b "All eyes on AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 Final Draw". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  14. ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola FIFA Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 12 June 2025.
  15. ^ "AFC Women's Football Committee approves AFC's world-class competitions' roster". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Record number of officials appointed to #WAC2026". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  17. ^ "AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 Match Officials Appointments" (PDF). the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  18. ^ "Audrey Nuna to headline AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026™ opening ceremony". AFC. 27 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  19. ^ "'KPop Demon Hunters' Star to Perform at Major Event in Perth". Rolling Stone. 27 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  20. ^ "KPop Demon Hunters Star Audrey Nuna to Perform at AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026™". Ministry of Sport. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  21. ^ "AFC Women's Asian Cup™ Australia 2026 Match Schedule" (PDF). the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  22. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027 dates confirmed". 11 December 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
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