AFC brings great news for Vietnamese football at Asiad 20

Both the men's and women's Vietnamese football teams have secured their spots for Asiad 20 in Japan next September.

According to ASEAN Football sources, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has collaborated with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to finalize the format and number of teams participating in football at ASIAD 2026, which will be held in Japan. The key aspect of this plan is allocating slots based on performance in recent continental tournaments, significantly limiting opportunities for many regions, including Southeast Asia.

In the men's football category, ASIAD 2026 will feature 16 teams that have qualified for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals. Under this criterion, only two Southeast Asian teams, Vietnam and Thailand, remain eligible. In this tournament, Vietnam's U23 team not only passed the qualifiers but also performed impressively to win the Bronze Medal, thereby officially securing their place among the teams competing at ASIAD.

Notably, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has agreed to send the U21 Vietnam team instead of the U23 squad to ASIAD 2026to provide the next generation of players with international match experience.

Meanwhile, women's football at ASIAD 2026 follows a similar selection principle. Specifically, the 12 teams participating in the 2026 Women's Asian Cup finals will receive direct entry to the Asian Games. Thus, only Vietnam and the Philippines from Southeast Asia meet the requirements, continuing to affirm the growing prominence of women's football in the region on the Asian stage.

Having teams in both men's and women's categories makes Vietnamese football one of Southeast Asia's leading representatives at ASIAD 2026. This is not only an opportunity for the teams to demonstrate their professional capabilities but also a crucial benchmark for the effectiveness of long-term football development strategies.