AFC points out the special factor that helped Vietnam's national team secure a spot at the ASIAD

An important adjustment by AFC and OCA has enabled Vietnamese football to qualify early for ASIAD 2026, thereby confirming its leading position in Southeast Asia.

A key change from the Asian Football Confederation and the Olympic Council of Asia inadvertently opened an early door for Vietnamese football at ASIAD 2026, while placing many other Southeast Asian representatives at a disadvantage.

In an interview with New Straits Times on the evening of February 11, AFC Secretary General Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John stated that AFC, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and host Japan have agreed that the men's football event at ASIAD 2026 will feature only 16 teams. All participating slots will be determined solely based on sporting merit, rather than the previous flexible registration through National Olympic Committees. Specifically, the 16 teams qualifying for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship final in Saudi Arabia will automatically earn ASIAD spots.

Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John emphasized the key principle behind this adjustment: “AFC is responsible for the technical aspects, while the tournament size and number of participating teams are decided by the host. The ASIAD Aichi-Nagoya will be a 16-team competition, and the main selection criterion is the 2026 AFC U23 Championship ranking.”

Under this new regulation, Vietnam U23 and Thailand U23 have officially qualified for ASIAD 2026 by advancing through the U23 Asian qualifiers. Notably, Vietnam U23 finished third in the tournament, further cementing their top position in Southeast Asia, especially as only two slots remain allocated for this region.

“Given that only two Southeast Asian teams can participate, the inclusion of Vietnam and Thailand in ASIAD is seen as the inevitable outcome of a long-term investment strategy focused on official AFC competitions, rather than dispersing resources,” New Straits Times commented.

Not only in the men's category, the women's football event at ASIAD 2026 also follows similar criteria. Accordingly, the 12 teams participating in the 2026 Women's Asian Cup will earn direct qualification to ASIAD. In Southeast Asia, the women's teams of Vietnam and the Philippines have met all requirements, continuing to assert the growing prominence of women's football in the region on the Asian stage.