2016 AFC Futsal Championship

2016 AFC Futsal Championship
Futzal Bo'yicha 2016 Yilgi Osiyo Chempionati
Tournament details
Host country	Uzbekistan
Dates	10–21 February 2016
Teams	16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Iran (11th title)
Runners-up	Uzbekistan
Third place	Thailand
Fourth place	Vietnam
Tournament statistics
Matches played	35
Goals scored	234 (6.69 per match)
Attendance	33,275 (951 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Suphawut Thueanklang (14 goals)
Best player(s)	Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh

The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship was the 14th edition of the AFC Futsal Championship, 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 Uzbekistan between 10–21 February 2016.[1] A total of 16 teams played in the tournament.

The tournament was originally meant to be held in Taiwan (i.e. the Republic of China).[2] It was originally scheduled for 12–27 March 2016, but this was changed following the adoption of the FIFA futsal international match calendar.[3][4]

Same as previous editions held on the same year as the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the tournament acted as the AFC qualifiers for the World Cup. The top five teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia as the AFC representatives.[5]

Champions Iran, runners-up Uzbekistan, third-placed Thailand, fourth-placed Vietnam and fifth place's play-off winners Australia qualified for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup as the AFC representatives.[6]

Qualification

The draw for the qualifiers was held on 2 September 2015. Four teams qualified directly for the final tournament by their 2014 performance, while the other entrants competed in the qualifying stage for the remaining 12 spots.[7] The qualifiers were played between 1 October and 19 November 2015.[8]

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. Kuwait were replaced by Saudi Arabia due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association.[9]

Team	Qualified as	Appearance	Previous best performance
Uzbekistan	Hosts and 2014 third place	14th	Runners-up (2001, 2006, 2010)
Japan	2014 winners	14th	Champions (2006, 2012, 2014)
Iran	2014 runners-up	14th	Champions (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010)
Lebanon	West Zone Group A winners	10th	Quarter-finals (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014)
Jordan	West Zone Group A runners-up	1st	Debut
Saudi Arabia	West Zone Group A third place	1st	Debut
Qatar	West Zone Group B winners	3rd	Group stage (2005, 2012)
Iraq	West Zone Group B runners-up	10th	Quarter-finals (2002)
Kyrgyzstan	Central Zone winners	14th	Fourth place (2005, 2006, 2007)
Tajikistan	Central Zone runners-up	9th	Quarter-finals (2007)
Thailand	ASEAN Zone Group A winners	14th	Runners-up (2008, 2012)
Malaysia	ASEAN Zone Group A runners-up	11th	Group stage (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014)
Australia	ASEAN Zone Group B winners	7th	Fourth place (2012)
Vietnam	ASEAN Zone Group B runners-up	4th	Quarter-finals (2014)
China	East Zone winners	11th	Fourth place (2008, 2010)
Chinese Taipei	East Zone runners-up	11th	Quarter-finals (2003)

Venues

Tashkent
Uzbekistan Stadium	Universal Stadium

Squads

Each team had to submit a squad of 14 players, including a minimum of two goalkeepers.[10]

Draw

The draw for the final tournament was held on 2 December 2015, 18:00 UZT (UTC+5), at the Zafarshan Hall in Tashkent.[11] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2014.[12]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Uzbekistan (hosts) Japan Iran Thailand	Australia Lebanon Vietnam Iraq	Kyrgyzstan Malaysia Chinese Taipei China	Tajikistan Saudi Arabia Qatar Jordan

Match officials

The following referees were chosen for the 2016 AFC Futsal Championship.[13]

Referees

Chris Colley
An Ran
Liu Jianqiao
Lee Po-fu
Vahid Arzpeyma Mohammreh
Hasan Mousa Al-Gburi
Hawkar Salar Ahmed
Tomohiro Kozaki
Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Husein Mahmoud Khalaileh
Nurdin Bukuev
Helday Idang
Rey Ritaga Martinez
Yuttakon Maiket
Khamis Hassan Al Shamsi
Trương Quốc Dũng

Group stage

The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:[10]

Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
If, after applying criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 apply;
Goal difference in all the group matches;
Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
Drawing of lots.

All times were local, UZT (UTC+5).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uzbekistan (H)	3	3	0	0	9	3	+6	9	Knockout stage
2	Kyrgyzstan	3	1	1	1	8	8	0	4	Knockout stage
3	Lebanon	3	0	2	1	7	9	−2	2
4	Saudi Arabia	3	0	1	2	7	11	−4	1

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host

10 February 2016

16:00

Lebanon	4–4	Kyrgyzstan
Kobeissy 23', 32' Tneich 24' Zeitoun 28'	Report	Rusl. Ermekov 3' Baigazy 9' Alimov 25', 40'

Uzbekistan Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 1,800

Referee: Tomohiro Kozaki (Japan)

10 February 2016