2016 AFC U-23 Championship

2016 AFC U-23 Championship
بطولة آسيا تحت 23 سنة لكرة القدم 2016
Tournament details
Host countryQatar
Dates12–30 January
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Japan (1st title)
Runners-up South Korea
Third place Iraq
Fourth place Qatar
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored103 (3.22 per match)
Attendance93,639 (2,926 per match)
Top scorer(s)Qatar Ahmed Alaa
(6 goals)
Best player(s)Japan Shoya Nakajima
Fair play award Japan
2013
2018

The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2016 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in Qatar between 12–30 January 2016.[1][2] A total of 16 teams compete in the tournament. The tournament was also renamed from the "AFC U-22 Championship" to the "AFC U-23 Championship".[1]

For the first time, the AFC U-23 Championship acted as the AFC qualifiers for the Olympic football tournament, replacing the previous process of home-and-away Olympic qualifiers. The top three teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil as the AFC representatives.[3]

Japan won the tournament with a 3–2 final win over South Korea. Both finalists and third-placed Iraq qualified for the Olympics.[4]

  1. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". the-afc.com. 28 November 2014.
  2. ^ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2017.
  3. ^ "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD – RIO 2016 – Football" (PDF). Rio 2016 Official Website. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Iraq clinch Asia's final Rio spot". FIFA.com. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016.