Dubai: The UAE has been pitted along with Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan and the Maldives in Group B of the futsal for the Fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games to be held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, next month.
The futsal competition will take place from September 16 to 21 and 23 to 26 at the Multi-functional Sport Venue with the finals being slated for September 26.
The draw was held at the venue late on Friday in the presence of James Bulley, CEO of Ashgabat 2017 and other officials from the futsal association.
The 18 teams in the men’s competition have been divided into two groups of five teams and two groups of four with the winners and runners-up from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. The four winners of the quarter-finals will advance to the semi-finals and the winner of those will play for the gold and silver medals, while the two losing teams will play for bronze.
The men’s seeding was based on their final rankings at the AFC Futsal Championship held in Uzbekistan last year.
GROUPINGS
Group A: Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Solomon Islands
Group B: Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan, UAE, Maldives
Group C: Thailand, Japan, Lebanon, Indonesia
Group D: Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Tahiti
