AFC U-23 Championship

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The AFC U-23 Championship, also referred to as the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, is a biennial Asian cup competition held for the continent’s under-23 national teams. Founded in 2012, the inaugural campaign was set to take place in 2013 but was delayed until January 2014 due to the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup. This tournament began as the AFC U-22 Championship but rebranded to its current U-23 format after the first edition. A total of 16 teams participate, with the contestants being split into four groups of four. The top two teams from each group progress to the knockout stage, with the quarter-finals all the way to the final being one-off matches. The AFC U-23 Championship held in an Olympic year acts as the Asian qualifiers for the Summer Game’s football tournament, with the three top teams from this AFC tournament earning tickets.