"In principle, everything has been completed. But Indonesia still has to meet the next phase, namely the verification and administration processes," Joko Driyono said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is the strongest candidate to host the U-19 Asia Championship in 2018 after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has in principle approved its bid, Deputy Chairman of All Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) Joko Driyono said.

"In principle, everything has been completed. But Indonesia still has to meet the next phase, namely the verification and administration processes," he said here on Saturday.

Driyono, who is also the acting PSSI secretary general, said that until there has been an official decision, all countries participating in U-19 Asia Championship, including Indonesia, must pass through qualification process from Oct 31 to Nov 8, 2017.

If Indonesia is appointed to host U-19 Asia Championship, it will automatically advance to the final round, he remarked.

In the AFC U-19 Asia Championship, Indonesia is in Group F along with South Korea, Malaysia, Timor Leste, and Brunei Darussalam. All matches in Group F will be held in South Korea as the host of qualification round.

Before they play in the Asia Championship qualification, the Indonesian team will play in AFF U-18 Championship to be held in Myanmar in Sept 2017.

The AFC U-19 Asia Championship will be participated by AFC member states. They will be divided into western and eastern zones. In total, it will consist of 10 groups. The countries which will be qualified for the U-19 Asia Championship are champions of the 10 groups, five best second seeded teams, and a host country.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017