Iran to make women’s U19 debut

AFC - Iran and Philippines will be represented for the first time in this month’s AFC U19 Women's Championship 2009 Qualifiers – highlighting the expansion of women’s football in Asia.

Iran has a strong men’s team but their football-playing women have rarely ventured outside their own country.

This will be only the second time Iranian women will be taking part in an AFC competition, having played in the Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers last year.

The tournament will be held in Kuala Lumpur from October 28 to November 7 and will feature 11 teams.

Iran have been placed in Group B with Australia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and India. The Philippines must battle it out with Korea Republic, Myanmar, Jordan, Vietnam and Singapore in Group A.

The top two teams from each group, plus the best third-placed team, will qualify for the finals.

China, Japan and DPR Korea have already qualified for the finals, the dates and venue of which have yet to be confirmed.

Iran is one of the countries taking part in AFC’s Vision Asia programme, which at some stage includes the development of women’s football.