Iran to play Uzbekistan in AFC Futsal opener

AFC - Reigning Asian Futsal champions IR Iran are to begin the defense of their title this October with a rematch against last year's beaten finalists Uzbekistan.

The Iranians, who have won all three editions of the Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship since its inception in 1999, were drawn with Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Turkmenistan in Group B during the official draw ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia on Monday afternoon.

The draw, which was conducted by AFC secretary general Dato' Peter Velappan, also saw Korea Republic, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Thailand and Iraq drawn together in Group A, while hosts Indonesia were placed in Group C with Kygyzstan, China PR, Kuwait and Japan.

The 15-team tournament will run from October 22 to 31 at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta. The top two teams in each of the three preliminary round groups and the two best third-placed teams will advance to the knock-out rounds.

Iran emerged as champions last year after trouncing Uzbekistan 9-0 in the final in Tehran. Korea Republic edged Japan 2-1 to finish third.

AFC Futsal Championship draw
Group A: Korea Republic, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Thailand, Iraq
Group B: IR Iran, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Turkmenistan
Group C: Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, China PR, Kuwait, Japan