FUTSAL – Bahrain women’s futsal national team are set to take part in the qualifying competition for the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025.
The qualifiers are scheduled to be held from Saturday to January 19 at four separate locations across the continent.
The Bahrainis are one of 19 squads taking part, divided into four groups, with each group being hosted by one of the participating countries. There are nine spots up for grabs in the competition proper from qualification.
The nationals are in Group A along with hosts Thailand, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq.
Group B features hosts Indonesia, Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, and Kyrgyzstan; while Group C is composed of hosts Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Australia, the Philippines, and Kuwait. There are only four teams in Group D, including hosts Myanmar, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, and Macau.
The top two teams from each pool, along with the best third-placed side, will all book their tickets to the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup, which will be hosted by China in May of this year.
The host Chinese have an automatic spot in the 12-nation event, along with two-time defending champions Iran and reigning silver-medallists Japan.
This year’s competition is the third edition of the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup.
Bahrain are looking to qualify for only the second time in the tournament’s history. They had also played in the previous championship in 2018. The competition was also supposed to be held in 2020, but was forced to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nine sides, namely Australia, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, and the Philippines, are all eyeing first-time qualification for the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup.
Bahrain have been gearing up for the tournament under the supervision of head coach Lino Gomes from Brazil and his staff. The Bahrain Football Association has yet to announce the national team’s final roster for the qualifiers, but are expected to do so soon ahead of travelling to Bangkok for the qualifiers.
The nationals are set to be spearheaded by top talents Hessa Al Isa, Manar Ebrhaim, and Shaikha Al Anood Al Khalifa, among other players.
The Bahrainis are scheduled to open their qualification bid on Saturday when they face Lebanon at 12.30pm. They take on Iraq on Monday next week at 12.30pm, and then play hosts Thailand on January 17 at 3.30pm. The nationals battle Palestine in their final game on January 19 at 12.30pm.
All times are Bahrain, and all the group games will be held at Nonthaburi Stadium in the Thai city of Nonthaburi.
In the lead-up to the qualifiers, the Bahrainis played four friendly matches at home against visitors Kuwait and Indonesia. They won both their games against the Kuwaitis – first 3-0 and then 6-2 – and then split their two tune-ups with the Indonesians – first suffering a 1-4 loss and then bouncing back with a 3-2 win.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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