Iran to Defend Title at AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The pristine sand of the Jomtien Beach Arena is set to provide the stage for the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup Thailand 2025 when it gets underway on Thursday, March 20.
Located in the eastern Thai city of Pattaya, which also served as hosts during the previous two occasions when the tournament was held in Thailand, the arena will welcome 16 contenders for the 11th edition.
Familiar faces will be on show as 13 of the cast from the previous iteration in 2023 return for another shot at glory, including reigning champions Iran and all four other former winners – Bahrain, Japan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The trio of China, Iran and Japan are the only sides to appear at every tournament to date while at the other end of the spectrum, India, Indonesia and Vietnam are aiming to notch their first ever victories.
The top three finishers will qualify for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025 – Bahrain (2), Iran (8), Japan (12), Oman (5), Thailand (1) and UAE (8) are the only teams to have appeared on the global stage previously.
