Seven national teams await the start of the ((WAFF)) U-17 Championship today

During the tournament's press conference held yesterday, the coaches of the participating teams—Anwar Ashour (Yemen), Rami Al-Ladqi (Lebanon), Mohammed Al-Sharbaji (Palestine), Maan Al-Rashid (Syria), Ashraf Shatat (Jordan), Ahmed Salem (Oman), and Oceano Cruz (UAE)—revealed their goals for the tournament, unanimously agreeing on its importance in their preparations for upcoming events, primarily the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers.

They also touched upon the nature of the preparatory stages their teams underwent before the tournament, and the challenges they faced, whether in terms of the limited number of friendly matches or tournaments for this age group. They agreed that the WAFF Championship provides a space to compensate for this by giving players the opportunity for competitive exposure and gaining experience that contributes to their development, in addition to allowing coaches to evaluate their options closely to ensure the required level of readiness is reached.

The coaches also emphasized that the decision to turn WAFF U-17 championships into qualifiers for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup starting from the next edition, and granting four teams direct qualification spots, reflects positively on the tournament, increasing its importance, raising its competitive intensity, and ensuring the participation of all teams in the region.

In a related context, the press conference was preceded by a technical meeting attended by tournament commissioner Tarek Haidar from Lebanon, the referee assessor from Iraq, Abeer Al-Rantisi, WAFF Competitions Director, and tournament director Laila Al-Azzam from the Jordan Football Association, alongside representatives of the teams and relevant security, medical, and organizational authorities.

All matches will be held at the Aqaba Stadium, with the tournament opening today, Saturday, with a match between Yemen and Palestine at 5:00 PM, followed by a match between Lebanon and Syria at 8:00 PM.

The following day, the national team will face Oman at 6:00 PM. Competitions continue on Monday with Palestine meeting Lebanon at 5:00 PM, then Syria against Yemen at 8:00 PM, while Tuesday will witness the UAE facing Oman at 6:00 PM.

Wednesday, September 30, will feature two matches between Yemen and Lebanon at 5:00 PM, and Syria and Palestine at 8:00 PM, before the first round concludes on Thursday, October 1, with Jordan meeting the UAE at 6:00 PM.

The tournament system is applied in a single stage in the first round, where the teams of each group play against each other in a round-robin format, and the first and second-place winners from each group qualify for the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, the winner of the first group meets the runner-up of the second group, while the winner of the second group faces the runner-up of the first group, with the winners advancing to the final match scheduled for Monday, October 5.

The tournament carries a special character, as it constitutes an important station for national teams in the region to prepare for upcoming events. Furthermore, starting from the next edition, the WAFF U-17 Championship will be a qualifier for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup by granting the title holder a direct qualification spot to the continental finals, which adds more interest to it.