Cambodia is proud to have been granted hosting rights for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying matches for the first time, announced the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC), on Thursday, February 27.
The 2026 cup will take place in Australia, in March next year.
The qualifying tournament will take place from June 23 to July 5 this year. The qualifiers will involve national women’s teams from across the region, with the draw for the eight groups set to take place on March 27, at the AFC headquarters in Malaysia.
This marks the Kingdom’s first time hosting such a prestigious women’s football event, although it is still unknown which national team will be appearing in Cambodia for the qualifiers.
The Cambodian national team (in blue) in action in the final of the AFF Women’s Cup 2024. FFC
“Cambodia is one of the 8 countries that applied to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 qualifiers. We received confirmation from the AFC on February 26 regarding our hosting rights,” FFC secretary-general Keo Sarath told The Post.
Although he did not know which sides will face the Cambodian women at home, Sarath viewed the qualifying tournament as a great opportunity for the team to compete against stronger regional countries and further develop their skills.
Recently, the Cambodia team marked a major milestone by securing second place in the 2024 AFF Women’s Cup, after losing 3-1 to Indonesia in the final on December 5.
The FFC considered the result a major achievement, noting that it followed their successful progression to the semi-finals of the 32nd SEA Games, held in Cambodia in 2023.
This was the first time they had done so, and to do it in front of a home crowd was something special.
“The purpose of applying for the right to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 qualifiers is to boost the development of and promote women’s football in the Kingdom,” said Sarath.
“Through previous competitions, we have seen that our national women’s team has great potential, and we need to continue pushing forward,” he added.