Iran’s national junior football team, more commonly known as Nojavanan, has been drawn in Group A of the forthcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Championship due to take place in India in September-October 2016.

During the official draw conducted in the southwestern Indian city of Goa on Thursday, the Iranian outfit was put in Group A of the group stage of the sports event, and joined squads from the host nation, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Australia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam formed Group B in the tournament.

While Iraq, Malaysia, Oman and South Korea were drawn in Group C, North Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Yemen shaped Group D.

The 17th edition of the AFC U-16 Championship will start in Goa, India, on September 15 and will finish on October 2.

The 16 teams participating in the sports event will compete during a single round robin system in place for the preliminary round.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, while the lower-ranked sides will vie in the 9th-16th classification round.

The four semi-finalists of the tournament will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will also be staged in India. Indian youth football team has qualified automatically as the host for the event.

Saudi Arabia won the AFC U-16 Championship twice in 1985 and 1988, while Iran clinched the title once in 2008.

By Press TV