Malaysia officially 'disillusioned' due to Asian Games ruling

The regulations for ASIAD 2026 participation quotas clarified, leaving many Southeast Asian teams like Malaysia U23 and Indonesia U23 without opportunities to participate.

The organizing committee of the 2026 Asian Games (AINAGOC) has issued an official announcement to refute rumors regarding expanding the number of participating football teams. This information was sent to all National Olympic Committees under the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) via email on March 13.

According to CNN Indonesia sources, a copy of the letter was circulated to relevant parties and confirmed on March 14 morning. The email content titled “Aichi-Nagoya 2026 NOC Services: Football Qualification Format,” in which AINAGOC emphasized that the regulations on the number of participating teams remain unchanged. This information also means many teams hoping for a spot in the tournament will be disappointed.

In the announcement sent to OCA members, the organizing committee stated: “OCA denies reports that the football tournament at ASIAD 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan will open for all 45 member teams of the Asian Olympic Council to participate.” This is seen as a direct response to widespread rumors on social media in recent days.

Previously, ASEAN Football spread information claiming OCA decided to remove team limits for men's and women's football events at ASIAD 2026. According to the shared content, all 45 OCA member countries and territories could register for football at the 20th edition of the Games, leading many teams to believe the door to participation had widened. Among them, Indonesia U23 and Malaysia U23 were thought to have chances to participate despite not securing spots in the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup finals earlier.

However, AINAGOC confirmed that the above information is completely inaccurate. The announcement clarified: “In response to these reports, OCA confirms the number of participating teams remains unchanged, with 16 teams in the men's tournament and 12 teams competing in the women's tournament.” This regulation continues to be applied according to the previously agreed plan.

According to the approved mechanism, the 16 spots for men's football at ASIAD 2026 will be determined based on performance at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup. This policy was agreed upon by the Asian Football Confederation and OCA in 2024, within the memorandum signed on December 13, 2024 for the 2024-2028 period.

Under this regulation, Southeast Asia is expected to have only two representatives: Vietnam U23 and Thailand U23 participating at ASIAD 2026. This means Indonesia U23 and Malaysia U23 will definitely be absent due to not qualifying for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup finals, despite the two football federations previously strongly opposing OCA's regulation.