India Qualify For AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup 2026: AIFF Announces USD 25,000 Reward

The All India Football Federation on Sunday announced a cash incentive of USD 25,000 for the Under-20 women’s team as a reward for their qualification to the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time since 2006.

The U-20 women's side topped Group D with seven points, capping their campaign with a 1-0 win over hosts Myanmar in Yangon on Sunday.

Pooja scored the decisive goal in the 27th minute, finishing off a move she started on the counter.

India, who had earlier drawn 0-0 with Indonesia and thrashed Turkmenistan 7-0, remained unbeaten and did not concede a single goal in the qualifiers.

The AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 is scheduled to be held in Thailand in April 2026.

The AIFF credited it to "sustained planning and developmental efforts over the past few years" in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India.

The U20 women have been in camp since December 2024 and have played the Pink Ladies Youth Cup in Turkey, defeating teams like Hong Kong and Jordan.

Ahead of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, a number of the U20 players trained with the senior team before the Young Tigresses faced Uzbekistan U20s in two friendlies in Tashkent (1-1 and 4-1).

In total, the India U20 women's team trained together in the preparation camp for 135 days since December 2024.

Initiatives like the ASMITA Women’s Football Leagues have boosted the grassroots structure, leading to a "232% increase" in registered women footballers in the past year, stated an AIFF release.

"The ASMITA Football Leagues continue in the 2025-26 season as well, with the U13 ASMITA Football Leagues 2025-26, which began last month," it stated.

"The U13 leagues will see 50 tournaments be played across as many venues, where around 8,000 players from approximately 400 teams will compete across 26 states."