The 2015 AFC Beach Soccer Championship was a beach soccer tournament which took place in Doha, Qatar on 23–28 March 2015.[1] This was the second consecutive time that the AFC Beach Soccer Championship was held in Doha. All matches were played at the Katara Beach.
The tournament served as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifier for teams from Asia which are members of AFC, where the top three teams qualified for the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Portugal.[2] In the final, Oman defeated Japan to be crowned champions, and both teams together with third place Iran qualified for the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[3]
Participating teams and draw
The following 15 teams entered the tournament.[4]Palestine initially entered but then had to withdraw.
The draw of the tournament was held on 18 February 2015 at Doha, Qatar.[4] The 15 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams and one group of three teams.
Group stage
Each team earns three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in extra time, one point for a win in a penalty shoot-out, and no points for a defeat.
Legend
The top two teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals
Source: AFC Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points obtained in head-to-head matches; 3) Goal difference in head-to-head matches; 4) Goals scored in head-to-head matches; 5) Total goal difference; 6) Total goals scored; 7) Drawing of lots.[2] (H) Host
Source: AFC Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points obtained in head-to-head matches; 3) Goal difference in head-to-head matches; 4) Goals scored in head-to-head matches; 5) Total goal difference; 6) Total goals scored; 7) Drawing of lots.[2]
Source: AFC Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points obtained in head-to-head matches; 3) Goal difference in head-to-head matches; 4) Goals scored in head-to-head matches; 5) Total goal difference; 6) Total goals scored; 7) Drawing of lots.[2] Notes:
^Palestine were not able to take part in the competition due to "administrative issues outside of the event".[5]
Source: AFC Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points obtained in head-to-head matches; 3) Goal difference in head-to-head matches; 4) Goals scored in head-to-head matches; 5) Total goal difference; 6) Total goals scored; 7) Drawing of lots.[2]
1 No qualifiers took place; representatives were selected by the confederation. 2 CONCACAF and CONMEBOL held a joint championship for qualification. 3 Qualification was achieved through the Euro Beach Soccer League. (p) This indicates an additional play-off round, supplement to the main qualification event.