[1] The AFC classed seventeen nations as emerging associations, which need time to develop their football.

The AFC decided at its annual meeting, that Bangladesh would host the opening ceremony and that Nepal would host the final unless Bangladesh makes it into the last two, in which case it would be held in Dhaka, its capital.

[3][4] It was originally planned that the teams in Groups A and B would play their games in Nepal and that teams in Groups C and D would play in Bangladesh, but due to the political unrest that shook Nepal, it was decided that only Bangladesh would host the tournament.

However, the Bangladesh Army Stadium in Dhaka was later used to make-up the matches that were abandoned due to heavy rain.

Some teams did not take part with their 'main' national squad, as noted below: All times are Bangladesh Standard Time (BST) – UTC+6 Where two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria: