The tournament was hosted by Bahrain, as announced by the AFC on 3 June 2015,[1] and was scheduled to be played between 13–30 October 2016.

[3] Japan conquered the title for the first time after beating Saudi Arabia in the final's penalty shootout, and also set a record in the competition for being the first team to win the tournament without conceding a single goal.

On 25 October 2016, the AFC President, Salman Al-Khalifa, congratulated Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, IR Iran and Japan on qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2017.

The four teams will join hosts South Korea to make up Asia's five representatives at the tournament.

Bahrain (hosts; position A1) Qatar North Korea Uzbekistan Japan Thailand United Arab Emirates China Australia Iraq South Korea Yemen Iran Vietnam Saudi Arabia Tajikistan Players born on or after 1 January 1997 are eligible to compete in the tournament.