The Asian football governing body has duly divided the 16 hopefuls into four groups.

Group A involves Qatar, Australia, Jordan, and Indonesia, while Group B looks set to be competitive with several Asian powerhouses - Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and China.

Elsewhere, Southeast Asian No.2 Thailand will play in Group C alongside Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Tajikistan.

The 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup will be held from April 15 to May 3, 2024, and act as the AFC qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics men’s football tournament.

The top three teams of the competition will qualify for the 2024 Olympics in France as the AFC representatives, while the fourth-best team will play in an AFC- Confederation of African Football (CAF) play-off match. 

Saudi Arabia are the defending champions of the tournament.