Kuala Lumpur.

The draw for the qualifiers for the AFC U-19 Championship 2014 to be held in Myanmar has been carried out in AFC Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Iran’s U19 team has been pitted in Group D alongside Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Tajikistan. The qualifying rounds will be hosted by Iran and will be held in Mashhad from 11 October 2013.

The football federation has been slow to react and failed to appoint a coach after the previous one Akbar Mohammadi resigned his post following the failure & elimination of Iran in the Asian Youth Championship with a defeat against the eventual winner, South Korea.

The bitter defeat also resulted in the resignation of the team’s manager, Fereydoon Moeini whose post was quickly vacated by Mirshad Majedi. With this appointment, it was hoped that a new coach will be selected and the team continues its program for the qualification round, but Majedi and the federation failed to appoint a head coach despite the fact that several nominees were named. Initially, Ali Doustimer was the prime candidate, but the U-17 coach is already fully occupied with his team which is actively preparing for the finals of FIFA U17 World Cup to be held in the UAE.

IRIFF , Secretary General  Mehdi Mohammad Nabi announced on several occasions that a coach will be named to begin the preparation process for the youth team , but he failed to deliver after each promise  while the team remains without a coach.

The AFC U-19 Championship also serve as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the top-four sides of the 2014 edition booking a place each in the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2015.

Korea Republic, who edged Iraq in the final of the competition in 2012, have won the competition 12 times since it started in 1959. The finals, to be held in Myanmar for the very first time, are the 38th edition of the competition.

The Group winners of the nine groups; five from West Zone and four from East will book a ticket to the October 2014 finals alongside with six best-placed sides and hosts Myanmar.