Oman drawn with Jordan, UAE in WAFF U17 championship

Muscat, Sept 9
Oman’s national under-17 football team have been drawn alongside hosts Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in Group B of the 13th West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U17 Championship, following the official draw held on Wednesday.
The tournament will take place in Aqaba, Jordan, from September 26 to October 5, with seven national teams competing for the regional title. Group A comprises Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, while Oman will face Jordan and the UAE in the three-team Group B.
Oman will open their campaign against Jordan on Sunday, September 27, before meeting the UAE on Tuesday, September 29. Both matches will kick off at 7 pm Oman time and will be played at Aqaba Stadium, which will host all matches in the tournament.
The draw presents the young Red Warriors with two important regional tests as they seek to progress to the knockout stage. Under the competition format, teams will play a single round-robin in the group stage, with the top two sides from each group advancing to the semifinals.
The winners of Group A will face the runners-up of Group B, while the Group B winners will meet the runners-up of Group A. The two semifinal winners will advance to the final, scheduled for October 5.
The championship will also provide Oman with valuable competitive experience ahead of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 Qualifiers in November. WAFF has confirmed that its U17 Championship will become a direct qualifying pathway to the continental finals starting with the next edition, when the regional champion will receive an automatic berth. The arrangement will not apply to the 2026 tournament.
Oman continue their daily training sessions under national head coach Ahmed bin Salem Bait Said, with the technical staff intensifying physical and technical preparations to ensure the squad reaches the required level of readiness for the regional competition and the subsequent Asian qualifiers.
FRIENDLY MATCHES
The team’s preparations have included a series of domestic training camps and friendly matches aimed at improving fitness, developing tactical understanding and strengthening cohesion among the players. The coaching staff have also used the preparation programme to assess individual performances and evaluate different combinations ahead of the competitive assignments.
In August, Oman completed a domestic camp in Muscat from August 6 to 17, during which they played two international friendlies against Bahrain. The young Red Warriors lost the opening encounter 2-1 before responding with a 2-0 victory in the second match, ending the two-match series on a positive note.
The WAFF Championship will therefore serve as an important opportunity to assess the squad against regional opposition before Oman turn their attention to the continental qualification campaign.
Oman have been drawn in Group G of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 Qualifiers alongside Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and Brunei Darussalam. The Sultanate of Oman will host the group’s matches in Salalah from November 8 to 20, with only the group winners advancing to the continental finals.