2010 AFC Challenge Cup explained

The 2010 AFC Challenge Cup was the third edition of the tournament which was held from 16 - 27 February 2010 in Sri Lanka.^[1] India, the defending champions, fielded their under-23 team for this tournament in preparation for the 2010 Asian Games later that year.^[2] ^[3] The champions, North Korea, qualified for the 2011 Asian Cup.

Qualification

The finals saw three automatic qualifiers joined by five teams from the qualification phase. Qualification consisted of two sections.

A playoff between the 19th and 20th ranked entrants (Mongolia and Macau)
Four qualification groups for four teams. Each group winner advanced to the finals, along with the best-ranked runner-up. Because of the withdrawal of Afghanistan the ranking of second-placed teams was excluded results of any matches against fourth-placed sides.^[4]

Qualifiers for the final tournament were:

The draw for the final tournament was held on 30 November 2009 at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.^[5]

The following referees were chosen for the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.^[6]

width=44%	Referees	width=44%	Assistant Referees
Nawaf Abdulla Tan Hai Alireza Faghani Hajime Matsuo Andre El Haddad Chaiya Mahapab Mukhtar Al Yarimi	Ebrahim Mubarak Huo Weiming Shaji Kurian Morteza Karimi Toshiyuki Nagi Ahmad El Kawas Mohd Sabri Mat Daud Hamed Al Mayahi Hussein Shukran

All times are Sri Lanka Time (SLT) –

Where two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria:

points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
goal difference in all group matches;
number of goals scored in all group matches;
kicks from the penalty mark (if only two teams are level and they are both on the field of play);
fewer yellow and red cards received in the group matches;
drawing of lots by the organising committee.

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News: India names 22-member squad for AFC Challenge Cup . the-aiff.com . 13 February 2010 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111004031800/http://the-aiff.com/pages/news/index.php?N_Id=114 . 4 October 2011 .
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News: Regulations – 2010 AFC Challenge Cup (Qualifiers) . the-afc.com . 25 March 2009 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110818102201/http://images.the-afc.com/Documents/common/cms/afc/clcq010regulations.pdf . 18 August 2011 .
News: Draw – 2010 AFC Challenge Cup . the-afc.com . 30 November 2009 .
News: Referees – 2010 AFC Challenge Cup . https://archive.today/20120525040016/http://www.the-afc.com/en/football-development/referees/26980-afc-challenge-cup-match-officials-appointed . dead. 25 May 2012 . the-afc.com . 11 February 2010 .