2016 AFC U-16 Championship
The 2016 AFC U-16 Championship was the 17th edition of the AFC U-16 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-16 national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in India, as announced by the AFC on 3 June 2015, and was played between 15 September and 2 October 2016. A total of 16 teams played in the tournament.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | India |
| Dates | 15 September – 2 October |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Iraq (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Iran |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 31 |
| Goals scored | 109 (3.52 per match) |
| Attendance | 32,983 (1,064 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Mohammed Dawood (6 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Mohammed Dawood |
Same as previous editions, the tournament acted as the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The top four teams of the tournament qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup also in India as the AFC representatives, besides India who qualified automatically as hosts. If India were among the top four teams, three play-off matches would be played to decide the fifth-placed team which also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup; however, this was not necessary as India were eliminated in the group stage.
This marked the first time a U-17 World Cup host nation hosts the AFC U-16 Championship.
Iraq won the tournament after beating Iran 4–3 on penalties in the final match.