On July 29 in the height of the summer of 2021, the AFC officially released heavy news to the public that the DPRK soccer team had officially withdrawn from the upcoming 2022 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers to be held in Uzbekistan, and also bid farewell to the stage of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers in India.
Immediately following the draw, the AFC plans to conduct a special online draw on August 11th. At that time, the remaining eight teams in Groups G through J, including but not limited to China, Brunei, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Myanmar, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and Laos, will have the opportunity to be drawn into Group K, which formerly housed North Korea.
Meanwhile, in terms of the qualifiers for the 2022 Women's Asian Cup, Group C was originally overcrowded due to the absence of North Korea. Now, the group will be narrowed down from the original four teams to three, with Indonesia, Iraq and Singapore remaining, making the competition even fiercer.
