Association football is one of the most-popular sports in India. India hosted the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the first FIFA event the country hosted; it was called the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with a record-breaking attendance of 1,347,133, exceeding China's previous record of 1,230,976 in 1985. India also hosted the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The Nepal national football team represents Nepal in International men's football, and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Nepali football team plays their home games at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.
The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is a biennial international women's association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 2008. The current champions are Spain, who won its second title at the 2022 edition in India.
The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Association football and basketball are the most popular sports in Asia. Cricket is the third most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include baseball, badminton and table tennis among others. There are also some traditional sports that are popular in certain regions of Asia, such as the South Asian sports kabaddi and kho-kho, and sepak takraw in Southeast Asia. Top sporting nations/regions in Asia include China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Association football is one of the most popular sports in Nepal. It is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), which oversees the men's and women's national teams as well as club competitions. The present acting president of ANFA is Karma Kshiring Sherpa. The current top domestic league is the Martyr's Memorial A Division league. The Nepal national football team represents Nepal in all international competitions.
South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia which is a regional subsidiary of Asian Football Confederation, incorporated in 1997. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The India women's national football team represents India at women's international football competitions and is governed by the All India Football Federation. Under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and governed in Asia by the AFC. India is also part of the South Asian Football Federation. The team was one of the best in Asia in the mid-1970s to early 1980s, when they became runners-up in the 1979 and the 1983 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period, with Western sports having been imported during British rule. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
The Japan national under-17 football team is a national association football youth team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. The team were champions in the 1994 and 2006 AFC U-17 Championships, as well as the 2012 AFF U-16 Youth Championship. The year before the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the national team is renamed the Japan national under-16 football team, and the year before that, the national team is renamed the Japan national under-15 football team.
Cricket in Nepal has gained popularity over the years and has become the country's one of the most popular and widely followed sport. It rapidly grew popularity in the mid 2010s, following the slight successes of the Nepalese cricket team as well as the country's explosive rise in social media and television viewing influence from neighboring country India. It is played by many people throughout the country, especially in the Terai region. The biggest cricketing achievement of the national cricket team was when the team reached the qualification tournament of 2014 ICC World T20 held in Bangladesh. Nepal's playing season runs from September to November and starts again in March before finishing in May. As of October 2023, there were 3400 senior cricket clubs and over 35000 registered players in Nepal.
The India national under-17 football team represents India in international football at the under-17 level. Controlled by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for football in India, the team is part of the Asian Football Confederation and the South Asian Football Federation.
The Bangladesh women's national football team is the women's national association football team of Bangladesh controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation under the supervision of the women's football committee. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation and has yet to qualify for the World Cup or an AFC Women's Asian Cup finals.
The Pakistan women's national football team is the female representative in international women's football for Pakistan. The team was formed in 2010 and has not yet qualified for the AFC Women's Asian Cup or the FIFA Women's World Cup, but has competed in four editions of the biennial SAFF Women's Championship.
The India women's national under-20 football team represents India in international women's under-20 football in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship and the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. It is controlled by the AIFF. They also participated in the 2021–22 Indian Women's League season, as Indian Arrows Women.
Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) is one of five regional bodies that govern association football in Asia. It governs association football, futsal, and beach football in Central Asia. Headquartered in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, CAFA consists of six full national association members i.e Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan with India & Oman as invitational members.
The Bangladesh national under-20 football team represents Bangladesh in international youth football competitions in SAFF U-20 Championship, AFC U-20 Championship and FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any other under-20, under-19 & under-18 international football tournaments. The team is operated under the Bangladesh Football Federation.
Dipendra Singh Airee is a Nepalese cricketer. In August 2018, he was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Nepal's first-ever One Day International (ODI) match, against the Netherlands. During the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Airee scored the fastest fifty in T20Is, off just 9 balls, against Mongolia. In April 2024, he became the only third player in T20Is to hit six consecutive sixes in an over, doing it against Qatar in the ACC Premier Cup. He is also dubbed as “The Tiger” for his aggressive batting skills.
The following are the scheduled events of association football (soccer) for the calendar year 2023 throughout the world. This includes the following:
National
