# 2022 WAFF U-23 Championship

The 2022 WAFF U-23 Championship was the third edition of the WAFF U-23 Championship the international age-restricted football championship organized by the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) for the men's under-23 national teams of West Asia. A total of six teams competed in the tournament.
The tournament was originally going to be held in Iraq from 3 to 18 November 2022, but was relocated to Saudi Arabia due to the 2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis. Jordan, the defending champions, did not take part in the tournament. Saudi Arabia won their first title after defeating Qatar 3–1 in the final.

## Host selection

Originally, it was determined that Iraq would host the tournament, as a preparatory competition ahead of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. However, due to the 2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis, the hosting rights were lifted based on the recommendation issued in this regard by the General Assembly and the Executive Committee of the WAFF during its two recent meetings that were held in the Jordanian capital Amman. On 23 September 2022, the WAFF announced that Saudi Arabia would host the tournament. Iraq would host the next edition instead.

## Teams

Nine teams initially confirmed their participation. On 13 October, both Iraq and Yemen withdrew from the competition. On 20 October, it was announced that Kuwait withdrew from the competition, bringing the final number of teams to six.
| Team | Appearance | Previous best performance |
| Bahrain | 3rd | Group stage (2015, 2021) |
| Lebanon | 2nd | Group stage (2021) |
| Oman | 3rd | Group stage (2015, 2021) |
| Qatar | 2nd | Third place (2015) |
| Saudi Arabia | 3rd | Runners-up (2021) |
| Syria | 3rd | Runners-up (2015) |

### Draw

The draw was held on 20 October 2022.

### Squads

Each team had to register a squad of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers.

## Match officials

The following referees and assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.

## Venues

| Jeddah | Jeddah | Jeddah | Jeddah |
| Sports Hall at King Abdullah Sports City | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium | King Abdullah Sports City |
| Capacity: 1,000 | Jeddah | Capacity: 27,000 | Capacity: 62,345 |

## Group stage
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Qatar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Oman | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Lebanon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia (H) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Syria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Bahrain | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |

## Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were to be used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 10.1 and 10.3).

### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 12 November – Jeddah (Al Faisal) | 12 November – Jeddah (Al Faisal) |
| Qatar (p) | 1 (6) |
| Qatar (p) | 1 (6) | 15 November – Jeddah (Al Jawhara) | 15 November – Jeddah (Al Jawhara) |
| Syria | 1 (5) | 15 November – Jeddah (Al Jawhara) | 15 November – Jeddah (Al Jawhara) |
| Syria | 1 (5) | Qatar | 1 |
| 12 November – Jeddah (Al Faisal) | 12 November – Jeddah (Al Faisal) | | Qatar | 1 |
| 12 November – Jeddah (Al Faisal) | 12 November – Jeddah (Al Faisal) | Saudi Arabia | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | Saudi Arabia | 3 |
| Oman | 1 | | |
| Oman | 1 | Third place match | Third place match |
| | | 15 November – Jeddah (Al Jawhara) | 15 November – Jeddah (Al Jawhara) |
| | | Syria | 1 |
| | | Oman | 0 |

### Final
#### Winners

* 2022 WAFF U-23 Championship champion
* Saudi Arabia First title

## Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

### Awards
#### Player of the Tournament

* Ahmed Al-Ghamdi

#### Golden Glove

* Waseem Ayoub

## Goalscorers

There have been 26 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 2.36 goals per match.
2 goals
* Al Faraj Al Kiyumi
* Nasser Al Rawahi
* Ahmed Al-Ghamdi
* Ziyad Al-Johani
* Mohammed Maran
* Mohamad Rihanieh
1 goal
* Husain Abdulkarim
* Mohammed Abdul Qayoom
* Adel Al-Romaihi
* Said Saad
* Mohamad Omar Sadek
* Salem Al Abdulsalam
* Mostafa Qadeera
* Diyab Taha
* Mekki Tombari
* Musab Al-Juwayr
* Saad Al-Nasser
* Mahmoud Al Aswad
* Khaled Al Hajjah
* Fawaz Bawadekji