A total of eight AFC member national teams participated in the tournament.[2] The event invitations were based on participation in the previous two editions of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (2009 and 2013).[3]
The draw was held on 14 July 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams (one seeded team and three unseeded teams). Japan and Iran, the champions and runners-up at the 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, were seeded in Pot 1, while all other teams were unseeded in Pot 2.[4]
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:[5]
Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
If, after applying criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 apply;
Goal difference in all the group matches;
Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time would be used in the third place match).[5]
