As many as nine teams will compete in the round, including Chinese Taiwan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Iran, Chinese Hong Kong and three leading teams in the first qualifier.

According to a recent draw, Vietnam will play in Group C, which comprises Chinese Hong Kong and the third winner of the first qualifying round. Group B has Thailand, Iran and the second winner of the first qualifying round, while Chinese Taiwan, Myanmar and the first winner of the first qualifying round will compete in Group A.

These teams will play in a round robin format to select three group winners to compete in the finals together with five free-entrance teams, namely the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, China, Japan, Australia and the Republic of Korea.

The first qualifying round will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the participation of Bangladesh, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine.

The Vietnamese team will be called in on May 24 under the guidance of chief coach Chen Wen Phat. They will also have a training course in Japan from June 14-25.

The Vietnamese squad is set to prevail at the 2009 Southeast Asia Women’s Football Championship in October and the 25^th Southeast Asia (SEA) Games in Laos in December.