Staff reporter

MUSCAT

Oman begin their campaign in the qualifiers of the AFC Under-23 Championships which get under way in Muscat from Monday.

The Oman team will take on Bahrain in the opening match on Monday with Lebanon set to meet Maldives later in the day. All matches will be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.

Iraq are the fifth country in the competition and they begin their quest against Lebanon on March 25 with Bahrain meeting Maldives later on the same day.

Coached by Hamad Al Azzani the 25 probables underwent a training-cum-conditioning camp from March 8 to 12 in Muscat followed by another camp in Dubai from 13 to 19.

The winner of the Muscat competition along with the toppers of nine other groups as well as five best runners-up will make it to the AFC Under-23 Championship finals which will be hosted in Qatar in January 2016.

The AFC Under-23 Championship will serve as the qualifying event for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil with three places up for grabs.

Probables list: Ahmad Bin Khalfan Al Siyabi, Abdulaziz Mubarak Al Ghailani, Saud Khamis Al Farsi, Basil Abdullah Al Rawahi, Mazen Masoud Al Qasmi, Azzan Mahmood Al Tamtami, Anwar Khusaib Al Hinai, Muhannad Abdullah Al Hassani, Hathim Khamis Al Hamhami, Mohammed Faraj Al Rawahi, Nadir Awadh Basheer, Abdulmajid Said Bait Shamas, Mahmood Mabrook Al Mushaifri, Hassan Said Al Saadi, Yasin Khalil Al Shiyadi, Khalid Ahmad Al Hamdani, Omar Mohammed Al Malki, Omar Talib Al Fazari, Hathim Sultan Al Rushdie, Fahmy Said Rajab, Ahmad Faraj Al Rawahi, Bilal Jalal Al Balushi, Hamad Said Al Habsi, Al Harith Hamza Al Balushi and Mundhir Rabee’a Al Alawi.