Announcement: 2017 Tsunami Cup is Officially Under-23 Tournament

In an announcement today, the Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic clearly stated the the 2017 Tsunami Cup is an under-23 tournament that follows roster rules and regulations for football at the summer Olympics. This means that rosters must contain no more than three players over the age of 23.

There was initial confusion about the nature of the tournament as it was originally announced in some reports that only Indonesia would field an under-23 side. Those reports initially seemed to be inaccurate when the tournament's matches were listed for each of the participating national associations on their official FIFA profiles. However the match listings have since been removed.

The roster rules and regulations explain some of the notable omissions from the squad that was announced late last month, including Murun Altankhuyag and Nyam-Osoryn Naranbold. Although most of the players in Mongolia's squad have already appeared in senior international fixtures, the few who have not will not earn their senior international debuts if they appear in matches in this tournament.

The competition's status as an under-23 tournament also means that the results will have no affect on Mongolia's standings in the FIFA World Rankings.

It has been mentioned again that Mongolia will begin its 2019 EAFF Championship qualifying campaign this summer. The 2017 Tsunami Cup will at least provide additional practice for most usual members of the senior squad in preparation for these matches.