Based on the UEFA model
The journalist Martin Lowe according to the European model, Asian club competitions could change drastically. Basically, the same concept as the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League should be created. The most important change is the adaptation of the “Swiss model” as in the UEFA Champions League from 2024.
The number of teams in the AFC Champions League is set to be reduced from 40 to 24, although it was only increased from 32 in 2021. In the AFC Cup, the number of 32 teams will remain and the counterpart to the Europa Conference League, which has not yet been named, should therefore comprise 20 teams. Another significant change is the abolition of the traditional separation of regions until the final in the AFC Cup. In the Champions League, the separation between West and East will be maintained, but will be played out in centralized locations from the knockout phase.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Most Valuable Players
The continent of Asia poses the particular challenge of stretching across the globe twice as long as Europe. Reigning AFC Cup winners Al-Seeb from Oman, for example, played a team outside West Asia in the final for the first time in their club history a week ago. In addition, legionnaire quotas are reportedly being removed, potentially allowing teams with 20 foreigners in the matchday squad, and country coefficient calculations are being reworked with the aim of protecting countries like China and Australia, which are experiencing a massive slump in the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic included in the ranking.
While China sent U20 teams to the centralized venues in the AFC Champions League group stage, Australia couldn’t make it at all and had to pull out. This puts teams from countries like Malaysia and Hong Kong, who have benefited from this system so far, at a disadvantage. Johor DT from Malaysia and Kitchee from Hong Kong were sensational in surviving the group phase in the past seasons. Direct starting places for the low-ranking countries in the coefficient ranking would thus become fewer.
This structure is to be ratified by various committees of the Asian Continental Confederation between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023.
An update on the AFC’s plans to reform continental club football.
– #ACL to be trimmed to 24 “elite” clubs, down from the expanded 40 club format we have today.
– #AFCCup will become an open tournament, without regional zones.
– A third tier tournament will be introduced.— Martin Lowe (@Martin_Lowe_) October 27, 2022
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