The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) organized club competition will be held in three newly reorganized competitions from next year. A major reorganization is expected, such as a three-fold increase in prize money for the top tier competitions.
The AFC Executive Committee announced on the afternoon of the 14th (Korean time) the news of the largest prize money in the history of the upcoming 2024-25 season AFC club competition and the establishment of a new Women’s Champions League competition.
The executive committee unveiled the names of three new club competitions the day before and announced the introduction of the AFC Women’s Champions League, heralding a new era. This is to take Asian football to a new level and promote great growth and inclusion. It will be applied from the 2024-25 season, one year later.
AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa presided over the second meeting of the Executive Committee held via video and said, “It reaffirmed the federation’s commitment to fostering a more commercial club environment while strengthening intimacy with passionate fans of Asian football.” told
First, the competition in which the top tier clubs participate was named the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE). 24 teams will participate, and the winning prize will amount to 12 million dollars (approximately 16 billion won). This is three times the prize money for winning the AFC Champions League (ACL) in this 2023-24 season. The runner-up team also receives 600 dollars (about 8 billion won).
The next tier competition is the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2), with 32 teams participating. Finally, the third tier was named the AFC Challenge League (ACGL). In the ACGL, 20 teams compete for supremacy.
If you compare these three competitions with the club competitions organized by the European Football Federation (UEFA), the UEFA Champions League (UCL), Europa League (UEL), and Europa Conference League (UECL) are in order. In the AFC, the AFC Cup, a second-tier competition, originally existed, but this competition was not a competition in which leagues from all countries participated. According to the league rankings by country, clubs other than the top 5 countries have competed. From the 2024-25 season, it will be reorganized into ACL2, in which 32 teams compete. That is, it is similar to the current ACL.
In the current K-League 1, the top three teams and the FA Cup winning team participated in the ACL. From the upcoming 2024-25 season, it seems that there will be a difference in qualification. Like the current UEFA competitions, some clubs are expected to get tickets for the ACL2.
Meanwhile, this reorganization is the result of a major reorganization plan announced by AFC in December of last year. At the time, the AFC announced that it would operate in three competitions like the UEFA club competition at the time. If you include the content at the time and the part announced the day before, 12 teams from East Asia and West Asia will clash in ACLE. It is a league format, not a group stage league format. The top 8 teams in each region advance to the round of 16 in a tournament.
Like the existing ACL, ACL2 is divided into 8 groups of 4 teams and proceeds with the group stage. The top two teams from each advance to the tournament. Lastly, the ACGL is divided into 5 groups of 4 teams, and the top team in the group advances to the quarterfinals. The top three teams from the second place then advance to the tournament.
The foreign player quota is also expected to change. Earlier, the AFC eased the foreign player quota to 5+1 for the 2023-24 season, and announced that it would be abolished altogether from the 2024-25 season. The K-League is also expected to have changes in this area in the future.
“The AFC Club Competition is one of the most profitable competitions in continental football,” said President Sheikh Salman. Asian men’s and women’s club football is facing a new and historic era, looking at this future direction. AFC has expressed its ambition to continue to shine through world-class competition. A major part of this aspiration is based on our commitment to reinvest in the competition, which is the basis for the development of all member associations.” 메이저사이트
Meanwhile, the AFC said, “All AFC eligible clubs are invited to participate in the Women’s Champions League. In the future, we will show the highest level of competition by applying a financial distribution model. The AFC has hosted two pilot women’s club championships in 2021 and 2022, and a third will be held later this year.”
At the same time, “The Women’s Champions League is an important step in our strategy to provide a platform for female players to showcase their talents on the continent. I am confident that this tournament will empower women in Asian football and have a positive impact on the growth of women’s football by breaking down gender equality and social barriers.”