AFC makes big changes, record bonus awaits Asian champion team

Today, August 14, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee held its second online meeting, chaired by AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa. Vietnam Football Federation President Tran Quoc Tuan attended the meeting as a member of the AFC Executive Committee.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa

The meeting announced a new era for Asian club football by announcing the names of three new club competitions along with a significant increase in funding for 76 participating teams, and introducing the AFC Women's Champions League.

Asia's top club competition, featuring the continent's top 24 clubs, will be named the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE), while the second tier of 32 teams will be called the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) and the final tier, which will see 20 clubs compete, will be the AFC Challenge League (ACGL).

The ACLE champions will be awarded a total of $12 million, a significant increase from the $4 million the champions will receive in the upcoming 2023/24 season. The losing finalists will receive $6 million, up $4 million from the upcoming season. Both ACL2 and ACGL will see across-the-board increases in prize pools and benefits.

The AFC Women's Champions League will feature top-flight matches involving qualified clubs from all AFC Member Associations with a format to be announced later.

It is expected that Vietnamese football will have representatives participating in AFC Champions League 2, AFC Challenge League and AFC Women's Champions League in the 2024/2025 season.

According to VOV