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The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s commitment towards elevating the standards of its top-level competitions, as outlined in its Vision and Mission, marked a significant milestone today after the AFC Competitions Committee recommended measures aimed at further enhancing the Confederation’s youth competitions at its fifth meeting held in Saudi Arabia.
Led by Chairperson Dr Tran Quoc Tuan, the Committee took the opportunity to wish the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026™ finalists – China PR and Japan – the very best of success ahead of today’s decider at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah and applauded the Saudi Arabian Football Federation for their impeccable hosting capabilities.
Moving forward, the Committee agreed to reform the qualifying formats of both competitions with the aim of optimising the competitions calendar, improving planning and preparation for Participating Member Associations (PMAs), and encouraging stronger youth ecosystem development and alignment amongst the AFC’s five Regional Associations (RAs).
AFC U17 ASIAN CUP™ QUALIFIERS FORMAT
Specific to the AFC U17 Asian Cup™, the Committee agreed to mandate the Confederation’s RAs to organise their own qualifying competitions as the pathway to the Finals, effective from the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2028™ Qualifiers (to be held in 2027).
Following an analysis of performance levels across the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ and AFC U16 Championship, which have shown consistent growth, the Committee approved a new transparent slot allocation system for each Zone. Slot allocation will be split equally, with the East (East and ASEAN) and West (Central, South, and West) regions each receiving 50 per cent of the 16 available slots based on historical performances; the exact breakdown is: ASEAN – 4, East – 4, Central – 3, South – 1, West – 4.
Under this proposal, the Finals host would receive automatic qualification as one of the slots assigned to its respective Zone, with no other teams receiving automatic entry.
To align with the competitions calendar, RAs shall utilise one of the two windows which have been established – from January to February for Finals to be in the first half of the same year, and from July to October for Finals the following year.
AFC U20 ASIAN CUP™ QUALIFIERS FORMAT
Similarly, a review of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Qualifiers identified comparable findings, and to address these challenges, the Committee approved a new format designed to ensure more meaningful matches and opportunities for teams to compete against opponents of similar technical competency.
Subsequently, a new format comprising a two-phase system (subject to the final entry status) featuring a promotion and relegation mechanism will be introduced. This restructure aims to bridge the technical gap whilst meeting the different needs of PMAs at varying stages of development.
Qualification Phase
This phase will consist of 32 teams divided into eight groups of four, with the group winners and the seven best second-placed teams advancing to the Finals. To maintain high competitive standards, the bottom teams will be relegated to the Development Phase of the subsequent edition.
Development Phase
Accommodating a maximum of 14 teams across three groups, top-performing teams will earn promotion to the Qualification Phase for the next cycle. The primary focus of this phase is to facilitate technical development and provide essential tournament experience.
Key features of this proposal include using the current draw seeding for the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Qualifiers as the initial baseline for the first edition in 2027, with subsequent seedings determined by the new promotion and relegation results. The existing single-round match format and hosting conditions will be maintained, ensuring that every match serves a clear purpose—whether for qualification, promotion, or ranking, and the Finals host will continue to receive automatic qualification.
The Committee also mandated the AFC Administration to engage with the RAs to finalise the detailed competition plans and operational arrangements for the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Qualifiers and to confirm and/or adjust the format of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Qualifiers as necessary, subject to the final entry status.
Meanwhile, the Competitions Regulations of the AFC Champions League Elite™, the AFC Champions League Two™ and the AFC Challenge League™ for the 2026/27 season were also approved, as was the AFC Stadium Regulations (Edition 2026). The AFC Stadium Regulations shall be applicable to all AFC club competitions from the 2026/27 sporting season onwards, and all AFC national team competitions taking place from June 1, 2026.
All decisions need to be ratified by the AFC Executive Committee before taking effect.
