- The winner of the Indian Super League’s league phase gets a direct slot into the AFC Champions League.
- The I-League champion gets a direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage as a special dispensation for three years.
- The winner of the Indian Super League’s playoffs gets a slot into the AFC Cup playoffs.
The same allocation of slots will be followed going forward.
In the case of ATK winning the ISL final and Mohun Bagan lifting the I-League title, then the new entity ATK-Mohun Bagan will play in the AFC Cup playoffs, while the runners-up of the I-League will get the AFC Cup group stage slot.