The AFC Challenge League is an upcoming annual

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

al club

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition will be played between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots to the top-tier AFC Champions League Elite or the second-tier

AFC Champions League 2 The AFC Champions League 2 is an upcoming annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will be the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC Champions League El ...

, based on the

AFC club competitions ranking The AFC Club Competitions Ranking is a ranking system launched by the AFC in 2014. The ranking is based on the results of teams participating in the last four years of the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup. The ranking is used for determine slot ...

History

On 23 December 2022, it was announced that the AFC club competition structure would change from the established formats. Under the new plans, the top club competition of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n football will only consist of 24 teams, divided into East and West regions, while the second-tier will consist of 32 teams, divided along with same lines. It was also announced that a third-tier competition would recommence after the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

edition, for clubs that failed to receive direct qualifying slots to the top two competitions. On 14 August 2023, it was confirmed that the new competition would commence from 2024–25 onwards, named the AFC Challenge League.

References

{{reflist Asian Football Confederation club competitions Sports leagues established in 2023