The AFC Champions League 2 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
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas t ...
al club
football competition organised by the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...
(AFC). It will be the second-tier 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 are ...
n club football, ranked below the
AFC Champions League Elite and above the
AFC Challenge League.
Clubs will qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Participation in the competition is open to clubs from the top 12 nations in the East region and the top 12 nations in the West region 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 ...
.
The participants from the nations ranked 1–6 in each region will be the highest-placed club in that nation that did not qualify for the AFC Champions League Elite. Meanwhile, the nations ranked 7–12 in each region will enter their top club(s) directly to the AFC Champions League 2.
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 Asian 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 like the top-tier. It was also announced that a third-tier competition would also commence for the clubs who failed to qualify into the top two club competitions. On 14 August 2023, it was confirmed that the new second-tier competition would commence from the
2024–25 season onwards with the name of AFC Champions League 2.
See also
*
AFC Cup
References
{{reflist
Asian Football Confederation club competitions
Sports leagues established in 2023