April 20 – Asian football’s flagship tournament, the Asian Cup, is being expanded in 2019 from 16 to 24 teams, abandoning the lower-level Challenge Cup in the process.
In a carbon copy of UEFA’s move to give more countries the opportunity to compete, the Asian Football Confederation’s executive committee approved the move, agreeing at the same time that the Challenge Cup in the Maldives next month would be its final edition.
Depending on the number of Asian Cup entries, nations will be split into eight groups in the preliminary stage. The eight group winners and four second best teams among all the eight groups will qualify for the final round of World Cup qualifiers. At present, only ten teams have that opportunity.
In a partial overhaul of the current system the exco also approved ranking member associations based on national team and club performance over last four years in AFC competitions.
Thirty per cent of points will be allocated for national teams’ performances with 70% at club level. Member associations ranked 1 to 24 will be eligible to play in the AFC Champions League.
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