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AFC Champions League Elite expands to 32 teams from 2026-27, new format boosts competition and rewards league performance across Asia.
Kento Hamasaki passes in front of Yang Haoyu during the AFC Champions League football match between Japan’s Vissel Kobe and China’s Shanghai Shenhua (Picture credit: AFP)
The AFC Champions League Elite, an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation and contested by Asia’s top-division football clubs, is set for a major expansion from the 2026-27 season, the confederation declared on Tuesday.
Central to the revamp is the expansion of the league stage from 24 to 32 teams. Under the proposed format, the competition will retain its regional split, with 16 clubs each in the East and West.
The larger field is aimed at allowing more elite teams to face the continent’s best, while also driving higher standards of professionalism and performance across domestic leagues in Asia.
The progression criteria after the league stage, all set to be introduced from the 2026/27 season, will also be revamped to raise the stakes early in the competition.
At the end of the league phase, teams finishing first to sixth in each region will qualify for the Round of 16. In a notable shift from previous formats, teams placed seventh to 10th will no longer be eliminated, but will instead advance to a newly introduced knockout stage playoff.
To reward stronger performances in the league stage, the higher-ranked teams in each tie, those finishing seventh and eighth, will enjoy home advantage. The winners of these playoff games will bag the remaining spots in the Round of 16, ensuring every league-stage position remains meaningful right through to the final matchday.
Because of the congested global football calendar, the Knockout Stage Playoff will not be introduced in the 2026/27 season and is instead planned for implementation in later editions.
The 2025-26 season of the AFC Champions League Elite is currently underway, with Qatar’s Al Sadd, Japan’s Vissel Kobe and Machida Zelvia, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli, Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim and Thailand’s Buriram United having qualified for the quarterfinals.
Al-Ittihad, Al-Wahda, Tractor and Shabab Al-Ahli are still in contention for the remaining two spots in the quarterfinals. The final is set for April 25 in Jeddah.
April 14, 2026, 11:39 IST
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