Allowing the participation of all registered foreigners.. and its implementation will start from the 2024-2025 edition
The AFC makes a radical change in the "Asia Champions"
Shabab Al-Ahly will play the round of 16 in the Asian Champions League next February.
From the source
Ahmed Mubarak: "The new decisions of the AFC are positive, and would open great horizons for Asian football and lead to its development."
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Yesterday, the Asian Football Confederation made a very important decision for the clubs participating in its competitions, especially in the AFC Champions League for clubs.
The new radical changes allowed, for the first time, clubs participating in continental competitions to participate with all their officially registered foreign players, according to the regulations of each national federation starting from the 2024-2025 edition. From just two.
It is expected that the new decision will make a major shift in the issue of the participation of foreign players in the AFC Champions League, in which participation was previously limited to only three foreign players of any nationality, in addition to one foreign player of Asian nationality.
The Confederation’s move comes to change the system of its competitions in line with the development witnessed by the game globally, especially in the wake of the great shift witnessed by the international teams during the 2022 World Cup, which finally closed the curtain on its competitions in Qatar, and witnessed an advanced technical level from many of the teams that were In the past, it appeared modestly, but now it appeared in a very different way than before, due to the great qualitative shift in the competition system followed by the continental federations to which these teams belong, which reflected positively on the technical levels of these teams.
The Emirati clubs participating in the Asian Champions will benefit from the recent decision regarding foreign players, noting that at the level of competitions in the UAE, clubs are allowed to
By registering five foreign players, and three from the category of players qualified to represent the national teams, provided that a maximum of six players participate in the match.
For his part, the director of the football team at Sharjah Club, Ahmed Mubarak, said, "The new AFC decisions are positive, and would open great horizons for Asian football and lead to its development, because it provides the opportunity for clubs to benefit from their foreign players who are officially registered in their ranks, with the aim of developing the level." Asian soccer coach.
He assured «Emirates Today» that the previous condition for the participation of three foreign players with their clubs in the Asian championships did not achieve the desired goal, stressing that the clubs participating in the Asian championships have a large number of foreign players, and therefore their participation alongside the local players in each national federation It will lead to the development of Asian football, and at the same time these clubs have the right to invest in the players they have brought, not only at the level of local championships, but also at the Asian level.
And he considered that, as an example, the presence of eight foreign players in each club in the UAE league is not only to compete in the local league, but also at the Asian level, pointing out that Al Hilal Saudi Arabia is the most thinking club in the Asian championships, and not only the local ones.
• The "Asian" club has increased the number of tournaments to three, instead of the current two only..and changed the system of competitions in them significantly.
76 clubs compete for 3 Asian championships
Under the new Asian decision, 76 clubs compete for championship titles that are held on three levels, instead of the current system that includes two levels.
The highest level includes 24 clubs distributed into two regions in the west and east, and each region includes 12 clubs competing in a league system.
Each team plays four matches at home, and four matches away, against eight different clubs within the same region, and eight clubs from each region qualify for the round of 16, whose matches will be held back and forth.
The quarter and semi-finals and the final will be held in one match, in the assembly system, in one country hosting the final match.
32 clubs participate in the second level, which is divided into eight groups, and plays in a league system.
In the third level, 20 clubs are participating, divided into five groups, with the split-league system from one stage and the grouping system.
The losing clubs in the preliminary rounds and the playoffs in the first level will get the opportunity to participate in the second level, and the losing clubs from the preliminary rounds and the playoffs in the second level will move on to participate in the third level.
Additional details of the changes, including the names of the three tournaments, the principles of the match program, and the calendar and instructions, will be completed at a later time.
Among the changes is also giving the new system the opportunity for the title holder to participate in the next edition of club competitions.
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