The 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two will be the 22nd edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the second under the AFC Champions League Two title.[1][2] It will feature 32 teams in the group stage.[3] The winner will be given an indirect preliminary stage slot for the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite, if they have not already qualified through their domestic performance.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 (from 24 associations) |
← 2024–25 2026–27 → | |
Association team allocation
editThe associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2023–24 competitions were completed.[4][5]
| Participation for 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two | |
|---|---|
| Participating | |
| Not participating | |
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Teams
editThe number of appearances and last appearance include the AFC Cup as the predecessor of the AFC Champions League Two.
The following teams will also qualify to the West or East region unless they had already qualified based on their domestic performance.
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- Notes
- ^ China (CHN): Shanghai Port already qualified for the Champions League Elite league stage as the 2024 Chinese Super League champions and also won the 2024 Chinese FA Cup. Thus, Chengdu Rongcheng, the 2024 Chinese Super League third place, qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off and Beijing Guoan, the 2024 Chinese Super League fourth place, qualified for the Champions League Two group stage.
- ^ South Korea (KOR): Korean FA Cup winners that failed to reach top four in K League 1 would qualify for the Champions League Two group stage. Thus, Pohang Steelers, the 2024 K League 1 sixth place and the 2024 Korean FA Cup winners, qualified for the Champions League Two group stage.
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Asian Champions League to relaunch with fewer teams and more prize money in 2024-25 season". AP News. August 14, 2023.
- ^ "History beckons for AFC Cup 2023/24 contenders as final edition of popular competition kicks off". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". the-AFC.
- ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking 2024". FootyRankings. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "1XBet Çomi Toçikiston 2024 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive".