Asian Champions League Elite to expand from 24 teams to 32 in 2026/27

[p]Expansion would see the competition split with ‌16 teams each in the East ‌and West regions, which the AFC said would boost competitiveness and inclusion across ‌Asian club football.[/p][p]The continental governing ⁠body proposed ‌revising progression criteria following the league stage ​to raise the stakes of the opening phase.[/p][p]Under the proposal, ​clubs finishing first to sixth in each of the two regions will ⁠qualify directly ​for the round of 16.[/p][p]Unlike previous formats, teams finishing seventh to 10th would remain in contention, advancing to a ‌newly introduced knockout stage playoff for the remaining last-16 spots.[/p][embed guid="08aac40f-4220-4b0e-8b7e-9ffc14e9bc37" url="https://x.com/VinceRugari/status/2043913968989917222" social-type="twitter" /][p]Teams finishing seventh and eighth would have home advantage with the winners of those ties claiming the final places in the round of 16.[/p][p]However, a knockout stage playoff would not be introduced ‌in the 2026–27 due to a ​congested global football calendar. The AFC ‌plans to implement it in subsequent campaigns.[/p][p]All changes remain subject to approval by the AFC Executive Committee, though they are widely expected to ⁠be implemented ⁠as outlined.[/p]