Recent decisions from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have brought positive news for Vietnamese clubs participating in continental tournaments. The AFC has recently released the list of clubs that meet the criteria to compete in the AFC Champions League Two and the AFC Challenge League for the 2024/2025 season.
Notably, countries such as North Korea, Macau (China), and Brunei do not have any clubs that qualify for these two competitions. Meanwhile, clubs from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos only meet the criteria for the AFC Challenge League and not the AFC Champions League Two.
This situation has led to a redistribution of the number of teams participating in the AFC Champions League Two, which directly affects Vietnamese clubs. Specifically, instead of having one direct spot in the group stage and one spot in the playoffs as initially planned, Vietnamese football is now almost certain to have two clubs directly entering the group stage of the AFC Champions League Tw for the next season. The final decision will be announced by the AFC soon.
The two representatives from the V-League set to participate in the AFC Champions League Two for the 2024/2025 season will be the champions of the V-League 2023/2024 and the winners of the National Cup 2023/2024. In the event that Viettel (a club not meeting the criteria) wins the National Cup, another club will take its place.
For the 2024/2025 season, the AFC is restructuring its club competitions across the continent. As a result, Vietnamese football will no longer have a spot in the AFC Champions League but will instead participate in the AFC Champions League Two.
Despite this, the AFC Cup C2 for the 2024/2025 season promises to be highly competitive for V-League clubs. The tournament will feature clubs from South Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, and Australia right from the group stage. The intensity of the AFC Champions League Two for V-League clubs in the 2024/2025 season is expected to be only slightly less than what Hanoi FC experienced in the AFC Champions League 2023/2024.
The draw for the group stage of the AFC Champions League Tw for the 2024/2025 season will take place on August 16, 2024. This event will be keenly watched by fans and clubs alike as they prepare for another challenging season of continental football.
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