Bangladesh Suffers on Redesigned AFC Club Tournaments

Bangladesh will only get one indirect spot in the continental club championships as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) plans to overhaul its club competitions with higher prize money in 2019.

The AFC currently hosts two tournaments, the AFC Cup and the AFC Champions League. The winners of the Bangladesh Premier League participate in the AFC Cup group stage directly, while the winners of the Federation Cup compete in the preliminary round and play-off rounds to get to the group stage.

The AFC did approve a three-tier continental club tournament yesterday, with the top 24 teams competing in the AFC Champions League Elite, the next 36 clubs competing in the AFC Champions League 2, and 20 clubs competing in the AFC Challenge League.

Bangladesh may only receive one spot in the third-tier AFC Champions League tournament with three versions expected to launch in the 2024 season.

"On the basis of ranking, we are not given the chance to compete in the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League 2. Bangladesh would receive an indirect spot for the AFC Challenge League 2024 based on total points collected from AFC Cup outcomes from 2014 to 2022, BFF acting general secretary Emran Hossain said yesterday.

The newly formed AFC Challenge League 2024 would need Bangladesh clubs to compete in preliminary round and play-off matches in order to advance to the group stage, according to Emran. "Like how Abahani had to participate in the preliminary round and play-off to get into the group stage of the AFC Cup," he continued.

The Asian Women's Champions League will also be introduced, and its champions would get US$12 million, according to the AFC.