Will India lose AFC Champions League slot?

FC Goa was the first Indian club to get a direct entry to the AFC Champions League in 2020 when the competition increased the number of participants from 32 to 40. However, this direct entry might just be in danger with a new format of the prestigious competition in works.

According to Martin Lowe, a journalist, AFC's plans to reform Asian continental club competition includes a reduction of the number of participating teams in the Champions League from 40 to 24 'elite' teams.

This puts India's direct entry slot into the competition in supposed jeopardy, keeping in mind that it was after the expansion that India got that direct entry into the group stages of the competition.

Currently, the Indian Super League (ISL) league winners get a direct entry into the ACL. It's the AFC MA (Member Association) rankings that decides the number of slots provided to a country for the Asian competitions. However, if this new format does come into play, a new coefficient ranking will be made to decide these 24 teams.

The AFC Cup, on the other hand, will be an open tournament, without the regional zones, and that there will be a third Asian club competition introduced, which would be like Europe's UEFA Conference League.

Official clarification from AFC on how the revamped tiers could work is awaited, but it does seem that India's direct spot in the continent's biggest club competition is in jeopardy.