Football
India lose direct AFC Champions League spot
Following a revamp of Asian club football's structure, Mumbai City FC will be the last Indian club to get direct entry into Asia's premier competition for the foreseeable future.
Mumbai City FC will be brushing shoulders with the top clubs in Asia in the 2023/24 AFC Champions League. (MCFC)
Mumbai City FC will be the last Indian club to get direct entry into Asia's top-tier club competition for the foreseeable future, it was confirmed by an announcement by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Monday.
Mumbai City FC will be one of the teams in the draw for the 2023/24 AFC Champions League group stages on August 24. They have got a direct entry into the 40-team competition this year on the basis of being winners of the additional playoff between 2021/22 and 2022/23 ISL season premiers.
Mumbai City FC will be playing at least three elite Asian clubs, which could include the likes of Saudi giants Al Nassr (Cristiano Ronaldo), Al Hilal (Neymar) and Al Ittihad (Karim Benzema), in the main stages of the competition from September 2023 to May 2024.
However, this could be the last time Indian clubs brush their shoulders with the continent's best for a few years.
New structure of Asian club football
According to an AFC press release on Tuesday, the AFC Champions League will be rebranded from the 2024/25 season onwards, with the number of teams being reduced to 24. The renamed AFC Champions League Elite will have a three-fold increase in prize money for the winner, corresponding to the rise in profile of the competition.
India do not have a direct entry into this 24-team competition, based on AFC member association rankings.
There is only one method for an Indian club to enter this competition - by winning the previous year's AFC Cup, the second-tier Asian club competition.
Therefore, the two clubs who have a chance to enter the first ever 24-team AFC Champions League Elite in 2024/25 are the two clubs currently playing in the 2023/24 AFC Cup - Odisha FC and Mohun Bagan SG.
Meanwhile, Indian clubs will continue to get direct entries into the second tier competition of Asian club football, which will be called the AFC Champions League 2 instead of the AFC Cup from 2024/25. India get one direct entry and one entry into the qualification playoffs into this competition.
In a new development, a third-tier competition of 20 teams called the AFC Challenge League also will be launched, the AFC said.
