The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has taken a major step towards reshaping its youth football landscape after the AFC Competitions Committee recommended a series of key reforms aimed at enhancing the quality and competitiveness of its youth tournaments.
The decisions were made during the Committee’s fifth meeting, chaired by Dr Tran Quoc Tuan, held in Saudi Arabia, underlining the AFC’s continued commitment to raising standards across all competitions in line with its Vision and Mission.
At the outset, the Committee extended its best wishes to China PR and Japan, finalists of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026, and praised the Saudi Arabian Football Federation for its exemplary hosting of the tournament in Jeddah.
A detailed review of the AFC U17 Asian Cup and AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers highlighted recurring issues, including large score margins and early mathematical eliminations, pointing to technical disparities among participating teams.
In response, the Committee agreed that structural reforms were necessary to ensure more meaningful competition, better preparation for Participating Member Associations (PMAs), and stronger alignment across the AFC’s five Regional Associations (RAs).
From the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2028™ Qualifiers, Regional Associations will be mandated to organise their own qualifying competitions as the official pathway to the Finals.
A new transparent slot allocation system was also approved, dividing the 16 Finals berths equally between the East and West regions based on historical performance:
- ASEAN – 4 slots
- East – 4 slots
- Central – 3 slots
- South – 1 slot
- West – 4 slots
The Finals host will qualify automatically within its allocated regional slots, with no additional automatic berths awarded.
To streamline scheduling, qualifiers will be played within two designated windows:
- January–February for Finals in the same year
- July–October for Finals in the following year
Similar challenges identified in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers led to the approval of a new two-phase competition format, featuring a promotion and relegation system aimed at narrowing technical gaps.
Qualification Phase
- 32 teams split into eight groups of four
- Group winners and the seven best runners-up qualify for the Finals
- Bottom teams face relegation to the Development Phase in the next cycle
Development Phase
- Up to 14 teams across three groups
- Top teams earn promotion to the Qualification Phase
- Focused on technical growth and tournament exposure
The current seeding system will serve as the baseline for the first edition in 2027, with future seedings determined by promotion and relegation outcomes. The existing match format and hosting conditions will remain unchanged, while the Finals host will continue to receive automatic qualification.
All recommendations are subject to ratification by the AFC Executive Committee before they come into effect, marking a potentially transformative chapter for youth football development across Asia.
Credit Photo : FAM
