
<p>The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced a revamping of its club competitions. This takes effect starting in the 2024/25 campaign.</p>



<p>The current two-competition structure with the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup will be transformed into a three-tier system. The number of teams participating in the three competitions, 76, does not change. Yet, the competition format is a complete overhaul. Eventually, the total number of games increases from 274 to 287.</p>



<h2>AFC club competitions see change from top to bottom</h2>



<p>The still-unnamed <a href="https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/afc_news/news/afc%E2%80%99s_club_competitions_set_for_strategic_reforms.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">replacement to the current Champions League</a> sees 24 teams split into two “leagues” – East &amp; West. The 12 teams in each league play a total of eight matches. Four are at home, and four are away, against eight different opponents. The top eight teams from each league advance to the Round of 16. </p>



<p>Following the Round of 16, the Quarterfinals, Semifinals &amp; Final follow a traditional tournament style in a single country. The elimination of the common ‘Group Stage’ borrows from the UEFA Champions League which will go to a single-league format during the same 2024/25 season.</p>



<h5>SECOnd/THIRd Tier Competitions and Other Changes</h5>



<p>The second&nbsp;tier of the competition saves the traditional ‘Group Stage’ format. Thirty-two teams compete in eight groups of four. Similar to the World Cup or modern UEFA Champions League, the top two teams advance from each group to a knockout stage of 16 teams. All knockout round ties will be played in a home/away format. Then, the final is a single event. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The AFC Competitions Committee has recommended game-changing reforms to herald a new era of success and unrivalled progress.</p>— AFC (@theafcdotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/theafcdotcom/status/1606214227873927168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2022</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>The third&nbsp;tier has 20 teams divided into 5 Groups. There will be no home/away matches in the Group Stage. Rather, there are single matches in a centralized location. The top eight teams from the five groups punch a ticket to the quarterfinals. The last eight and last four of the competition have traditional home and away ties. The final is just one game. </p>



<h2>More changes to the AFC club competitions</h2>



<p>A major change for the AFC club competitions is the relegation between leagues. Teams losing in the preliminary and playoff rounds move down a tier to remain active in other competitions. It is similar to when a team loses in the UEFA Champions League playoff round, only to bump into the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/europa-league-tv-schedule/">Europa League</a> group stage. </p>



<p>The final change anticipated for the 2024/25 is the lifting of foreign players rules. Currently, clubs must adhere to a ‘5+1’ rule on foreign players. Essentially, there are five foreign players from any confederation plus one from another AFC country. The ‘5+1’ rule was only introduced this year which replaced a long-standing ‘3+1’ rule. Starting in 2024, any limits on foreign players will be determined by each nations domestic regulations. In many cases, this will mean no limits on foreign players.</p>



<h5>US TV RightS TO AFC club competitions</h5>



<p>The current rightholders to AFC competitions is <a href="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/330866/1007330/3065" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CBS/Paramount+</a>. The current rights expire at the end of the 2023/24 season. Therefore, the major changes to the competitions begin with whoever owns the rights <em>after </em>the current CBS/Paramount+ deal expires. Time zone differences with the United States tend to negatively affect the value of said rights. Still, CBS and other other bidders could find themselves in a battle to grab the rights. </p>



<p>The <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/category/world-cup-2022/">Qatar World Cup</a> has raised the profile of many players that feature in these competitions. Whenever the rights hit the market (expected in the second half of 2023), look for CBS to have some competition from Apple, Amazon and perhaps even ESPN.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Arnulf Hettrich</em></p>


AFC club competitions are undergoing severe overhaul in a few seasons, as they resemble a more modern take on continental club action.

Asian Football Confederation to overhaul AFC club competitions

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<p>Not long ago, World Soccer Talk brought up <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/06/18/as-soccer-evolves-so-must-the-rules-5-changes-to-consider/">five potential rule changes</a> to soccer. By no means are these proposed by FIFA or any domestic league. In fact, those leagues look fairly set in stone.</p>
<p>However, every now and then, rumors start to stir up over how the governing bodies could modify the rule book. Small things like cooling breaks are one thing. Yet, instances of reducing the length of games to deciding major fixtures with golden goal appear to be just one step away.</p>
<p>This is not to say all changes are bad. In fact, there is an argument to be made that adding the number of substitutions in the games makes them more exciting. As seen in the English Premier League, teams now have access to <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/english-premier-league/story/4630827/premier-league-clubs-to-reintroduce-five-substitutes-rule-from-next-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five substitutions</a> as opposed to the three from previous years. This allows players to be at full fitness, hypothetically making games more even and balanced. It also lessens the likely for injury, which continues to be a problem in the sport.</p>
<p>Then, there is something like VAR. Everyone loves to hate Video Assistant Referees because they are beyond picky when it comes to calls. Could this be changed in some way? Totally removed? Everyone has a take in that regard.</p>
<h3>Rule changes in soccer</h3>
<p>We want to know if you would change anything about the current rule set of soccer in the world. There are often small differences for each league. Yet, your favorite league may only allow three substitutions, for example.</p>
<p>What are the biggest changes, or smallest changes, for that matter, that you would make to soccer? Or, perhaps you think the game, as it is right now, is perfect. Hard to argue with how exciting games can be. Refereeing issues and controversy may just be part of it!</p>
<p>Use the comment section below to let us know.</p>
<p><em>PHOTO: Patrick Goosen/Orange Pictures/BSR Agency/Getty Images</em></p>


Everybody thinks new is better. Is this always the case? What rule changes do you think should come to soccer, if any?

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Asian Football Confederation to overhaul AFC club competitions

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What rule changes would you like to see in the world of soccer?