AFC Women's Champions League expanded to 22 teams
The AFC Women's Champions League is all set to expand to 22 teams. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed that 22 clubs from as many as 22 different countries will take part in the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League.
It is set to begin in August and the official draw ceremonies for both the Preliminary Stage and the Group Stage will take place on Thursday, July 18, at the AFC House.
AFC made the official announcement about the 22-club expansion for the AFC Women's Champions League on X.
"Landmark #AWCL to feature 22 clubs ahead of Preliminary Stage and Group Stage Draw ceremonies on July 18!" the tweet read.
Talking about the league, 22 clubs will be taking part. However, clubs from the top eight Membership Associations (according to rankings on March 15, 2024), will be awarded a direct entry to the group stage. The group stage will see the teams being divided into groups of three with four teams in each group.
Ahead of the centralized league format games, in the group stage from October 6 to 12, 2024, all other 14 teams will undergo a preliminary stage which will be conducted from August 25 to 31, 2024.
The preliminary stage will comprise four groups. This will include four teams in two groups and three teams in two other groups. The winner of each group will advance to the next stage of the game.
Coming to the host nations for the AFC Women's Champions League, the preliminary-stage matches will be played in Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. Each nation will host one group.
China PR and Vietnam will also host one group in the group-stage matches. Once the draw ceremony is completed, the third host nation will be declared. The name will be chosen before the commencement of the group-stage matches.
Set to be a thrilling showcase of top-class women’s club football, the AFC Women’s Champions League will also feature an attractive prize purse. Every participating club in the Group Stage will receive a minimum of USD100,000, with additional monies available depending on their eventual placings, meaning that the first-ever champions of the prestigious tournament can expect to be rewarded with at least USD1.3 million.
Here are the 22 clubs who are going to be a part of the AFC Women's Champions League
*clubs to be confirmed following completion of ongoing domestic competition(s)