AFC club competitions ranking

The AFC club competitions ranking is a ranking system launched by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2014.[1][2] It was initially launched by the AFC to provide an informative ranking, rather than to determine the number of places each country would be allocated in its club competitions.[2]

In 2024, the AFC announced changes in the format for ranking the three revamped Club competitions – AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE), AFC Champions League Two (ACL2), AFC Challenge League (ACGL) – which would come into effect from the 2024–25 season.[3] Using a weighted formula, the current structure takes into account the results of clubs from each member association from the past eight seasons.[4]

Following the conclusion of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League, the AFC introduced a ranking system for women's club competitions.[5][6] This ranking system takes into account the results of clubs from each member association (70%), and each member associations FIFA Women's World Ranking (30%). This system came into effect from the 2025–26 season.

Men's ranking

The men's club competitions ranking (former member association ranking, or MA ranking) is used to rank associations and determine the total number of clubs from each association that will participate in the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE), AFC Champions League Two (ACL2), and AFC Challenge League (ACGL).[7] The ranking is provisional, as all teams participating in AFC club competition must pass club licensing requirements and be confirmed by the AFC prior to entry. If clubs are unable to meet said requirements, their spot will be redistributed to another club in their member association. If no clubs from a member association are able to meet the necessary licensing requirements, the AFC may redistribute the qualification position to another member association or adjust the structure of its competition to reflect the total number of teams participating.

Due to the 2020 AFC Cup being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and Australia, the AFC announced that all points from the 2020 AFC Champions League and AFC Cup would be excluded from all ranking calculations.[8][9] The AFC later reaffirmed this decision in 2022, when the ranking system was adjusted to take into account the results of the previous eight seasons.[3]

Calculation principle

From the 2024–25 season onwards, clubs are awarded points based on their performance and bonus points. Performance points are awarded based on the results of each club in AFC club competitions. In the AFC Champions League Elite, three points are awarded for each win by a club, and one for a draw (in the qualifying rounds teams receive 0.3 points for a win and 0.15 points for a draw). Clubs participating in the Champions League Two and Challenge League will be awarded two-thirds and one-third of the ACLE points respectively. As is the case in the UEFA men's association coefficient, results determined by extra time do count in determining the allocation of points, but results determined by penalty shootouts do not affect the allocation of points, other than for bonus points given for qualification into the latter rounds.

Bonus points are awarded to clubs based on their qualification into later rounds of the competition. Clubs can receive a maximum of 10.5 bonus points in the ACLE, 7 in the ACL2, and 5 in the ACGL. Clubs eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the ACGL are awarded 0.5 participation points.

At the end of each season, the total number of points awarded to each member association is based on the average performance of all clubs participating in AFC Club competitions.

Performance points Score[a]
ACLE ACL2 ACGL
Wins in qualifying rounds 0.3 0.2 0.15
Draws in qualifying rounds 0.15 0.1 0.075
Wins in Group stage/League phase onwards 3 2 1.5
Draws in Group stage/League phase onwards 1 0.666 0.5
Bonus points Score[a]
ACLE ACL2 ACGL
Group stage/League phase participation 3 2 1.5
Elimination in qualifying rounds –[b] –[b] 0.5
Round of 16 participation 3 2 –[c]
Quarter-finals participation 1.5 1 1.5
Semi-finals and Final participation 1.5 1 0.75

Current ranking

The ranking below takes into account of each association's performance in Asian competitions over the past eight seasons, with the 2025–26 season underway. The final ranking at the end of the 2025–26 season will be used to determine the slot allocation for the 2027–28 AFC club competitions.

As of 12 March 2026, the ranking is as follows:[11]

Ranking Member association
(L: League, C: Cup) 		Club points Total Active teams[d] 2027–28 Competition Slot Allocation
(direct+indirect)
2025–26 2024–25 Mvmt Region 2017
(×0.3) 		2018
(×0.4) 		2019
(×0.5) 		2021
(×0.6) 		2022
(×0.7) 		2023–24
(×0.8) 		2024–25
(×0.9) 		2025–26
(×1.0) 		ACLE ACL2 ACGL Total
1 1 — W1 Saudi Arabia (L, C) 18.600 10.000 26.350 20.950 19.075 27.100 34.542 23.250 124.695 4/4 3+0 1+0 0 4
2 2 — E1 Japan (L, C) 21.850 13.850 21.800 17.875 20.088 21.350 27.970 26.000 116.035 3/4
3 3 — E2 South Korea (L, C) 9.950 18.350 13.600 22.750 15.800 22.350 14.762 14.333 87.334 0/4 2+1 1+0 0
4 4 — W2 United Arab Emirates (L, C) 11.350 8.100 7.633 14.400 8.083 25.500 16.400 16.083 76.003 3/4
5 6 +1 W3 Iran (L, C) 16.200 18.850 11.500 14.225 13.250 9.300 13.274 14.571 69.918 1/3
6 5 –1 W4 Qatar (L, C) 13.400 19.850 15.900 7.300 13.500 8.100 14.701 12.800 66.251 3/4 1+1 1+0 0 3
7 7 — E3 Thailand (L, C) 15.050 16.200 5.050 8.500 11.110 8.567 14.875 15.458 62.096 2/4 2+1 1+0 0 4
8 8 — E4 China (L, C) 24.567 16.200 17.350 0.800 0.500 11.900 10.250 7.383 49.483 0/4 1+1 1+0 0 3
9 10 +1 E5 Australia (L, C) 5.900 7.300 2.600 0.000 7.900 10.593 12.796 17.667 49.178 0/2 1+0 1+0 0 2
10 9 –1 W5 Uzbekistan (L, C) 5.050 9.400 9.000 8.960 10.057 11.250 10.333 6.167 46.658 0/2
11 11 – E6 Malaysia (L, C) 4.395 3.633 4.450 4.000 9.677 6.213 15.511 12.083 45.184 1/2
12 13 +1 W6 Jordan (L, C) 4.900 7.633 7.967 4.893 6.000 5.415 12.000 10.868 41.643 1/2
13 12 –1 W7 Iraq (L, C) 8.933 8.633 8.300 3.250 7.450 7.473 8.500 10.000 41.077 0/2 0 1+1 0
14 15 +1 E7 Singapore (L, C) 5.138 5.617 4.133 0.000 3.253 3.640 14.833 14.500 38.894 0/2
15 14 –1 E8 Vietnam (L, C) 2.800 3.267 10.752 6.000 5.300 5.400 11.333 8.667 38.020 0/2
16 16 — W8 Bahrain (L, C) 3.467 1.633 2.500 5.510 5.215 7.020 7.583 6.333 28.674 0/2
17 17 — W9 Oman (L, C) 2.200 1.583 1.433 0.000 6.795 9.780 9.000 5.500 28.190 1/2
18 25 +7 E9 Indonesia (L, C) 0.000 4.100 5.045 0.000 3.960 3.560 7.204 11.033 27.299 0/2
19 21 +2 E10 Cambodia (L, C) 1.683 2.250 1.000 0.000 2.070 5.620 11.000 8.475 26.225 1/2
20 20 — W10 Turkmenistan (L, C) 4.483 7.583 5.267 3.125 2.640 3.463 7.450 5.600 25.810 0/3
21 21 — W11 Kuwait (L, C) 0.000 0.000 3.433 7.070 4.160 3.165 8.075 5.350 24.020 1/2 0 0+1 1+0
22 19 –3 E11 Hong Kong (L, C) 1.750 3.300 3.650 7.333 6.587 4.900 3.333 4.333 23.933 0/2 0 0+1 0+1
23 24 +1 W12 Tajikistan (L, C) 12.900 4.433 3.000 4.970 2.493 2.230 3.276 5.000 21.603 0/2 0 0+1 1+0
24 22 –2 W13 Lebanon (L, C) 0.833 3.933 6.933 2.670 1.525 4.840 4.500 4.750 20.631 1/2 0 0 1+0 1
25 18 –7 W14 India (L, C) 6.250 4.417 3.217 3.677 4.797 3.453 6.500 1.200 20.627 0/2 0 0 0+1
26 26 — W15 Kyrgyzstan (L, C) 1.400 0.150 2.433 0.835 0.565 11.830 4.600 3.950 20.147 1/2
27 27 — E12 Philippines (L, C) 8.120 5.843 4.782 2.600 0.300 0.600 3.667 5.625 18.340 1/2 0 0+1 0+1 2
28 28 — W16 Bangladesh (L, C) 1.333 1.433 6.933 2.790 3.760 4.730 1.500 2.100 15.980 0/2 0 0 0+1 1
29 31 +2 E13 Chinese Taipei (L) 0.000 0.000 0.333 2.000 0.000 5.145 6.050 3.600 14.528 0/2
30 30 — E14 Myanmar (L, C) 1.300 4.062 1.600 0.000 0.000 1.640 7.150 2.050 12.612 0/2
31 29 –2 W17 Syria (L, C) 5.933 2.000 3.133 1.785 2.890 1.400 2.500 1.000 11.610 0/2
32 34 +1 E15 Mongolia (L, C) 0.000 0.100 0.100 0.000 0.100 5.080 2.200 3.600 9.804 0/2
33 32 –1 E16 North Korea (L, C) 3.433 7.433 11.067 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 9.537 0
34 33 –1 W18 Maldives (L, C) 4.300 4.300 0.000 0.200 2.030 2.640 1.500 0.500 8.513 0/1
35 36 +1 W19 Bhutan (L, C) 0.150 0.150 0.100 0.100 0.100 0.100 3.600 2.100 5.705 0/1
36 35 –1 W20 Palestine (L, C) 0.200 0.150 2.967 0.835 0.610 0.100 2.500 0.000 4.862 0
37 38 +1 E17 Laos (L, C) 0.150 0.150 0.333 0.000 0.000 0.100 1.650 1.550 3.387 0/1
38 37 –1 E18 Macau (L, C) 0.000 4.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.370 0.000 0.000 2.696 0
39 39 — W21 Nepal (L) 0.000 0.000 0.667 0.200 0.100 0.200 0.500 0.000 1.134 0
40 41 +1 W22 Afghanistan (L) 0.150 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.500 0.500 0.995 0/1
41 42 +1 E19 Brunei (L, C) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.100 0.000 0.500 0.580 0/1
42 40 –2 W23 Sri Lanka (L, C) 0.100 0.000 0.350 0.100 0.200 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.405 0
43 43 — W24 Yemen (L, C) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0
43 43 — E20 East Timor (L, C) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0
43 43 — W24 Pakistan (L, C) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0
43 43 — E20 Guam (L, C) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0
43 43 — E20 Northern Mariana Islands (L) Not an AFC member 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0
  Indicates active associations which have teams still competing in the current season's ACL Elite
  Indicates active associations which have teams still competing in the current season's ACL Two
  Indicates active associations which have teams still competing in the current season's Challenge League.
  Associations which have no remaining teams in the current season's competitions.
  Associations which did not compete in the current season's competitions.

Slot allocation

The following is the preliminary slot allocation for the 2026–27 season.[12]

Champions League Elite Champions League Two Challenge League
Ranking Member Association LP QR GS QR GS QR
West region East region W E W E W E W E W E W E
1 Saudi Arabia Japan 3 1
2 United Arab Emirates South Korea 2 1 1
3 Qatar Thailand
4 Iran China 1 1 1
5 Uzbekistan Australia 1 1
6 Iraq Malaysia
7 Jordan Vietnam 1 1
8 Bahrain Singapore
9 Oman Hong Kong
10 India Cambodia
11 Turkmenistan Indonesia 1 1 1
12 Kuwait Philippines
13 Lebanon Myanmar 1 1
14 Tajikistan Chinese Taipei 1
15 Kyrgyzstan North Korea
16 Bangladesh Mongolia
17 Syria Macau
18 Maldives Laos
19 Palestine Brunei
20 Bhutan East Timor
21 Nepal Guam
22 Afghanistan Northern Mariana Islands
23 Sri Lanka
24 Yemen
25 Pakistan

History

The initial ranking system launched in 2014 took into account the results of clubs from each member association (70%), and their FIFA Men's World Ranking (30%), with the member association(s) with the most points in each part being given 70 and 30 points respectively. This system was later adopted for the AFC Women's Champions League in 2025. In 2017 the ratio was adjusted to 90% club points and 10% national team points, the member association with the most points in each part would now be awarded 90 and 10 points. From 2018 onwards the AFC has no longer taken member associations FIFA ranking into account.

The ranking until 2021 consisted of the total points of member associations' clubs over the previous four years. From the 2022 season onwards, the ranking has taken into account the points over the previous eight seasons, with earlier editions having a decreasingly smaller contribution through an applied multiplier.

Due to the 2020 AFC Cup being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and Australia, the AFC announced that all points from the 2020 AFC Champions League and AFC Cup would be excluded from all ranking calculations.[8][9] The AFC later reaffirmed this decision in 2022, when the ranking system was adjusted to take into account the results of the previous eight seasons.[3]

Top associations by period

The following data indicates the three top-ranked associations by period. Until 2021 the AFC measured each member association's performance over a four seasons period.

Years 1st place Points 2nd place Points 3rd place Points
2011–2014 South Korea 94.866 Saudi Arabia 88.268 Iran 80.794
2012–2015 89.837 89.217 78.153
2013–2016 96.311 United Arab Emirates 87.555 Saudi Arabia 84.698
2014–2017 United Arab Emirates 95.940 South Korea 87.480 China 86.671
2015–2018 Qatar 100.000 China 95.982 South Korea 88.620
2016–2019 China 100.000 Qatar 97.644 Japan 93.321
2017–2020 100.000 Japan 98.938 Saudi Arabia 94.551
2018–2021 Saudi Arabia 100.000 South Korea 95.462 Japan 93.412
2014–2022 93.795 Japan 91.821 South Korea 88.295
2015–2024 103.148 96.999 93.600
2016–2025 119.957 107.663 90.982
Notes
  • No points from the 2020 AFC Champions League or 2020 AFC Cup were used in the ranking calculations, as the 2020 AFC Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][13]
  • Due to AFC competitions shifting from an all-year-round schedule to an August-to-May schedule for the 2023–24 season, there was no AFC competition ranking for 2023.[14]

Women's ranking

The ranking below takes into account of each association's performance in the 2025–26 AFC Women's Champions League and their FIFA Women's World Ranking. The member association(s) with the most points in each part being given 70 and 30 points respectively. This is the same system used by the AFC for men's competitions from 2014 to 2017.

As of 23 November 2025, the ranking is as follows:[15]

Ranking Member association
(L: League) 		Club points National team points Total Active teams
2025–26 2024–25 Mvmt
1 1 — Australia (L) 70.000 27.934 97.934 1/1
2 3 +1 Japan (L) 51.147 30.000 81.147 1/1
3 4 +1 China (L) 52.827 27.508 80.335 1/1
4 2 –2 South Korea (L) 48.067 27.075 75.141 1/1
5 5 — Vietnam (L) 50.120 24.604 74.724 1/1
6 7 +1 Iran (L) 34.608 20.889 55.497 0/1
7 13 +6 North Korea (L) 24.080 29.592 53.672 1/1
8 11 +3 India (L) 23.688 21.435 45.123 0/1
9 9 — Philippines (L) 20.720 23.583 44.303 1/1
10 8 –2 Chinese Taipei (L) 17.173 23.434 40.607 0/1
11 14 +3 Uzbekistan (L) 16.091 22.643 38.733 1/1
12 6 –6 United Arab Emirates (L) 19.992 17.554 37.546 0
13 10 –3 Thailand (L) 8.773 22.543 31.316 0/1
14 15 +1 Myanmar (L) 8.120 22.163 30.283 0/1
15 12 –3 Malaysia (L) 8.689 18.687 27.376 0/1
16 23 +7 Singapore (L) 8.120 15.735 23.855 0/1
17 16 –1 Jordan (L) 3.397 19.601 22.998 0/1
18 17 –1 Hong Kong (L) 2.837 19.342 22.179 0/1
19 19 — Nepal (L) 2.025 18.930 20.956 0/1
20 18 –2 Laos (L) 2.277 17.730 20.008 0/1
21 22 +1 Guam (L) 0.933 18.293 19.227 0/1
22 24 +2 Cambodia (L) 1.213 17.470 18.683 0/1
23 28 +5 Bangladesh (L) 0.000 17.958 17.958 0
24 21 –3 Indonesia (L) 0.000 17.914 17.914 0
25 20 –5 Bahrain (L) 0.000 17.797 17.797 0
26 29 +3 Kyrgyzstan (L) 1.213 16.170 17.384 0/1
27 25 –2 Mongolia (L) 1.493 15.763 17.257 0/1
28 26 –2 Saudi Arabia (L) 3.341 13.844 17.185 0/1
29 27 –2 Lebanon (L) 0.000 16.920 16.920 0
30 30 — Palestine (C) 0.000 16.769 16.769 0
31 33 +2 Bhutan (L) 2.333 14.005 16.338 0/1
32 31 –1 Turkmenistan (L) 0.000 16.193 16.193 0
33 34 +1 Pakistan (L) 0.000 15.331 15.331 0
34 36 +2 East Timor (L) 0.000 14.702 14.702 0
35 32 –3 Tajikistan (L) 0.000 14.462 14.462 0
36 36 — Syria (L) 0.000 14.177 14.177 0
37 37 — Sri Lanka (L) 0.000 14.158 14.158 0
38 38 — Maldives (L) 0.000 13.831 13.831 0
39 39 — Iraq (L) 0.000 13.664 13.664 0
40 40 — Macau (L) 0.000 12.951 12.951 0
— Afghanistan[e] 0.000 0.000[f] 0.000 0
— Brunei[e] 0.000 0.000[g] 0.000 0
— Kuwait (L) 0.000 0.000[f] 0.000 0
— Northern Mariana Islands (L) 0.000 0.000[h] 0.000 0
— Oman[e] 0.000 0.000[g] 0.000 0
— Qatar (L) 0.000 0.000[f] 0.000 0
— Yemen[e] 0.000 0.000[g] 0.000 0
  Indicates active associations which have teams still competing in the current season's Champions League
  Associations which have no remaining teams in the current season's Champions League.
  Associations which did not compete in the current season's Champions League.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b There is a points multiplier which takes into consideration the maximum number of points that can be earned in each competition, where in 2025[10] it is calculated as:
    • ACLE: 1
    • ACL2: 0.666 (by formula 2/3 * 49.5/49.5)
    • ACGL: 0.5 (By formula 1/3 * 49.5/33.0)
  2. ^ a b Losing teams in ACLE or ACL2 qualifying rounds qualify to the ACL2 or ACGL group stage respectively, earning the respective participation points.
  3. ^ The ACGL knockout stage begins at the quarter-finals.
  4. ^ Number of teams still active from association in AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two or AFC Challenge League.
  5. ^ a b c d No women's domestic league
  6. ^ a b c Unranked in the FIFA Women's World Ranking
  7. ^ a b c Country does not field a women's national team.
  8. ^ The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association is not affiliated with FIFA, therefore the Northern Mariana Islands women's national football team is unable to obtain a FIFA ranking

References

  1. ^ "Al Hilal lead the way as AFC announces Club Ranking system". www.the-afc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  2. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "AFC Competitions Committee recommends strategic reforms to elevate Asian club football". www.the-afc.com. 23 December 2022. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  4. ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking 2022". www.the-afc.com. 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. ^ Rosengarten, Jake (28 May 2025). "The Ninja A-League is officially the No.1 women's club competition in Asia". A-Leagues. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  6. ^ "Australia finish top in latest AFC Women's Club Competition 2024/25 Rankings". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  7. ^ "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b c "AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". AFC. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  9. ^ a b "AFC Club competitions ranking". the-AFC. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  10. ^ "Ranking Formula". FootyRankings. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  11. ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking 2026". FootyRankings. 12 March 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  12. ^ "AFC Club Competitions 2026/27 Slot Allocation" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Football: Asian Football Confederation cancels second-tier AFC Cup due to Covid-19 pandemic". The Straits Times. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  14. ^ "AFC Executive Committee unveils dynamic enhancements to the AFC Club Competitions". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  15. ^ "AFC Women's Club Competition Mid-Season Ranking 2025/26" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 2 December 2025.


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