V-League receives special positive news from AFC

Vietnamese football has just received encouraging information from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as the door to participate in the continent's most prestigious club-level competition is now wide open, welcoming V-League clubs back.

V-League will return to AFC Champions League Elite

According to the new decision, AFC Champions League Elite will increase the number of participating teams from 24 to 32 starting from the 2026/27 season. Each region, East Asia and West Asia, will have 16 representatives, thereby increasing opportunities for more football nations in the region to participate.

Notably, in this new allocation of competition slots, Vietnam has for the first time been granted a playoff spot. This is seen as a significant step forward, helping V.League clubs have the opportunity to directly compete for a ticket to the group stage of the continent's top tournament. Of course, compared to Thailand and Malaysia, we are still not equal. The Thai League has three direct slots, while Malaysia has one direct slot.

Being included in the slot allocation system also partly reflects AFC's recognition of the positive developments in Vietnamese football in general and V.League in particular over recent times. In Southeast Asia, not many national championships have representatives granted such an opportunity to get closer to the top-level competition.

Previously, since the tournament was restructured and renamed AFC Champions League Elite starting from the 2024/25 season, only two Southeast Asian clubs have participated in the group stage: Johor Darul Ta'zim and Buriram United. This indicates the extremely fierce competitiveness of the tournament.

Even though they must start from the playoff round, this is still a historic opportunity for Vietnamese clubs. In the context where the professional quality and international competition experience of V.League teams are improving, this participation slot opens up expectations for a new step forward, even the first-ever participation in Asia's most prestigious club-level competition.