Press reports revealed today, Sunday, that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is preparing a project aimed at making radical changes to the qualification pathways for the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup. This involves launching a new tournament called the "Asian Nations League," to be held every two years starting from 2030.
According to the presentation scheduled to be shown to member associations, the new system will divide national teams into three competitive tiers (18 teams in Tier 1, 18 in Tier 2, and 11 teams distributed across three groups in Tier 3).
In an extensive report published by the global network ESPN, it was stated that the Asian Nations League will implement a system of direct promotion and relegation, along with playoff rounds between the three tiers.
Method of Qualification for the World Cup (starting from the 2032-2033 season):
Direct Qualification: Teams in Tier 1 will play six matches (home and away), with the top six-ranked teams securing their spots directly in the World Cup.
Continental Playoff: The teams ranked 7th to 10th in Tier 1 will compete in a league-format playoff; the first and second-place teams qualify directly, while the third-place team enters the inter-confederation playoff.
Qualification System for the Asian Cup and Postponement of the Tournament to 2032
The report noted that the proposed tournament includes postponing the edition scheduled for 2031 to take place in 2032. The qualification system via the Asian Nations League has been defined to grant participation slots to all Tier 1 teams (18 teams), along with the best six teams from Tier 2.
Knockout Stages for Crowning the Champion
Regardless of whether the edition is linked to World Cup or Asian Cup qualifiers, the top eight teams from Tier 1 are set to advance to the knockout stages to decide the "Nations League" title. This begins with the quarter-finals (home and away), proceeding to the semi-finals and the final match, which will be held in a single country to be determined later.
Trial Edition (2028 - 2029) to Facilitate Transition
ESPN's report indicated that to avoid technical complexities and ensure fair competition without relying directly on FIFA rankings, the AFC proposed holding a trial tournament launching between 2028 and 2029.
Results from the joint preliminary qualifiers will be used to distribute teams across the three tiers.
Meanwhile, the current World Cup qualifying system (three groups of six teams each) will be temporarily maintained to determine the qualifiers for the 2030 World Cup (the first and second-placed teams from each group).
The next four teams in the standings will participate in a trial playoff, simulating the final proposed model to decide the remaining two spots and the inter-confederation playoff slot.
Promotion and relegation matches will be applied in this edition to determine the final structure of the tiers before the official launch of the tournament in 2030.
It is worth noting that the AFC has ruled out organizing the "Nations League" as a friendly or standalone tournament, in order to avoid massive financial burdens and the crisis of congested international match calendars.
