The Asian Football Confederation is reportedly pushing to launch a Nations League from 2030, a move that would also significantly reshape qualification for the FIFA World Cup and Asian Cup.
ESPN reported Saturday that it had obtained the AFC's Nations League proposal and that the confederation plans to present member associations Monday with a detailed plan to hold the competition every two years beginning in 2030.
The AFC said last December that it planned to launch an AFC Nations League as part of its efforts to expand development opportunities for member associations and establish a more structured and sustainable international match framework.
According to ESPN, the AFC's 47 member associations would be divided into three divisions.
The first and second divisions would each have 18 teams, while the 11 teams in the third division would be split into three groups.
The first Nations League linked to World Cup qualification is scheduled for the 2032-33 season.
Each team would play 12 matches, six at home and six away.
The top six teams in the first division would qualify directly for the World Cup, while teams finishing seventh through 10th would enter a round-robin playoff for the AFC's remaining two direct World Cup berths. The top two teams in that playoff would qualify for the World Cup, while the third-place team would advance to the intercontinental playoff.
The Nations League serving as Asian Cup qualification would first be held in 2030.
The plan is being considered alongside a proposal to move the Asian Cup itself from 2031 to 2032.
Each team would play three home and three away matches.
All first-division teams and the top six teams from the second division would qualify for the Asian Cup finals.
The top eight teams in the AFC Nations League would advance to a knockout stage to determine the champion. The quarterfinals would be played home and away, while the semifinals and final would be staged at a single neutral venue.
The top two teams in each division would be promoted automatically, while the bottom two would be automatically relegated. Additional promotion and relegation places would be decided through playoffs.
The AFC Nations League would not divide teams by geographic region.
The AFC cited differences in the number of countries and competitive strength across regions as the reason.
The confederation is also considering holding a pilot competition in the 2028-29 season.
In the pilot event, the first division would retain the same format as 2026 World Cup qualifying, with three groups of six teams. The top two teams in each group would qualify for the 2030 World Cup.
However, unlike this year's World Cup qualifying format, in which the third- and fourth-place teams from each group advanced to the Asian playoff, the pilot tournament would send the four best-performing remaining teams to a playoff.
The top two teams from that playoff would qualify directly for the World Cup, while the third-place team would advance to the intercontinental playoff.
The pilot competition is also expected to include automatic promotion, relegation and playoffs to determine the division structure for the first official tournament in 2030.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
