The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that the much-anticipated inaugural
women's soccer
Asian championship
league
a ballot (in share dealing)
The ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 18, 2024 at the AFC Headquarters. The event marks a new milestone for women's soccer in Asia, with 22 top club teams fighting for glory.
According to the AFC, the tournament will be divided into two phases: the qualifying round and the main round. The qualifying round will run from Aug. 25 to 31, with 14 teams battling it out for a chance to qualify for the main round. The main round is scheduled to be held in a centralized format from Oct. 6 to 12, with the top eight teams in the latest FIFA Women's Football Club Rankings directly qualifying for the main round.
China and Vietnam will each host one group of the main tournament, while the host of the third group will be revealed at the July 18 draw. In addition, Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand will host the qualifiers.
The list of participating clubs announced includes the best of Asian soccer such as Urawa Red Diamonds Women's Team from Japan, Namguk Hyang Women's Football Club from North Korea and Melbourne City Football Club from Australia. Wuhan Jiangda Women's Football Club of China and Taichung Blue Whale Women's Football Team of Taiwan are also on the list, showing the competitiveness of Chinese soccer in the women's field.
Some of the teams are currently labeled as "Pending" and will be confirmed at the end of their respective domestic seasons.
The draw on July 18th will be an important part of the tournament's organization, when the teams will be decided to face each other in the group stage. This historic moment will not only determine the fate of each team, but will also open a new chapter in the development of women's soccer in Asia.
