OFFICIAL: China Continues to Receive Honors from the Asian Football Confederation

The Asian Football Confederation has decided to award China the hosting rights for the region's premier tournament for two consecutive editions.

Recently, at the fifth meeting of the AFC Women’s Football Committee, the Chairperson of the AFC Women’s Football Committee, Ms. Kanya Keomany, extended warm congratulations to the six Asian national teams that have secured qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.

Additionally, the Committee approved the proposal from the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to become the host nation for the AFC Women's U20 Asian Cup in 2028 and 2030. This decision means China will host this tournament for the seventh and eighth times in its history.

Furthermore, after restructuring the men's competitions earlier this year, the Committee also proposed applying similar changes to the AFC Women's U17 and U20 Asian Cups, following the identification of many similarities through a comprehensive review process.

Regarding the AFC Women's U17 Asian Cup qualification format, starting from 2027, regional federations will organize their own qualification rounds to determine teams advancing to the final tournament. Based on an analysis of the last five editions, AFC allocates participation slots as follows: Southeast Asia 4 slots, East Asia 4 slots, Central Asia 1 slot, South Asia 1 slot, West Asia 1 slot, and the host nation 1 slot. The host nation qualifies directly to the final tournament, while other teams must compete in the qualification rounds. The qualification rounds will be scheduled in two phases from July to September or December, to align with the competition calendar.

For the AFC Women's U20 Asian Cup qualification, AFC has adopted a new two-stage format with promotion and relegation mechanisms. The main qualification stage will feature 20 teams divided into 5 groups of 4 teams each. The top two teams from each group, along with the best-performing third-place team, will advance to the final tournament. The bottom-placed teams in each group will move to the development stage in the next cycle.

The development stage is expected to include approximately 19 teams divided into 4 groups. Teams performing well will be promoted to the main qualification stage in the next cycle. The aim is to help teams improve their level and accumulate match experience.

Notably, the 2027 qualification cycle will retain the current grouping method, while subsequent cycles will be based on promotion and relegation results. The single-match format will remain unchanged, and only the host nation qualifies directly to the final tournament.

The Committee also tasked AFC with collaborating with regional federations to finalize the organization plan for the AFC Women's U17 Asian Cup qualification, and to potentially adjust the AFC Women's U20 Asian Cup format if necessary, depending on the number of registered teams.

Additionally, the Committee approved the regulations for the AFC Women's Champions League 2026/27 season, along with amendments to the regulations for the AFC Women's U17 Asian Cup in 2027 and 2028.