AFC Women's Champions League expanded to 22 teams

The AFC Women's Champions League is all set to expand to 22 teams. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed that 22 clubs from as many as 22 different countries will take part in the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League.

It is set to begin in August and the official draw ceremonies for both the Preliminary Stage and the Group Stage will take place on Thursday, July 18, at the AFC House.

AFC made the official announcement about the 22-club expansion for the AFC Women's Champions League on X.

"Landmark #AWCL to feature 22 clubs ahead of Preliminary Stage and Group Stage Draw ceremonies on July 18!" the tweet read.

Talking about the league, 22 clubs will be taking part. However, clubs from the top eight Membership Associations (according to rankings on March 15, 2024), will be awarded a direct entry to the group stage. The group stage will see the teams being divided into groups of three with four teams in each group.

Ahead of the centralized league format games, in the group stage from October 6 to 12, 2024, all other 14 teams will undergo a preliminary stage which will be conducted from August 25 to 31, 2024.

The preliminary stage will comprise four groups. This will include four teams in two groups and three teams in two other groups. The winner of each group will advance to the next stage of the game.

Coming to the host nations for the AFC Women's Champions League, the preliminary-stage matches will be played in Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. Each nation will host one group.

China PR and Vietnam will also host one group in the group-stage matches. Once the draw ceremony is completed, the third host nation will be declared. The name will be chosen before the commencement of the group-stage matches.

Set to be a thrilling showcase of top-class women’s club football, the AFC Women’s Champions League will also feature an attractive prize purse. Every participating club in the Group Stage will receive a minimum of USD100,000, with additional monies available depending on their eventual placings, meaning that the first-ever champions of the prestigious tournament can expect to be rewarded with at least USD1.3 million.

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Here are the 22 clubs who are going to be a part of the AFC Women's Champions League

Rank	Member Association	Club
1	Japan	Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies
2	DPR Korea	Naegohyang Women's FC
3	Australia	Melbourne City FC
4	China PR	Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
5	Korea Republic	Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
6	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC
7	Philippines	Kaya FC-Iloilo
8	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Blue Whale Women’s Football Team
9	Thailand	TBC*
10	Uzbekistan	PFC Nasaf
11	Myanmar	Myawady Women Football Club
12	Islamic Republic of Iran	Bam Khatoon FC
13	India	Odisha Football Club
14	Jordan	Etihad Club
15	Hong Kong, China	TBC*
16	Laos	Young Elephants FC
17	Malaysia	Sabah FA
18	Nepal	APF Football Club
19	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi Country Club
20	Singapore	Lion City Sailors FC
21	Bhutan	RTC FC
22	Saudi Arabia	Al Nassr Club

*clubs to be confirmed following completion of ongoing domestic competition(s)