AFC club competitions ranking
The AFC club competitions ranking is a ranking system launched by the Asian Football Confederation in 2014. It was initially launched by the AFC to provide an informative ranking, rather than to determine the number of places each country would be allocated in its club competitions.
In 2024, the AFC announced changes in the format for ranking the three revamped Club competitions – AFC [Champions League Elite], AFC Champions League Two, AFC Challenge League – which would come into effect from the 2024–25 season. Using a weighted formula, the current structure takes into account the results of clubs from each member association from the past eight seasons.
Following the conclusion of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League, the AFC introduced a ranking system for women's club competitions. This ranking system takes into account the results of clubs from each member association, and each member associations FIFA Women's World Ranking. This system came into effect from the 2025–26 season.
Men's ranking
The men's club competitions ranking is used to rank associations and determine the total number of clubs from each association that will participate in the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two, and AFC Challenge League. The ranking is provisional, as all teams participating in AFC club competition must pass club licensing requirements and be confirmed by the AFC prior to entry. If clubs are unable to meet said requirements, their spot will be redistributed to another club in their member association. If no clubs from a member association are able to meet the necessary licensing requirements, the AFC may redistribute the qualification position to another member association or adjust the structure of its competition to reflect the total number of teams participating.Due to the 2020 AFC Cup being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and Australia, the AFC announced that all points from the 2020 [AFC Champions League] and AFC Cup would be excluded from all ranking calculations. The AFC later reaffirmed this decision in 2022, when the ranking system was adjusted to take into account the results of the previous eight seasons.
Calculation principle
From the 2024–25 season onwards, clubs are awarded points based on their performance and bonus points. Performance points are awarded based on the results of each club in AFC club competitions. In the AFC Champions League Elite, three points are awarded for each win by a club, and one for a draw. Clubs participating in the Champions League Two and Challenge League will be awarded two-thirds and one-third of the ACLE points respectively. As is the case in the UEFA men's association coefficient, results determined by extra time do count in determining the allocation of points, but results determined by penalty shootouts do not affect the allocation of points, other than for bonus points given for qualification into the latter rounds.Bonus points are awarded to clubs based on their qualification into later rounds of the competition. Clubs can receive a maximum of 10.5 bonus points in the ACLE, 7 in the ACL2, and 5 in the ACGL. Clubs eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the ACGL are awarded 0.5 participation points.
At the end of each season, the total number of points awarded to each member association is based on the average performance of all clubs participating in AFC Club competitions.
Current ranking
The ranking below takes into account of each association's performance in Asian competitions over the past eight seasons, with the 2025–26 season underway. The final ranking at the end of the 2025–26 season will be used to determine the slot allocation for the 2027–28 AFC club competitions.As of 24 December 2025, the ranking is as follows:
Slot allocation
The following is the preliminary slot allocation for the 2026–27 season.History
The initial ranking system launched in 2014 took into account the results of clubs from each member association, and their FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the member association with the most points in each part being given 70 and 30 points respectively. This system was later adopted for the AFC Women's Champions League in 2025. In 2017 the ratio was adjusted to 90% club points and 10% national team points, the member association with the most points in each part would now be awarded 90 and 10 points. From 2018 onwards the AFC has no longer taken member associations FIFA ranking into account.The ranking until 2021 consisted of the total points of member associations' clubs over the previous four years. From the 2022 season onwards, the ranking has taken into account the points over the previous eight seasons, with earlier editions having a decreasingly smaller contribution through an applied multiplier.
Due to the 2020 AFC Cup being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and Australia, the AFC announced that all points from the 2020 AFC Champions League and AFC Cup would be excluded from all ranking calculations. The AFC later reaffirmed this decision in 2022, when the ranking system was adjusted to take into account the results of the previous eight seasons.
Top associations by period
The following data indicates the three top-ranked associations by period. Initially the AFC measured each member associations performance over the previous four seasons from 2014 to 2021. Due to AFC competitions shifting from an all-year-round schedule to an August-to-May schedule for the 2023–24 season, there was no AFC competition ranking for 2023.| Years | 1st place | Points | 2nd place | Points | 3rd place | Points |
| 2011–2014 |  Women's rankingThe ranking below takes into account of each association's performance in the 2025–26 AFC Women's Champions League and their FIFA Women's World Ranking. The member association with the most points in each part being given 70 and 30 points respectively. This is the same system used by the AFC for men's competitions from 2014 to 2017.As of 23 November 2025, the ranking is as follows: |