The Asian Football Confederation has confirmed a new qualifying format to factor in its expanded number of direct entries for a 48-team World Cup in 2026. The governing body for soccer in Asia issued a statement Monday saying a four-round qualifying system has been designed in preparation for the eight direct spots and single intercontinental playoff slot allocated to the AFC following the expansion of the World Cup. Under the new system, the teams ranked 26th to 47th in Asia will participate in the first round of qualifying, with 11 teams advancing to join the top 25 in a second-round home-and-away series comprising nine groups. The top two teams in each of those groups will progress to the third round, which will be divided into three groups of six competing in round-robin format. The first and second teams in each of those groups will get direct entries for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third- and fourth-place teams will go into a playoff round that will be divided into two groups of three. The winners of those groups will secure spots at the World Cup; the runners-up will go into a playoff for Asia’s spot in an intercontinental playoff for a last-ditch chance at qualifying. Asia had four direct entries for the 2022 World Cup which kicks off Nov. 21, with the first- and second-place teams — Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan — in two six-team groups from the third round of qualifying getting automatic spots for Qatar. The two third-place teams met for the right to play off against the fifth-place South American team for another World Cup slot. Australia beat United Arab Emirates in the Asian playoff, and then beat Peru in an intercontinental playoff to secure the 31st of 32 spots at the World Cup in Qatar. Read: Messi, Neymar score in 4-0 win as PSG wins Champions Trophy The AFC said the qualifying format for the 2026 World Cup, and for the 2027 Asian Cup, was based on the entry of all 47 member associations “and is subject to change depending on the final number of entries.” The Women’s Asian Cup will be staged in 2026, with the AFC confirming that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Uzbekistan and Australia have expressed interest in hosting the tournament. The AFC also plans to move the timing of its flagship continental men’s club tournament, the Asian Champions League, to start with a preliminary stage in August of next year and conclude with a final in May 2024. The executive board also approved the recommendation to eliminate the away goals rule as the tiebreaker for teams finishing equal on competition points. Instead, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shootouts will be used to determine the winner of games in the home-and-away season.

Bashundhara Kings will start their AFC Cup Football 2021 Group D campaign with the match against Maziya Sports & Recreation Club of the Maldives on August 18 at the National Football Stadium in Male. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced the new fixture of AFC Cup Group D Thursday. The Kings will play their second match on August 21 at the same venue against the winners of the Bengaluru FC and Club Eagles match. Read: Lockdown forces Abahani to concede AFC Cup spot India's Bengaluru FC and the Maldives's Club Eagles will lock horns with each other in a play-off match on August 15. In their last Group D match, Bashundhara Kings will face Kolkata giant Mohun Bagan FC on August 24 at the National Stadium in Male. Read: AFC Cup Football cancelled for Covid-19 Earlier, the Group D matches of the AFC Cup, which was postponed last May and was rescheduled to July 6 from June 30. Once again, the matches were put off until August as Bashundhara requested the organisers to defer the dates, showing its domestic league schedule.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), with the support of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), celebrated the AFC Grassroots Football Day 2021 in the capital and three other districts of the country Saturday. BFF EC members Ameer Khan, Mahidur Rahman Miraz; Technical Director Paul Thomas Smalley, General Secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag, Grassroots Brand Ambassador and National Women's team captain Sabina Khatun were present at the inaugural programme at the BFF artificial turf in Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) with the cooperation of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to celebrate  the AFC Grassroots Football Day' 21 in the capital and three other district venues across the country on Saturday. BFF Vice-President cum Chairman of the Games Development Committee M Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan Manik will inaugurate the program on Saturday at 11:30 am at the BFF artificial turf in Motijheel. The AFC Day' 21 will also be observed at the BFF grassroot zones at Sheikh Kamal Stadium in Nilphamari, District Stadium in Madaripur and Vhasa Shaheed Salam Stadium in Feni without crowd following the health guidelines of the government. A total of 800 budding footballers of Under-8 to Under-15 age groups, 200 each from the four zones will participate in the AFC program.

Bangladesh National Football team will play hosts Qatar in Doha on December 4 in one of their four remaining Group E Joint Qualifications matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar' 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 that postponed twice this year for Covid-19 pandemic.

Asia’s second-tier club football tournament AFC Cup 2020 has been cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced in a statement on Thursday.   In view of the logistics in coordinating the five zones of the AFC Cup and completing the Inter Zone matches, the AFC Executive Committee agreed that the pandemic created complexities which constituted a force majeure event and led to the cancellation of the 2020 competition, the AFC said.   The AFC Cup had been suspended earlier in March due to coronavirus outbreak and was rescheduled to resume this month in centralised venues.

Dhaka, Aug 27 (UNB)- The first-ever BFF-AFC Coach Educators Course, under the supervision of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), began Thursday through online video conference.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced fresh schedule  for the joint qualifications of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup, scheduled for March and June, before being halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision by the highest body of Asian football was taken Wednesday and notified through their official website. Bangladesh Premier League Football champions Bashundhara Kings is due to play their two AFC Cup away matches in next April. First match against Maziya SRC on April 14 in Male and other against hosts Chennai City FC on India on April 29. Bashundhara Kings president Imrul Hasa