Thai clubs celebrate securing 3+1 spots for AFC Champions League 2026-27 season

Thai clubs are celebrating after securing automatic qualification for three teams in the AFC Champions League Elite 2026-27 group stage and one additional team in the AFC Champions League Two.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held a meeting to amend regulations for the Asian club football championship in the 2026-27 season with the aim of raising competition standards.

Key meeting outcomes included expanding the AFC Champions League Elite from 24 to 32 participating clubs and redistributing quotas among member nations, as well as modifying AFC Challenge League regulations to qualify for AFC Champions League Two playoffs.

Thailand, ranked third in the Southeast Asian zone—partly due to strong performances by Thai League clubs in recent AFC Champions League competitions—will see this ranking directly impact slot allocations for the 2026-27 Asian club championship season. The AFC confirmed that in the 2026-27 season, Thailand will send a total of four teams to Asian club competitions as follows:

AFC Champions League Elite 2026-27 – Thai League Champions (automatic qualification) – Thai League 2nd place (automatic qualification) – FA Cup Champions (automatic qualification)

AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 – 3rd place finisher (automatic qualification)

Special case: If Buriram United wins the FA Cup, the third-place ACL Elite spot goes to that team, while the fourth-place Thai League team gets the ACL 2 spot instead.