Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Indian football official Roma Khanna is positive that the amendments to the ACL participation and Club Licensing Criteria will help strike a balance between the developing and developed nations in participating in the premier continental club competition.
A Briefing Meeting on the Points System and Decision Method in ACL Participation for 2014-2016 was held at AFC House on Tuesday attended by participating and interested leagues and MAs.
The objective of the briefing was to give the latest updates and clarifications to the leagues and MAs especially those thinking of joining the ACL or those needing clarification on all the ACL-related criteria.
Khanna (pictured), the All India Football Federation Club Licensing and Marketing Communication Manager, who was one of the participants in the briefing, shared with The-AFC.com her opinions about the briefing.
“I’m very happy with the insight and clarification given by the AFC into the ACL participation points system and other aspects.
“During the session, the AFC has explained in detail what we need to do to qualify for future editions of the ACL.
“Ths synchorinsation of the ACL Criteria and AFC Club Licensing Criteria is also something that should be commended.
“All these measures taken by the AFC will help strike a balance between the developed and developing countries taking part in the continent’s premier club championship.”
To avoid redundancy, the ACL Criteria and AFC Club Licensing Criteria have been partially synchronised, the participants in the briefing were told.
Some ACL Criteria are removed to the AFC Club Licensing Regulations, others merged to reflect the realities within the MAs and professional leagues, while yet others categorised as non-compulsory, resulting in the redistribution of points.
For example, the previous criteria necessitated the existence of a second division and that a league has a system for promotion/relegation, however, this criterion has been made non-compulsory after the amendments.
Also under the previous criteria, a 30-point deduction was applied to each item failed, however, no points deduction will be applied to an item failed under the amended criteria.