The meeting to decide on licensing clubs to participate in the AFC 2025-2026 club tournament on the online licensing system took place at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).
The meeting decided not to grant licenses to four Vietnamese football teams to participate in the AFC club tournament in the 2025-2026 season. The four teams include: PVF-CAND, Phu Dong Ninh Binh , SLNA, Binh Dinh because the teams have submitted withdrawal applications, will not continue to carry out licensing activities to participate in the AFC tournament and did not complete the documents within the prescribed time limit.
VFF's meeting on licensing to participate in AFC tournaments
In addition, 11 Vietnamese football teams that meet the criteria of class A and B are licensed to participate in the AFC club tournament next season, including: Nam Dinh, Hanoi, The Cong - Viettel, Ha Tinh, CAHN, Thanh Hoa, HAGL, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Nam and Da Nang.
Notably, among the unlicensed teams, SLNA is the team that still has the ability to win a place in the Asian Cup C2 next season, if it wins the 2024-2025 National Cup.
Because on the rankings of Asian club championships, Vietnamese football has two places to participate in the AFC Cup (Asian Cup C2) season 2025 - 2026, for the V-League champion and the National Cup champion.
SLNA will not be able to participate in the continental tournament if they win the National Cup.
The 2024-2025 National Cup semi-final match schedule is set for June 26. The two matches include: CAHN vs. The Cong - Viettel at Hang Day Stadium at 7:15 p.m., and SLNA vs. Binh Duong at Vinh Stadium at 6 p.m.
With the above announcement, if SLNA wins the National Cup, they will not be eligible to participate in the AFC Cup. This slot will most likely be reallocated by the AFC to another team in the East Asia region.
A similar case happened in the 2024-2025 season, when Thanh Hoa (National Cup champion) refused to participate in the AFC Cup and this spot was given to Muangthong United (Thai League).
As planned, on May 23, the VFF Licensing Board will continue to hold a meeting to grant licenses to clubs participating in the V-League for the 2025-2026 season.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/4-clb-khong-duoc-cap-phep-du-cac-giai-afc-mua-2025-2026-196250515103802543.htm
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