According to Footy Rankings, the AFC has officially finalized plans to launch a new tournament called the AFC Nations League. This tournament will have a similar format and competition style to the UEFA Nations League in Europe.
The Vietnamese national team will soon have the opportunity to participate in the AFC Nations League.
The AFC's idea of organizing a Nations League was conceived after extensive internal review and consultation. In the context of FIFA Days tournaments facing increasing difficulties such as a lack of suitable opponents, rising organizational costs, and logistical obstacles, the professional value of international friendly matches has clearly diminished.
Therefore, the AFC is striving to find a new model that will provide national teams with more highly competitive matches.
The AFC Nations League is a tournament held during FIFA Days, with a ranking system to ensure that national teams compete against opponents of comparable skill levels. Through this, the tournament not only improves professional standards but also optimizes costs through centralized coordination, while creating a clear development path for national teams.
AFC Secretary General Datuk Seri Windsor John said: “We want to provide a clearly structured competition platform, a stable schedule and specific competitive dynamics, thereby helping national teams regularly compete in a high-quality environment, while reducing the pressure on costs and organization.”
With 47 member teams, the AFC plans to divide them into 3 groups. Each league is expected to have 15-16 teams, ranked according to FIFA rankings. Vietnam, currently ranked 20th in Asia, is likely to be in group 2.
This means that Vietnam's opponents in its first year in the AFC Nations League will be teams from Southeast Asia or Central Asia such as Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, or representatives from the Middle East like Lebanon and Kuwait.
Will the Vietnamese national team be placed in Group Two of the AFC Nations League?
But that's just the rosy picture that the AFC paints for Asian teams. But what side effects will this new tournament bring?
As mentioned, the AFC Nations League has a similar model to the UEFA Nations League, and just by looking at the European tournament, we can see the impact on the national teams and players.
The first impact is that national team matches will become less appealing to fans because, previously, the national team only played about 8-10 official matches per year, or even fewer. But with the AFC Nations League, the number of official matches could jump to 15 or more (depending on whether they participate in any major tournaments that year).
Furthermore, participating in the AFC Nations League will tire the players out due to constant travel between countries. In addition, the match schedule will become much more demanding than before, especially for key players.
Therefore, the AFC Nations League brings both benefits and potential impacts on Vietnamese football.
Source: https://baoxaydung.vn/giai-dau-moi-cua-afc-anh-huong-the-nao-toi-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-192251222130917725.htm
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