Southeast Asian Club Championship increases number of participating teams

The 2024/25 season champion will get a wild card to participate next season.

According to the plan just approved by the Competition Committee of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF), the Shopee Cup 2025/26 will expand from 12 to 14 teams, increasing the total number of matches to 54 and increasing the number of competition days by 13, promising to create a more dramatic and attractive playground than ever for fans.

The tournament will be held in 5 stages: play-off round, group stage, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The tournament will bring together the strongest representatives from 10 AFF member countries, with the allocation of participating slots adjusted to ensure competitiveness and regional representation.

Specifically, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia will each have two teams participating, including the national champion and the national cup champion (or national championship runner-up if there is no national cup as in the case of Indonesia).

Cambodia will have one spot for the national champion, while four teams from the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos and Brunei will compete in a play-off round for the final two spots in the group stage. In addition, the winner of the 2024/25 Shopee Cup will be automatically granted a direct entry into the group stage next season.

The play-off round is scheduled to take place on 8 August 2025. The 14 teams will then be divided into two groups, playing a round-robin format from August 2025 to February 2026, with a total of 42 group stage matches. The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals (February 26 and 27, 2026) and semi-finals (May 6 and 13, 2026) will be played in a two-legged knockout format (first and second legs). The two finals will also be played in a home-away format, scheduled for May 20 and 27, 2026.

According to the AFF Competition Committee, expanding the scale and adjusting the competition schedule will help Shopee Cup increase its competitiveness, while contributing to promoting the development of professional football in the region.

This season, Vietnam’s representative, Cong An Ha Noi, has advanced to the final, playing Buriram United FC of Thailand. The second leg of the final will take place at 7:30 p.m. tonight (May 21), at Chang Arena (Thailand) – the home ground of Buriram United FC.

Trong Dat

Source: https://tienphong.vn/giai-vo-dich-cac-clb-dong-nam-a-tang-so-luong-doi-tham-du-post1744266.tpo