The Asian Football Confederation is planning to start the AFC Nations League for the national teams of Asia. The governing body of Asian football made its plan for the league public through its website on Sunday.

“The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening national team football across the continent with plans to introduce an AFC Nations League in the coming period,” read a AFC news article titled ‘AFC to introduce Nations League to enhance development opportunities’.

According to the AFC, the league is a part of its ongoing efforts to enhance development opportunities for its Member Associations (MAs) and establish a more structured and sustainable international match framework.

The AFC believes that the Nations League will provide competitive balance and meaningful match exposure, while improving calendar certainty for national teams.

The AFC Nations League will be organised by utilising the FIFA International Match Window, whose utilisation, as per the AFC, has become increasingly challenging due to limited opponent availability, rising operational costs and logistical complexities, diminishing the sporting value of international fixtures.

“These challenges have highlighted the need for a more structured, predictable and sustainable competition framework for national teams and, following a comprehensive internal review and consultation process, the confederation has decided in principle to introduce an AFC Nations League,” the AFC states.

“In addition to the sporting benefits, we have also seen strong interest and growing demand from our commercial partners for a Nations League-style competition, reflecting its appeal to fans, broadcasters and stakeholders alike and its ability to deliver a more compelling and marketable international football product,” the AFC quoted its General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John.

The details regarding the competition format, timeline and implementation will be announced in due course through the relevant AFC committees and stakeholder consultations, the AFC informed.