The AFC Competitions Committee approved several amendments that came due to what it described as sympathy with the many participating member associations and clubs, who, despite their best efforts, were unable to compete in the AFC competitions in 2021 due to travel restrictions imposed on the back of The spread of the new Corona virus.
The committee considered that the withdrawal of the Australian clubs “Brisbane Roar”, “Melbourne FC” and “Sydney FC” from the 2021 AFC Champions League was a “force majeure”.
The Committee agreed to establish a minimum age, in addition to the current maximum for the AFC U-20 and AFC U-17 Cup, starting with the 2023 edition, bearing in mind the need to ensure greater consistency with the FIFA age group.
AFC Competitions Committee reinforces commitment to build on strong restart momentum!https://t.co/7SW6YoVmP1
— AFC (@theafcdotcom) November 4, 2021
It was agreed that the age eligible for participation in the AFC U-20 Cup 2023 would be for players born on or after 1 January 2003 and for those born on or before 31 December 2007.
As for the 2023 AFC U-17 Cup, it will be available for players born on or after January 1 in 2006 and for those born on or before December 31 in 2008.
As recommended by the FIFA Council, the committee also agreed to extend the implementation of the temporary amendments to Law 3, which allow teams to use up to five substitutions in matches, in all AFC competitions until December 31, 2022.
The committee also discussed several options regarding the foreign player’s current share in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup. While the current 3+1 stake will continue to advance for the 2022 season.
But the committee agreed to remove the 3+1 cap on the number of foreign players allowed for initial registration, paving the way for any number of foreign players to be registered on teams, based on local registration rules. The maximum number of players in the initial registration has also been increased from 30 to 35.