This is according to the AFC's draft plan.
Divided into 3 Tiers (held every 2 years):
Tier 1: 18 nations,
Tier 2: 18 nations,
Tier 3: 11 nations
The promotion and relegation system is extremely strict, with the top two teams promoted and the two bottom teams relegated. There are also relegation playoffs and special quotas between tiers.
The interesting thing is that the qualification for the World Cup finals will be based on this tournament (planned to start in 2032-33). The top 6 teams in Tier 1 will automatically qualify for the World Cup! The teams ranked 7th-10th will compete in playoffs for the remaining 2 World Cup spots (+ one intercontinental playoff spot).
Asian Cup Qualifiers (starting in 2030): All teams in Tier 1 will qualify + the top 6 teams from Tier 2 will automatically qualify for the final round!
In addition, the top 8 teams from Tier 1 will advance to the knockout round to determine the "AFC Nations League Champion".
For this tournament, there will be no zone divisions into ASEAN, East Asia, and West Asia, as the AFC considers the number of countries in each zone unequal and the level of competition significantly different. Instead, a random draw will be used to ensure balance, and the tournament schedule will be created using an AFC algorithm.
The AFC plans to experiment with this format in 2028-29, using results from the early qualifying rounds to determine tiers instead of the FIFA rankings, in order to achieve greater equality in the criteria for the 2030 tournament.
