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The AFC has outlined its proposed Transition Phase Calendar for 2027–29

A BUSY INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR AHEAD FOR ASIAN TEAMS!

The AFC has outlined its proposed Transition Phase Calendar for 2027–29, and Asian national teams could be heading into an extremely busy period.

During these three years, FIFA international windows are expected to be heavily occupied by three major competitions.

ROAD TO WORLD CUP 2030

The existing World Cup qualifying pathway will largely remain in place during the transition period:

March 2027: World Cup Qualifiers Round 1

Sep–Oct & Nov 2027: Round 2 begins

March 2028: Round 2 concludes

May/June 2028 → June 2029: Asian Qualifiers

Sep–Oct 2029: Asian qualifying playoffs

June/July 2030: FIFA World Cup 2030

AFC NATIONS LEAGUE PILOT — 2028/29

According to the AFC calendar, the pilot competition is scheduled to begin in June 2028 and run through 2029.

The calendar shows three levels:

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Nations League matches would be played across FIFA international windows alongside the latter stages of Asian qualifying.

The schedule indicates Nations League activity in :

-June 2028

-September/October 2028

-November 2028

-March 2029

-June 2029

-September/October 2029.

This means 2027–29 will effectively be a transition period, with the traditional World Cup qualifying system and the new Nations League structure operating side by side.

From 2030 onward, the Nations League is expected to become an even more important part of the Asian international calendar.

What do you think of the new AFC Nations League system?

ESPN reports that the AFC is preparing to launch a 'Nations League' in 2030

ESPN reports that the AFC is preparing to launch a 'Nations League' in 2030 | A national team league with promotion and relegation, plus quotas for World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers!

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.