The Competitions Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has approved that the ISL Champions will play in the AFC Cup following the recommendation from the All India Football Federation (AIFF), it was announced on Tuesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting held by the Competitions Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Doha. AIFF’s recommendation to the AFC was that the ISL winner should be allocated an AFC Cup Qualifier spot.

AIFF’s recommendation to the AFC was that the ISL will replace the Federation Cup, whose winner is currently allocated an AFC Cup preliminary stage place.

Therefore, the AFC Committee approved that the I-League champions will play in the AFC Champions League Play-off round and the ISL Champions will play in the AFC Cup preliminary stage as long as all clubs adhere to the AFC rules and regulations, particularly club licensing, from 2018.

The situation will be reviewed on a yearly basis with conditions which, in addition to adherence to club licensing regulations, include promotion, production, a player allocation system and the following of the road map agreed between the AFC and Indian football stakeholders at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on June 7.