AFC issued a 'hot' announcement, CAHN club to play playoff in Australia

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has officially revealed the list of clubs that will take part in the 2026/27 Asian club competitions. As a result, the 2025/26 V-League champion, Hanoi Police FC, will travel to face Adelaide United of Australia in a playoff to earn a place in the group stage of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite.

The opponent of coach Mano Polking's team is Adelaide United, a representative from Australia. The match will take place on August 11 at the home ground of the Australian side, as Adelaide United is seeded higher.

According to AFC regulations, the higher-seeded team gets the right to host in the preliminary round. The seeding is determined based on the ranking of member associations' club competitions. In the East region, Australia is currently ranked 5th, while Vietnam is ranked 7th. Therefore, Adelaide United is seeded as the higher-ranked team in this matchup and earns the right to host the playoff.

This match is of particular importance to Công An Hà Nội, as the winner will secure a spot in the group stage of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite, Asia's top club competition. If they fail to overcome Adelaide United, the Vietnamese representative will drop down to the group stage of the AFC Champions League Two.

Notably, the playoff match coincides with the period when the Vietnam national team gathers to prepare for the 2026 ASEAN Hyundai Cup. Given that Công An Hà Nội has many national team players, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has proactively coordinated with the club to develop an appropriate personnel plan.

In the spirit of balancing the national team's duties and the clubs' interests, the player call-up plan will be designed flexibly to create the most favorable conditions for both the Vietnam national team and Vietnamese football representatives to achieve good results in international competitions.

In the 2026/27 season, Vietnamese football has two slots in Asian club competitions. Among them, Công An Hà Nội participates in the AFC Champions League Elite playoff, while Thể Công Viettel earned a direct entry to the group stage of the AFC Champions League Two.

According to the AFC East region slot allocation table, Vietnam currently ranks 7th, behind Japan, South Korea, Thailand, China, Australia, and Malaysia. With this position, Vietnamese football continues to have representatives in the two highest levels of Asian club competitions for the 2026/27 season.