The AFC Competitions Committee has revealed allocations for upcoming Asian competitions in 2017 and 2018. The Member Associations ranking take into account results of the national team (30%) and club teams in Asian competitions (70%). For the latest period (2014-16), Palestine’s results (somehow inexplicably) saw them drop from the 25th to the 28th spot.
The Competitions Committee determined that the next ranking would only take club results into account.
Palestine was ranked 7th out of 7 MAs in West Asia. In sixth place was Oman whose two clubs- Fanja and Oruba lost and drew against Ahli and Dhahrieh last year.
The timing of the announcement means Ahli Al-Khaleel will miss out on participating via the playoff spot and defending WBPL champion, Shabab Al-Khaleel will no longer be entered in the group stage.
Instead, Shabab Al-Khaleel will participate in a home and away playoff on February 7th. No announcement has been made as to the identity of the opponent or venue(s) for the game.
