K-League in South Korea has lost one automatic berth in the top club football tournament in Asia, the continent’s governing body of the sport announced Friday.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said three K-League clubs will automatically qualify for the AFC Champions League starting next year, down from four in the past three Champions League events. The AFC added that a fourth K-League team can join them if it wins a playoff round.

According to the AFC, the top two teams at the end of the K-League season, plus the winner of the FA Cup tournament, will reach the Champions League. A third-place team will enter the playoff, though the AFC didn’t say how the playoff for the potential fourth spot will be conducted.

The governing body didn’t specify why K-League lost one automatic berth. It said on its Web site, however, that the AFC executive committee made its decision based on inspection reports by its special mission team, which toured AFC member countries this summer to review leagues’ qualifications for next year’s Champions League.

The AFC said only Japan, Qatar and Uzbekistan “fully met the AFC Champions League criteria.” Qatar saw its slots double from two to four.

Sources said the K-League was hurt by a league-wide match-fixing scandal this year. The special mission team visited South Korea in July, when dozens of active and former players were still under investigation for their role in the first match-rigging controversy in the league’s 28-year history.

During the visit, Tokuaki Suzuki, director of competition and professional project at the AFC, said it was “positive” that K-League had made efforts to improve the system and taken appropriate steps to resolve problems.

K-League has produced nine AFC Champions League winners, the most among all Asian circuits, including two of the past three.

The Champions League winners receive $1.5 million in prize money plus a berth in the annual FIFA Club World Cup, which brings together continental club champions from Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Africa. 

(Yonhap News)