Recent performances by the Thai clubs have seen them overtake the Chinese league teams and take over seventh place in the AFC Men's Club Competitions Ranking 2024/25.
The Asian Football Confederation has announced that Thailand will now have a total of four slots -- two of them being direct entries into the AFC Champions League Elite group stage competition -- in its club competitions in 2025/2026.
Saudi Arabia continues to lead the way, and the West Asians are perched in pole position, with Japan in second place and South Korea ranked third overall.
While Saudi Arabia and Japan will each have three direct entries into the group stage of the ACL Elite tournament, Thailand and South Korea will get two automatic places each in this phase.
The number of Chinese clubs has been reduced to three with only one club heading directly to the group stage of the ACL Elite.
This is the first time that Thailand has climbed to third spot for East Asia in the club competitions ranking.
Another Thai side will be able to gain access to the ACL Elite group stage through a playoff and one team will be placed directly into the ACL Two tournament.
The promotion for the Thai clubs has been mainly secured by Thai League 1 champions Buriram United's run to the ACL Elite quarter-finals, which they lost 3-0 to eventual winners Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah last month.
Meanwhile, Singapore finished the season as the biggest climbers, having jumped eight places to 15 after an unforgettable performance from Lion City Sailors FC in the ACL Two, which saw them become the first club from Singapore to make a major Asian final.