After the 2006 ACC Trophy it was decided to split the tournament into two divisions. The placement of teams in the divisions was based on their final positions in the last ACC Trophy. The top ten teams went on to take part in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and the remaining teams were placed in a lower division, the 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge. Bottom two teams were relegated from 2008 ACC Trophy Elite and top two teams from 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge were promoted. The teams that made it into the Trophy Elite were:
The tournament was beset with players struggling to get visas to gain access to Kuwait. Bahrain were forced to withdraw from the tournament as they were unable to field a team after a large number of their players were refused visas.
Mohammad Nabi, the Afghanistan all-rounder was refused as visa, as was Hong Kong captain Najeeb Amar. Both were later able to gain entry to Kuwait and take part in the later stages of the tournament.
The Cricket Association of Nepal President Binay Raj Pandey has said his board intends to raise the issue at the next meeting of the Asian Cricket Council after Nepal vice-captain Gyanendra Malla had been refused entry to the country. In response to this, Pandey intends to ask the ACC not to host future tournaments in countries where obtaining a visa is difficult.[3]