2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite
The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) will be the 43rd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Elite. Featuring 24 teams are playing eight games against different opponents in the league phase.[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | Competition proper: 24 (from 12 associations) |
The final stage will be played in Saudi Arabia from 25 April to 4 May 2025.[2] The tournament winner will qualify for the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Additionally, the winner will enter the league stage of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite, if they have not already qualified through domestic performance.[3]
Al Ain are the defending champions, as the AFC Champions League records and statistics are carried forward to the ACL Elite.[4]
Association team allocation
The associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2022 competitions were completed.[5]
| Participation for 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite | |
|---|---|
| Participating | |
| Not participating | |
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Teams
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count since the 2002–03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.
Riyadh
Qatar
Tehran
Greater Tokyo
Yeongnam
Shanghai
Location of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage teams
Orange: East Region; Blue: West Region
Orange: East Region; Blue: West Region
- Notes
- ^ Qatar (QAT): Al-Sadd had already qualified for the Champions League Elite as the 2023–24 Qatar Stars League champions has also won the 2024 Emir of Qatar Cup. Thus, second-placed Al-Rayyan have also qualified for the Champions League Elite league stage, while the third-placed Al-Gharafa qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off.
- ^ South Korea (KOR): Pohang Steelers had already qualified as the 2023 K League 1 runners-up when they won the 2023 Korean FA Cup, so third-placed Gwangju FC qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off. Since both East region finalists in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup (Yokohama F. Marinos and Central Coast Mariners) had already qualified through their domestic performance, Gwangju were later confirmed for the league stage[6] based on their association's higher ranking, leaving only two teams left in the East region qualifying play-off for the remaining league stage slot.
- ^ United Arab Emirates (UAE): Al Wasl had already qualified for the Champions League Elite as the 2023–24 UAE Pro League champions have also won the 2023–24 UAE President's Cup. Thus, second-placed Shabab Al-Ahli have qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[7]
| Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary stage | Preliminary round 1 | No draw[lower-alpha 1] | 6 August 2024 | |
| Preliminary round 2 | 13 August 2024 | |||
| League stage | Matchday 1 | 16 August 2024 | 16–18 September 2024 | |
| Matchday 2 | 30 September – 2 October 2024 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 21–23 October 2024 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 4–6 November 2024 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 25–27 November 2024 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 2–4 December 2024 | |||
| Matchday 7 | 3–4 & 11–12 February 2025 | |||
| Matchday 8 | 17–19 February 2025 | |||
| Round of 16 | TBA | 3–5 March 2025 | 10–12 March 2025 | |
| Final stage | Quarter-finals | TBD | 25–26 April 2025 | |
| Semi-finals | 29–30 April 2025 | |||
| Final | 4 May 2025 in Saudi Arabia | |||
Qualifying play-offs
Losers of the qualifying play-offs will enter the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two.
Preliminary round
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Sepahan | West 1 (6 Aug) | Shabab Al-Ahli |
Play-off round
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Gharafa | West 2 (13 Aug) | Winner of Preliminary West 1 |
| Shandong Taishan | East (13 Aug) | Bangkok United |
West Region
| Al-Gharafa | v | Winner of Preliminary West 1 |
|---|---|---|
East Region
League stage
West Region
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Ain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Al-Ahli | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Al-Sadd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Al-Rayyan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Esteghlal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Persepolis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Al Wasl | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Pakhtakor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | TBD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Winner of Playoff West 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 16 September 2024. Source: Asian Football Confederation
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
East Region
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vissel Kobe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Kawasaki Frontale | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Ulsan HD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Pohang Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Gwangju | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Shanghai Port | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Shanghai Shenhua | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Buriram United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Winner of Playoff East | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 17 September 2024. Source: Asian Football Confederation
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
See also
Notes
- pre-determined format
References
- "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". AFC. 14 August 2023.
- "Saudi Arabia to host AFC Champions League Elite – Final Stage". the-AFC. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- "More Member Associations to benefit from inclusive AFC Champions League". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- "Pivotal reforms approved by AFC Competitions Committee". AFC. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- "광주FC - GWANGJU FOOTBALL CLUB". www.gwangjufc.com (in Korean). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023.
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