2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Teams | Competition proper: 24 (from 12 associations) |
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 and first season under a new format featuring 24 teams, where in the league phase each team plays eight games against different opponents.[1]
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 2029 FIFA Club World Cup (this is yet to be determined). Additionally, the winner will enter either the qualifying play-off stage or the League stage of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite if they have not already qualified through their domestic performance.[3]
Association team allocation
The associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2022 competitions were completed.[4]
NOTE: The following slot allocation is provisional. The final number of slots allocated to each association will be based on the AFC Champions League criteria in the Entry Manual and confirmed by the AFC. The slots do not yet include the AFC Champions League titleholders in the league stage should they not qualify for the tournament through domestic performance. |
Participation for 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite | |
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Participating | |
Not participating |
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Teams
NOTE 1: The following list of participating teams is provisional. The final list of participating teams will be confirmed by the AFC, based on the final slot allocation for each association and the list of teams passing the club licensing requirements. NOTE 2: Only teams assured of a place are displayed. |
The following teams will also qualify to the West region unless they had already qualified based on their domestic performance.
Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) |
---|---|---|
2023–24 AFC Champions League winners |
- Notes
- ^ AFC Champions League: If Yokohama F. Marinos win the 2024 AFC Champions League final, they will have already qualified through their domestic performance.
- ^ 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[5] 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.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[6]
Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Preliminary stage | Preliminary round 1 | TBD | 30 July 2024 | |
Preliminary round 2 | 6 August 2024 | |||
Preliminary round 3 | 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 | TBD | 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 |
Qualifying play-offs
Losers of the play-off rounds will enter the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two.
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
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TBD ![]() |
— | ![]() |
Al-Rayyan ![]() |
— |
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
---|---|---|
Shandong Taishan ![]() |
— | ![]() |
League stage
West Region
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
5 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
6 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
7 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
8 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
9 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
10 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
11 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
12 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
2 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
5 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
6 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
7 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
8 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
9 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
10 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
11 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
12 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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
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.
- ^ "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.