AFC Champions League Elite Unveils Top-Class Lineup for Inaugural Season

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced Wednesday the initial cast for the debut 2024/25 season, in accordance with the finalised AFC Club Competitions 2024/25 slot allocations that features 27 teams from across 12 Member Associations (MAs) six from each of the West and East regions. Ranked in second place, the State of Qatar secured two direct and one indirect spots in the AFC Champions League Elite, with selection based on the customary participation of the league and cup champions along with the second-place league finisher. As such, Al Sadd (league champion) and Al Rayyan (league runner-up) will participate with two direct spots, while Al Gharafa, third place holder, will play in the indirect spot. Running from August 6 to 13, the Preliminary Stage will see five clubs battling it out to detemine the remaining slots in the League Stage: in the West, Qatars Al Gharafa will play the winner of the tie between the representative club from the Islamic Republic of Iran and United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli, while in the East, China PRs Shandong Taishan FC will square off against Thailands Bangkok United. The losing teams from the Preliminary Stage will directly enter the AFC Champions League Two Group Stage. The winning teams will join the clubs that have qualified directly for the League Stage and continue their quest to reach the pinnacle of Asia between September 16, 2024 and February 19, 2025. A pivotal change in the revamped ACL Elite sees the traditional Group Stage make way for the League Stage format, ensuring a robust competition with top quality football across all matches. The 24 clubs will be divided into two leagues of 12 teams across the West and East regions, with each team to play against eight different opponents within its region in the form of four home and four away matches. The official draw ceremony for the League Stage will be conducted on August 16, 2024, with the top eight teams from each League advancing to the double-legged Round of 16, scheduled from March 3 to 12, 2025, which will be followed by a unique centralised Finals. This will see all matches, from the Quarter-finals onwards, being contested at a single host MA, with Saudi Arabia having been confirmed for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons. All participating clubs will be supported by significant increases in financial distribution, as teams entering the League Stage are guaranteed a minimum of USD 800,000, with additional monies available based on their eventual placings, meaning that the champions will receive at least USD 12 million. No regional division will apply during the Finals, which will witness single-legged ties for each of the Quarter-finals (for which a draw will be conducted to determine the pairings), Semi-finals and Final that will take place between April 25 and May 4, 2025. Source: Qatar News Agency