New AFC Champions League draw: Elite League plays "league" for the first time, all three Chinese Super League teams will play against all Japanese, Korean and Australian teams
2024-08-17
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The AFC Champions League will undergo major changes starting from the 2024/2025 season. The newly launched AFC Elite League and AFC Champions League II will replace the original AFC Champions League and AFC Cup. The draw ceremonies for the new season's AFC Champions League II and AFC Champions League Elite League will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the afternoon of August 16, Beijing time. At the most watched AFC Elite League draw ceremony, the three participating Chinese Super League teams (Shanghai Haigang, Shanghai Shenhua, and Shandong Taishan) avoided Thailand's Buriram United, but will face all participating Japanese, Korean, and Australian teams.
On August 13, 2024, in the 24/25 season of the AFC Champions League Elite League play-offs, Shandong Taishan defeated Bangkok United in a penalty shootout to advance to the finals. The picture shows Shandong Taishan players thanking the team. Photo courtesy of Visual China
The AFC Champions League has undergone a major transformation this season, with prize money also increasing significantly
The AFC Champions League will undergo a major transformation starting from the 2024/25 season: three new Asian club competitions will be launched to replace the original AFC Champions League and AFC Cup. A total of 76 clubs from the AFC's member associations will participate in these three events. The top league of Asian club football will be participated by the top 24 clubs in Asia and will be named the AFC Champions League Elite League (AFC Elite League). The second-level competition consisting of 32 teams will be called the AFC Champions League Second League (AFC Champions League Second League). The last level competition will be fought by 20 clubs for the championship and will be named the AFC Challenge League.
It is worth mentioning that the prize money for the newly established AFC Champions League Elite League has also been greatly increased. The 24 participating teams will receive a prize of $800,000 (about RMB 5.74 million), and there will be a $100,000 winning prize for each of the eight games in the league stage, and a $50,000 travel subsidy for the away team. The prize money for advancing to the round of 16 is $200,000; the prize money for entering the quarter-finals is $400,000; the prize money for advancing to the semi-finals is $600,000; the runner-up is $4 million; and the champion is $10 million. This is undoubtedly a huge increase compared to the $4 million prize money for the champion of the 2023/24 AFC Champions League.
The AFC Champions League adopts the "League Stage" competition system for the first time
The new season of the AFC Champions League has undergone major changes. For the first time, the "league stage" competition system was adopted to replace the original group stage. The first stage of the competition is the league stage. 12 teams from the East and West Asia regions will participate in the competition. They are divided into regions but not groups. Each team will play against 8 different opponents in the same region in four home games and four away games. The home and away games will be determined by drawing lots. In the league stage, teams from the same association are not allowed to meet. The top 8 teams in the East Asia and West Asia regions will advance to the round of 16.
The final draw results showed that Shanghai Haigang and Shandong Taishan had exactly the same matchup.The three Chinese Super League teams will not play against Buriram United of Thailand, but will face all the participating Japanese, Korean and Australian teams.
East Asia
Pot 1: Vissel Kobe (Japan), Ulsan HD (South Korea), Shanghai Port (China), Buriram United (Thailand), Central Coast Mariners (Australia), Johor Bahru (Malaysia)
Pot 2: Kawasaki Frontale (Japan), Pohang Steelers (South Korea), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), Gwangju FC (South Korea), Shandong Taishan (China)
The schedule for the three Chinese Super League teams in the "League Phase" is as follows:
Shanghai Port fixtures: Johor Bahru (home), Central Coast Mariners (home), Ulsan HD (away), Vissel Kobe (away), Yokohama F. Marinos (home), Gwangju FC (home), Pohang Steelers (away), Kawasaki Frontale (away)
Shanghai Shenhua schedule: Ulsan HD (home), Vissel Kobe (home), Johor (away), Central Coast Mariners (away), Pohang Steelers (home), Kawasaki Frontale (home), Yokohama F. Marinos (away), Gwangju FC (away)
Shandong Taishan schedule: Johor (home), Central Coast Mariners (home), Ulsan HD (away), Kobe Victory Ship (away), Yokohama F. Marinos (home), Gwangju FC (home), Pohang Steelers (away), Kawasaki Frontale (away)
[AFC Champions League schedule]
League stage: September 16, 2024 - February 19, 2025
Knockout round of 16, March 2025
According to the league stage rankings, East and West Asia will play in the round of 16 respectively. The matches will be a home and away double-round system, and the final 8 teams will participate in the final stage.
Western Conference No. 1 vs Western Conference No. 8
2nd in the Western Conference vs 7th in the Western Conference
3rd in the Western Conference vs 6th in the Western Conference
4th in the Western Conference vs. 5th in the Western Conference
Eastern Conference No. 1 vs Eastern Conference No. 8
2nd in the Eastern Conference vs 7th in the Eastern Conference
3rd in the Eastern Conference vs 6th in the Eastern Conference
Fourth in the Eastern Conference vs. Fifth in the Eastern Conference
Finals: From the quarter-finals to the finals, the competition is centralized.
Eight teams from the East and West Asia will draw for cross-region pairings. From this stage on, the East and West Asian teams will meet and play a single-round match. The final champion will be decided through the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.The final stage of the competition will be held in Saudi Arabia from April 25 to May 4, 2025.
Zhejiang team participates in the AFC Champions League as the only team
At 15:00 on August 16, the AFC Champions League 2nd Division (AFC Champions League 2nd Division) has already taken the lead in drawing lots. According to the AFC official website, all 32 participating teams in the AFC Champions League 2nd Division have been confirmed, and Zhejiang FC, the third place in the Chinese Super League last season, has been listed as the first-tier team in the East Asia region. The team is also the only Chinese Super League team to participate in the AFC Champions League 2nd Division.
According to the finalized allocation of quotas and club licensing requirements for the 2024-2025 season of the AFC Club Competition, 27 teams from 21 member associations and three teams (two West Asian teams and one East Asian team) that will be eliminated from the preliminary stage of the AFC Champions League will directly advance to the group stage of the AFC Champions League 2. Another four teams will compete for the remaining two group stage qualifications in the West Asian region.
It is reported that the league's East Asia and West Asia regions are divided into four groups, and the top two teams in each group will advance to the round of 16 in February 2025. Subsequently, the quarter-finals will be held on March 4, 2025, and the semi-finals will be held in April 2025. The final single-round final will start on May 17, 2025.
The East Asia region is divided into the following groups:
Group E: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan), Sydney FC (Australia), Kaya FC (Philippines), Eastern (Hong Kong, China)
Group F:Zhejiang FC (China), Thai Port (Thailand), Lion City Sailors (Singapore), Bandung Perhib (Indonesia)
Group G: Bangkok United (Thailand), Nam Dinh (Vietnam), Lee & Man (Hong Kong, China), Tampines Rovers (Singapore)
Group H: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (South Korea), Selangor FC (Malaysia), Muangthong United FC (Thailand), Cebu Power Herbal FC (Philippines)
The West Asia region is divided into the following groups:
Group A: Al Wakkara (Qatar), Tractor Tabriz (Iran), Mohun Bagan (India), Kulobukh (Tajikistan)
Group B: Buraydah Cooperation (Saudi Arabia), Baghdad Air Force (Iraq), Haldia (Bahrain), Altin Asir (Turkmenistan)
Group C: Sepahan (Iran), Sharjah FC (UAE), Esteghlal Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Amman United (Jordan)
Group D: Dubai Young National (UAE), Nasaf (Uzbekistan), Al Hussein (Jordan), Kuwait Sports (Kuwait)
Red Star News Editor Bao Chengli
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