2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite

The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) was the 43rd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Elite. The revamped format, along with the rebranding, saw 24 teams playing eight games against different opponents in the brand new league phase.^[1]

2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite

The King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah hosted the final
Tournament details
Dates	Qualifying: 6–13 August 2024 Competition proper: 16 September 2024 – 3 May 2025
Teams	Competition proper: 24 (from 12 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Al-Ahli (1st title)
Runners-up	Kawasaki Frontale
Tournament statistics
Matches played	111
Goals scored	334 (3.01 per match)
Attendance	1,677,544 (15,113 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Salem Al-Dawsari (10 goals)
Best player(s)	Roberto Firmino
Best goalkeeper	Édouard Mendy
← 2023–24 ACL 2025–26 →

The finals was played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 25 April to 3 May 2025.^[2] The tournament winner, Al-Ahli, qualified for the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. Additionally, they entered the league stage of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite, as they had not qualified through domestic performance.^[3]

Al-Ain were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the league stage.^[4]

Association team allocation

The associations were 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

West Region (12 teams) Rank Member association Points Slots League stage Play-off Region AFC 1 1  Saudi Arabia 93.795 3 0 2 4  Qatar 75.950 2 1 3 5  Iran 72.018 2 1 4 6  United Arab Emirates 64.129 1 (+1 ACL) 1 5 9  Uzbekistan 45.006 1 0 6 10  Iraq 36.901 1 0 Total Participating associations: 6 11 3 14

East Region (12 teams) Rank Member association Points Slots League stage Play-off Region AFC 1 2  Japan 91.821 3 0 2 3  South Korea 88.925 3 0 3 7  China 57.630 2 1 4 8  Thailand 49.470 1 1 5 11  Australia 33.380 1 0 6 13  Malaysia 29.951 1 0 Total Participating associations: 6 11 2 13

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.

West Region League stage direct entrants Team Qualifying method App. (last) Al-Ain 2023–24 AFC Champions League title holder 18th (2023–24) Al-Hilal 2023–24 Saudi Pro League champions and 2023–24 King's Cup winners 20th (2023–24) Al-Nassr 2023–24 Saudi Pro League runners-up 8th (2023–24) Al-Ahli 2023–24 Saudi Pro League third place 14th (2021) Al-Sadd 2023–24 Qatar Stars League champions and 2024 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 19th (2023–24) Al-Rayyan 2023–24 Qatar Stars League runners-up[Note QAT] 13th (2022) Persepolis 2023–24 Persian Gulf Pro League champions 12th (2023–24) Esteghlal 2023–24 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 12th (2021) Al-Wasl 2023–24 UAE Pro League champions and 2023–24 UAE President's Cup winners 4th (2019) Pakhtakor 2023 Uzbekistan Super League champions 20th (2023–24) Al-Shorta 2023–24 Iraq Stars League champions and 2023–24 Iraq FA Cup winners 6th (2021) Qualifying play-off participants Team Qualifying method App. (last) Al-Gharafa 2023–24 Qatar Stars League third place[Note QAT] 13th (2022) Sepahan 2023–24 Hazfi Cup winners 15th (2023–24) Shabab Al-Ahli 2023–24 UAE Pro League runners-up[Note UAE] 12th (2023–24)

East Region League stage direct entrants Team Qualifying method App. (last) Vissel Kobe 2023 J1 League champions 3rd (2022) Kawasaki Frontale 2023 Emperor's Cup winners 11th (2023–24) Yokohama F. Marinos 2023 J1 League runners-up 7th (2023–24) Ulsan HD 2023 K League 1 champions 12th (2023–24) Pohang Steelers 2023 Korean FA Cup winners and 2023 K League 1 runners-up 10th (2023–24) Gwangju FC 2023 K League 1 third place[Note KOR] 1st Shanghai Port 2023 Chinese Super League champions 8th (2023–24) Shanghai Shenhua 2023 Chinese FA Cup winners 10th (2020) Buriram United 2023–24 Thai League 1 champions 12th (2023–24) Central Coast Mariners 2023–24 A-League Men regular season premiers and 2023–24 AFC Cup winners 6th (2015) Johor Darul Ta'zim 2023 Malaysia Super League champions and 2023 Malaysia FA Cup winners 10th (2023–24) Qualifying play-off participants Team Qualifying method App. (last) Bangkok United 2023–24 Thai FA Cup winners and 2023–24 Thai League 1 runners-up 5th (2023–24) Shandong Taishan[Note CHN] 2023 Chinese Super League runners-up 12th (2023–24)

Notes

1. ^
   China (CHN): Considered to have withdrawn at the final match of the league stage.^[6]
2. ^
   Qatar (QAT): As 2024 Emir of Qatar Cup winners Al-Sadd qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the Emir of Qatar Cup winners was transferred to the third placed team in the 2023–24 Qatar Stars League.
3. ^
   South Korea (KOR): As 2023 Korean FA Cup winners Pohang Steelers qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the Korean FA Cup winners was transferred to the third placed team in the 2023 K League 1.
   As both East region finalists in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League and the 2023–24 AFC Cup (Yokohama F. Marinos and the Central Coast Mariners) qualified for the Champions League Elite through their domestic performance, Gwangju FC qualified directly into the League stage rather than the qualifying play-off.^[7]
4. ^
   United Arab Emirates (UAE): As 2023–24 UAE President's Cup winners Al Wasl qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the UAE President's Cup winners was transferred to the runners-up of the 2023–24 UAE Pro League.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.^[8] All matches were played on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, apart from the quarter-finals and final. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were played at a centralised venue in Jeddah.

Stage	Round	Draw date	West region	East region
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	No draw[a]	6 August 2024
	Preliminary round 2		13 August 2024
League stage	Matchday 1	16 August 2024	16–17 September 2024	17–18 September 2024
	Matchday 2		30 September–1 October 2024	1–2 October 2024
	Matchday 3		21–22 October 2024	22–23 October 2024
	Matchday 4		4–5 November 2024	5–6 November 2024
	Matchday 5		25–26 November 2024	26–27 November 2024
	Matchday 6		2–3 December 2024	3–4 December 2024
	Matchday 7		3–4 February 2025	11–12 February 2025
	Matchday 8		17–18 February 2025	18–19 February 2025
Round of 16[b]		No draw[a]	3–4 and 10–11 March 2025	4–5 and 11–12 March 2025
Finals[c]	Quarter-finals	17 March 2025	25–27 April 2025
	Semi-finals		29–30 April 2025
	Final		3 May 2025 at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Notes

1. Pre-determined format
2. Two-legged ties
3. Single leg ties

Qualifying play-offs

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying play-offs

The two winners of the play-off round (one from West Region and one from East Region) advanced to the league stage to join the 22 direct entrants. The losers of the qualifying play-offs entered the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two.^[9]

Preliminary round

A total of 2 teams played in the preliminary round.

West Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Sepahan	1–4 (a.e.t.)	Shabab Al-Ahli

Play-off round

A total of 4 teams played in the play-off round: 3 teams which entered in this round, and 1 winners of the preliminary round.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
West Region
Al-Gharafa SC	1–0	Shabab Al-Ahli
East Region
Shandong Taishan	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Bangkok United

League stage

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage

Riyadh

Al-Ahli

Qatar

Tehran

Al-Wasl

Al-Ain

Pakhtakor

Al-Shorta

Greater Tokyo

Vissel Kobe

Gwangju FC

Yeongnam

Shanghai

Shandong Taishan

Buriram United

Central Coast Mariners

Johor Darul Ta'zim

Qatar teams
Al-Sadd
Al-Rayyan
Al-Gharafa

Riyadh teams
Al-Hilal
Al-Nassr

Yeongnam teams
Ulsan Hyundai
Pohang Steelers

Greater Tokyo teams
Kawasaki Frontale
Yokohama F. Marinos

Shanghai teams
Shanghai Port
Shanghai Shenhua

Tehran teams
Esteghlal
Persepolis

Location of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage teams
Orange: East Region; Blue: West Region

West Region

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Al-Hilal	8	7	1	0	26	7	+19	22	Advance to round of 16
2	Al-Ahli	8	7	1	0	21	8	+13	22
3	Al-Nassr	8	5	2	1	17	6	+11	17
4	Al-Sadd	8	3	3	2	10	9	+1	12
5	Al Wasl	8	3	2	3	8	12	−4	11
6	Esteghlal	8	2	3	3	8	9	−1	9
7	Al-Rayyan	8	2	2	4	8	12	−4	8
8	Pakhtakor	8	1	4	3	4	6	−2	7
9	Persepolis	8	1	4	3	6	10	−4	7
10	Al-Gharafa	8	2	1	5	10	18	−8	7
11	Al-Shorta	8	1	3	4	7	17	−10	6
12	Al Ain	8	0	2	6	11	22	−11	2

Source: Asian Football Confederation
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) penalty shoot-out if only two teams remain tied and played each other on the final matchday 6) fair play ranking; 7) drawing of lots

Results

Matchday 1

Home team	Score	Away team
Al Ain	1–1	Al-Sadd
Al-Shorta	1–1	Al-Nassr
Esteghlal	3–0	Al-Gharafa
Al-Ahli	1–0	Persepolis
Pakhtakor	0–1	Al Wasl
Al-Rayyan	1–3	Al-Hilal

Matchday 2

Home team	Score	Away team
Al-Sadd	2–0	Esteghlal
Persepolis	1–1	Pakhtakor
Al Wasl	0–2	Al-Ahli
Al-Nassr	2–1	Al-Rayyan
Al-Gharafa	4–2	Al Ain
Al-Hilal	5–0	Al-Shorta

Matchday 3

Home team	Score	Away team
Al-Shorta	0–0	Pakhtakor
Al-Sadd	1–0	Persepolis
Al Ain	4–5	Al-Hilal
Al-Rayyan	1–2	Al-Ahli
Esteghlal	0–1	Al-Nassr
Al-Gharafa	1–2	Al Wasl

Matchday 4

Home team	Score	Away team
Al Wasl	1–1	Al-Sadd
Al-Ahli	5–1	Al-Shorta
Persepolis	1–1	Al-Gharafa
Al-Hilal	3–0	Esteghlal
Pakhtakor	0–1	Al-Rayyan
Al-Nassr	5–1	Al Ain

Matchday 5

Home team	Score	Away team
Al Ain	1–2	Al-Ahli
Esteghlal	0–0	Pakhtakor
Al-Gharafa	1–3	Al-Nassr
Al-Rayyan	1–1	Persepolis
Al-Shorta	1–3	Al Wasl
Al-Sadd	1–1	Al-Hilal

Matchday 6

Home team	Score	Away team
Persepolis	2–1	Al-Shorta
Al-Ahli	2–2	Esteghlal
Al Wasl	1–1	Al-Rayyan
Al-Nassr	1–2	Al-Sadd
Pakhtakor	1–1	Al Ain
Al-Hilal	3–0	Al-Gharafa

Matchday 7

Home team	Score	Away team
Al Ain	1–2	Al-Rayyan
Esteghlal	1–1	Al-Shorta
Al-Sadd	1–3	Al-Ahli
Al-Nassr	4–0	Al Wasl
Al-Gharafa	1–0	Pakhtakor
Al-Hilal	4–1	Persepolis

Matchday 8

Home team	Score	Away team
Pakhtakor	2–1	Al-Sadd
Al-Shorta	2–0	Al Ain
Persepolis	0–0	Al-Nassr
Al-Ahli	4–2	Al-Gharafa
Al-Rayyan	0–2	Esteghlal
Al Wasl	0–2	Al-Hilal

East Region

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Yokohama F. Marinos	7	6	0	1	21	7	+14	18	Advance to round of 16
2	Kawasaki Frontale	7	5	0	2	13	4	+9	15
3	Johor Darul Ta'zim	7	4	2	1	16	8	+8	14
4	Gwangju	7	4	2	1	15	9	+6	14
5	Vissel Kobe	7	4	1	2	14	9	+5	13
6	Buriram United	8	3	3	2	7	12	−5	12
7	Shanghai Shenhua	8	3	1	4	13	12	+1	10
8	Shanghai Port	8	2	2	4	10	18	−8	8
9	Pohang Steelers	7	2	0	5	9	17	−8	6
10	Ulsan HD	7	1	0	6	4	16	−12	3
11	Central Coast Mariners	7	0	1	6	8	18	−10	1
12	Shandong Taishan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrawn[a]

Source: Asian Football Confederation
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) penalty shoot-out if only two teams remain tied and played each other on the final matchday 6) fair play ranking; 7) drawing of lots
Notes:

1. Shandong Taishan were considered withdrawn from the AFC Champions League Elite after the club confirmed that it did not intend to report for their league stage match against Ulsan HD on 19 February 2025.^[6] Their remaining fixture got cancelled and already played matches were annulled.^[10]

Results

Matchday 1

Home team	Score	Away team
Gwangju FC	7–3	Yokohama F. Marinos
Shandong Taishan	3–1	Central Coast Mariners
Buriram United	0–0	Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Shenhua	4–1	Pohang Steelers
Ulsan HD	0–1	Kawasaki Frontale
Shanghai Port	2–2	Johor Darul Ta'zim

Matchday 2

Home team	Score	Away team
Central Coast Mariners	1–2	Buriram United
Kawasaki Frontale	0–1	Gwangju FC
Pohang Steelers	3–0	Shanghai Port
Johor Darul Ta'zim	3–0	Shanghai Shenhua
Vissel Kobe	2–1	Shandong Taishan
Yokohama F. Marinos	4–0	Ulsan HD

Matchday 3

Home team	Score	Away team
Gwangju FC	3–1	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shanghai Port	3–2	Central Coast Mariners
Shandong Taishan	2–2	Yokohama F. Marinos
Buriram United	1–0	Pohang Steelers
Ulsan HD	0–2	Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Shenhua	2–0	Kawasaki Frontale

Matchday 4

Home team	Score	Away team
Central Coast Mariners	2–2	Shanghai Shenhua
Kawasaki Frontale	3–1	Shanghai Port
Vissel Kobe	2–0	Gwangju FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim	3–0	Ulsan HD
Pohang Steelers	4–2	Shandong Taishan
Yokohama F. Marinos	5–0	Buriram United

Matchday 5

Home team	Score	Away team
Vissel Kobe	3–2	Central Coast Mariners
Ulsan HD	1–3	Shanghai Port
Shandong Taishan	1–0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Buriram United	0–3	Kawasaki Frontale
Gwangju FC	1–0	Shanghai Shenhua
Yokohama F. Marinos	2–0	Pohang Steelers

Matchday 6

Home team	Score	Away team
Central Coast Mariners	0–4	Yokohama F. Marinos
Pohang Steelers	3–1	Vissel Kobe
Johor Darul Ta'zim	0–0	Buriram United
Shanghai Port	1–1	Gwangju FC
Kawasaki Frontale	4–0	Shandong Taishan
Shanghai Shenhua	1–2	Ulsan HD

Matchday 7

Home team	Score	Away team
Central Coast Mariners	1–2	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Vissel Kobe	4–0	Shanghai Port
Pohang Steelers	0–4	Kawasaki Frontale
Shandong Taishan	3–1	Gwangju FC
Yokohama F. Marinos	1–0	Shanghai Shenhua
Buriram United	2–1	Ulsan HD

Matchday 8

Home team	Score	Away team
Gwangju FC	2–2	Buriram United
Kawasaki Frontale	2–0	Central Coast Mariners
Shanghai Shenhua	4–2	Vissel Kobe
Johor Darul Ta'zim	5–2	Pohang Steelers
Ulsan HD	Canc.	Shandong Taishan
Shanghai Port	0–2	Yokohama F. Marinos

Knockout stage

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage

Bracket

	Round of 16							Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	W8	Pakhtakor	1	0	1
								25 April – Jeddah
	W1	Al-Hilal	0	4	4
								W1	Al-Hilal	7
								E4	Gwangju FC	0
	E5	Vissel Kobe	2	0	2
													29 April – Jeddah
	E4	Gwangju FC (a.e.t.)	0	3	3
													W1	Al-Hilal	1
													W2	Al-Ahli	3
	W7	Al-Rayyan	1	0	1
								26 April – Jeddah
	W2	Al-Ahli	3	2	5
								W2	Al-Ahli	3
								E6	Buriram United	0
	E6	Buriram United	0	1	1
																		3 May – Jeddah
	E3	Johor Darul Ta'zim	0	0	0
																		W2	Al-Ahli	2
																		E2	Kawasaki Frontale	0
	E8	Shanghai Port	0	1	1
								26 April – Jeddah
	E1	Yokohama F. Marinos	1	4	5
								E1	Yokohama F. Marinos	1
								W3	Al-Nassr	4
	W6	Esteghlal	0	0	0
													30 April – Jeddah
	W3	Al-Nassr	0	3	3
													W3	Al-Nassr	2
													E2	Kawasaki Frontale	3
	E7	Shanghai Shenhua	1	0	1
								27 April – Jeddah
	E2	Kawasaki Frontale	0	4	4
								E2	Kawasaki Frontale (a.e.t.)	3
								W4	Al-Sadd	2
	W5	Al-Wasl	1	1	2
	W4	Al-Sadd	1	3	4

Round of 16

A total of 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage, with eight teams in each region. The first legs were played on 3–5 March, the second legs were played on 10–12 March 2025.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
West Region
Pakhtakor	1–4	Al-Hilal	1–0	0–4
Al-Rayyan	1–5	Al-Ahli	1–3	0–2
Esteghlal	0–3	Al-Nassr	0–0	0–3
Al-Wasl	2–4	Al-Sadd	1–1	1–3
East Region
Shanghai Port	1–5	Yokohama FM	0–1	1–4
Shanghai Shenhua	1–4	Kawasaki Frontale	1–0	0–4
Buriram United	1–0	Johor Darul Ta'zim	0–0	1–0
Vissel Kobe	2–3	Gwangju FC	2–0	0–3 (a.e.t.)

Finals

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, all as single-legged ties, are being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 25 April to 3 May 2025.

Quarter-finals

25 April 2025 (2025-04-25)

19:30 UTC+3

Al-Hilal	7–0	Gwangju FC
Milinković-Savić 6' Marcos Leonardo 25' S. Al-Dawsari 33' Mitrović 55' Malcom 79' N. Al-Dawsari 84' Al-Hamdan 86'	Report

King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah

Attendance: 48,713

Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Kuwait)

---

26 April 2025 (2025-04-26)

19:30 UTC+3

Al-Ahli	3–0	Buriram United
Mahrez 4' Galeno 6' Firmino 30'	Report

King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah

Attendance: 43,027

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

---

26 April 2025 (2025-04-26)

22:30 UTC+3

Yokohama F. Marinos	1–4	Al-Nassr
Watanabe 53'	Report	Durán 27', 49' Mané 31' Ronaldo 38'

Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 12,003

Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

---

27 April 2025 (2025-04-27)

19:30 UTC+3

Kawasaki Frontale	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Al-Sadd
Erison 4' Marcinho 21' Wakizaka 98'	Report	Otávio 9' Claudinho 71'

Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 2,873

Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Semi-finals

29 April 2025 (2025-04-29)

19:30 UTC+3

Al-Hilal	1–3	Al-Ahli
S. Al-Dawsari 42'	Report	Firmino 9' Toney 27' Al-Buraikan 90+8'

King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah

Attendance: 50,613

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

---

30 April 2025 (2025-04-30)

19:30 UTC+3

Al-Nassr	2–3	Kawasaki Frontale
Mané 28' Yahya 87'	Report	Itō 10' Ozeki 41' Ienaga 76'

King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah

Attendance: 28,810

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Australia)

Final

Main article: 2025 AFC Champions League Elite final

3 May 2025 (2025-05-03)

19:30 UTC+3

Al-Ahli	2–0	Kawasaki Frontale
Galeno 35' Kessié 42'	Report

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 58,281

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

Top scorers

  Team eliminated for this round / Matches voided by AFC

  Player was not in the team but the team was still active for this round.

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	MD4	MD5	MD6	MD7	MD8	R16-1	R16-2	QF	SF	F	Total
1	Salem Al-Dawsari	Al-Hilal		1	3				2	1		1	1	1		10
2	Riyad Mahrez	Al-Ahli		1		2			1	1	1	2	1			9
	Jasir Asani	Gwangju FC	3	1	2		1					2
4	Cristiano Ronaldo	Al-Nassr		1		1	2		2			1	1			8
	Anderson Lopes	Yokohama F. Marinos		1		2	1	1			1	2
6	Aleksandar Mitrović	Al-Hilal		1		3		1					1			6
	Roberto Firmino	Al-Ahli				2			1	1			1
	Ivan Toney	Al-Ahli					2	2		1				1
9	Akram Afif	Al-Sadd	1	1				1	1			1				5
	Arif Aiman	Johor Darul Ta'zim	2	1		1				1
	Matías Vargas	Shanghai Port			1	1	3

Note

• Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4)

See also

• 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two
• 2024–25 AFC Challenge League
• 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League
• 2025 AFC eChampions League Elite (esports)