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2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite
International football competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) is the 44th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the second under the AFC Champions League Elite title.[1]
The finals will be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[2] The tournament winner will qualify for the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. Additionally, the winner will enter the league stage of the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite, if they have not already qualified through domestic performance.[3]
Al Ahli are the defending champions.
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Association team allocation
The associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2023–24 competitions were completed.[4] Slots were subject to later re-balancing based on the 2024–25 competition results.
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Teams
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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.
- Notes.
- ^ AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE): Al-Ahli qualified as the winners of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite. They replace the third-placed team in the 2024–25 Saudi Pro League.
- ^ Australia (AUS): As the 2024–25 A-League Men regular season champions Auckland FC are a team from New Zealand and therefore ineligible to participate in AFC club competitions, the spot reserved for the A-League Men regular season champions was transferred to the runners-up in the league, Melbourne City.
- ^ China (CHN): As the 2024 Chinese FA Cup winners Shanghai Port qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the Chinese FA Cup winners was transferred to the third-placed team in the 2024 Chinese Super League, Chengdu Rongcheng.
- ^ Japan (JPN): As the 2024 Emperor's Cup winners Vissel Kobe qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the Emperor's Cup winners was transferred to the third-placed team in the 2024 J1 League, Machida Zelvia.
- ^ South Korea (KOR): As the 2024 K League 1 third-placed team, Gimcheon Sangmu, are ineligible to qualify for AFC competitions, the spot was transferred to the fourth-placed team, FC Seoul.
- ^ Thailand (THA): As 2024–25 Thai FA Cup champions Buriram United qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the Thai FA Cup winners was transferred to the runners-up team in the 2024–25 Thai League 1, Bangkok United.
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Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[6]
- Notes
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 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two.
West Region
East Region
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League stage
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The league phase draw is scheduled to take place on 15 August 2025 (at 17:00 UTC+8), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[7]
Location of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite league stage teams
Orange: East Region; 
Blue: West Region
Orange: East Region; 
Blue: West Region|
Location of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite league stage teams in the Persian Gulf. |
Locations of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite teams in Japan and Korea
|
West Region
First match(es) will be played: 15 September 2025. 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
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
East Region
First match(es) will be played: 16 September 2025. 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
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
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See also
References
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