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2025–26 AFC Challenge League group stage
Asia tertiary club football tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2025–26 AFC Challenge League group stage will be played from 25 October to 1 November 2025. The top two teams from each group qualified for the knockout stage.
Draw
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The draw for the group stage took place on 28 August at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 20 teams were drawn into five groups: three comprising four teams from the West each (Groups A–C) and two involving four teams from the East each (Groups D–E).[1] Teams were seeded into pots: four pots for West region and East region, and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
The following 20 teams entered the group stage draw, which included the 11 direct entrants, three losers from the AFC Champions League Two qualifying play-offs and the two winners of the preliminary stage.
- Legend
- ACL2: AFC Champions League Two qualifying play-off losers
- PS: Preliminary stage winners
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Format
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In the group stage, each group will be played in a single round-robin format on a centralised venue. Eight teams will progress to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage : the three group winners and best-ranked runners-up from the West, and the group winners and runner-ups of each group from the East.
Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 8.3):[2]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams playing each other in the last round of the group are tied;
- Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
- Drawing of lots.
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Schedule
The schedule of the group stage is as follows.[3]
Groups
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The detailed schedule was announced on 28 August 2025 after the draw ceremony.[4]
West Region
Group A
First match(es) will be played: 25 October 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Group B
First match(es) will be played: 25 October 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Group C
First match(es) will be played: 25 October 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Ranking of runners-up teams
First match(es) will be played: 25 October 2025. Source: AFC
East Region
Group D
First match(es) will be played: 27 October 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Group E
First match(es) will be played: 27 October 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
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Notes
See also
References
External links
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