2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite

2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite
The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah will host the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
12 August 2025
Competition proper:
15 September 2025 – 25 April 2026
TeamsCompetition proper: 24 (from 12 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played96
Goals scored260 (2.71 per match)
Attendance1,136,390 (11,837 per match)
Top scorer(s)Algeria Houssem Aouar
Algeria Adil Boulbina
(6 goals each)
All statistics correct as of 18 February 2026.

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 quarter-finals onwards (referred to as the 'AFC Champions League Elite Finals') will be played as single-match knockout ties in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium) from 16 to 25 April.[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 their domestic performance.[3]

Al-Ahli are the defending champions.

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.

Participation for 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite
Participating
Not participating

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.

Entry round West Region East Region
League stage Team Qualifying method App. (last) Team Qualifying method App. (last)
Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite title holder[Note ACLE] 15th (2024–25) Japan Vissel Kobe 2024 J1 League champions and 2024 Emperor's Cup winners 4th (2024–25)
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 2024–25 Saudi Pro League champions[5] and 2024–25 King's Cup winners 13th (2023–24) Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2024 J1 League runners-up 6th (2019)
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 2024–25 Saudi Pro League runners-up[5] 21th (2024–25) Japan Machida Zelvia 2024 J1 League third place[Note JPN] 1st
United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli 2024–25 UAE Pro League champions and 2024–25 UAE President's Cup winners 13th (2024–25) South Korea Ulsan HD 2024 K League 1 champions 13th (2024–25)
United Arab Emirates Sharjah 2024–25 UAE Pro League runners-up
2024–25 AFC Champions League Two title holder 		7th (2023–24) South Korea Gangwon FC 2024 K League 1 runners-up 1st
United Arab Emirates Al Wahda 2024–25 UAE Pro League third place 13th (2021) South Korea FC Seoul 2024 K League 1 fourth place[Note KOR] 9th (2020)
Qatar Al Sadd 2024–25 Qatar Stars League champions 20th (2024–25) China Shanghai Port 2024 Chinese Super League champions and 2024 Chinese FA Cup winners 9th (2024–25)
Qatar Al-Gharafa 2025 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 14th (2024–25) China Shanghai Shenhua 2024 Chinese Super League runners-up[Note CHN] 11th (2024–25)
Iran Tractor 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League champions 7th (2021) Thailand Buriram United 2024–25 Thai League 1 champions
2024–25 Thai FA Cup champions 		13th (2024–25)
Uzbekistan Nasaf 2024 Uzbekistan Super League champions 9th (2023–24) Australia Melbourne City 2024–25 A-League Men regular season runners-up[Note AUS] 3rd (2023–24)
Iraq Al-Shorta 2024–25 Iraq Stars League champions 7th (2024–25) Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 2024–25 Malaysia Super League champions 11th (2024–25)
Qualifying play-off participants Qatar Al-Duhail 2024–25 Qatar Stars League runners-up 12th (2023–24) China Chengdu Rongcheng 2024 Chinese Super League third place[Note CHN] 1st
Iran Sepahan 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 16th (2024–25) Thailand Bangkok United 2024–25 Thai League 1 runners-up[Note THA] 6th (2024–25)
Notes.
  1. ^
    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.
  2. ^
    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.
  3. ^
    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.
  4. ^
    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.
  5. ^
    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.
  6. ^
    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.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[6]

Schedule for 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite
Stage Round Draw date West region East region
Preliminary stage Preliminary round No draw 12 August 2025
League stage Matchday 1 15 August 2025 15–16 September 2025 16–17 September 2025
Matchday 2 29–30 September 2025 30 September–1 October 2025
Matchday 3 20–21 October 2025 21–22 October 2025
Matchday 4 3–4 November 2025 4–5 November 2025
Matchday 5 24–25 November 2025 25–26 November 2025
Matchday 6 22–23 December 2025 9–10 December 2025
Matchday 7 9–10 February 2026 10–11 February 2026
Matchday 8 16–17 February 2026 17–18 February 2026
Round of 16 No draw[a] 2–3 and 9–10 March 2026 3–4 and 10–11 March 2026
Finals Quarter-finals 18 March 2026 16–18 April 2026
Semi-finals 20–21 April 2026
Final 25 April 2026 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah[7]
Notes
  1. ^ Pre-determined format

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.

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
West Region
Al-Duhail Qatar3–2Iran Sepahan
East Region
Chengdu China3–0Thailand Bangkok United

West Region

Al-Duhail Qatar3–2Iran Sepahan
  • Bamba 11'
  • Boulbina 24'
  • Piątek 33'
 AFC Report
GSA Report
Attendance: 2,936
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)

East Region

League stage

Main article: 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite league stage

The league phase draw took place on 15 August 2025 (at 17:00 UTC+8), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[8]

Location of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite league stage teams
Orange: East Region; Blue: West Region

West Region

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 8 7 1 0 17 6 +11 22 Advance to round of 16
2 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 8 5 2 1 21 9 +12 17
3 Iran Tractor 8 5 2 1 12 4 +8 17
4 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 8 5 0 3 22 9 +13 15
5 United Arab Emirates Al Wahda 8 4 2 2 11 7 +4 14
6 United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli 8 3 2 3 14 14 0 11
7 Qatar Al-Duhail 8 2 2 4 16 16 0 8
8 Qatar Al Sadd 8 2 2 4 12 16 −4 8
9 United Arab Emirates Sharjah 8 2 2 4 8 16 −8 8
10 Qatar Al-Gharafa 8 2 0 6 7 21 −14 6
11 Iraq Al-Shorta 8 1 2 5 6 20 −14 5
12 Uzbekistan Nasaf 8 1 1 6 9 17 −8 4
Source: ACLE
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
Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Sharjah United Arab Emirates4–3Qatar Al-Gharafa
Al Wahda United Arab Emirates2–1Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia4–2Uzbekistan Nasaf
Al-Shorta Iraq1–1Qatar Al Sadd
Shabab Al Ahli United Arab Emirates1–1Iran Tractor
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia2–1Qatar Al-Duhail
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf Uzbekistan2–3Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Al-Gharafa Qatar2–0Iraq Al-Shorta
Tractor Iran0–0United Arab Emirates Al Wahda
Al-Duhail Qatar2–2Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli
Al Sadd Qatar1–1United Arab Emirates Sharjah
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia0–1United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Al Wahda United Arab Emirates3–1Qatar Al-Duhail
Sharjah United Arab Emirates0–5Iran Tractor
Al-Shorta Iraq1–4Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia4–0Qatar Al-Gharafa
Shabab Al Ahli United Arab Emirates4–1Uzbekistan Nasaf
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia3–1Qatar Al Sadd
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf Uzbekistan1–2United Arab Emirates Al Wahda
Tractor Iran1–0Iraq Al-Shorta
Al-Duhail Qatar4–1United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli
Al-Gharafa Qatar1–2Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Al Sadd Qatar1–2Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia3–0United Arab Emirates Sharjah
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf Uzbekistan0–1Iran Tractor
Shabab Al Ahli United Arab Emirates2–0Qatar Al-Gharafa
Al-Duhail Qatar4–2Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia0–1United Arab Emirates Sharjah
Al Wahda United Arab Emirates3–1Qatar Al Sadd
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia4–0Iraq Al-Shorta
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Sharjah United Arab Emirates0–1Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Tractor Iran2–1Qatar Al-Duhail
Al-Shorta Iraq0–5Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli
Al-Gharafa Qatar1–0United Arab Emirates Al Wahda
Al Sadd Qatar4–2United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia1–0Uzbekistan Nasaf
Matchday 7
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf Uzbekistan1–1Iraq Al-Shorta
Al Wahda United Arab Emirates0–0Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli
Shabab Al Ahli United Arab Emirates0–0Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Al-Duhail Qatar1–1United Arab Emirates Sharjah
Tractor Iran0–2Qatar Al Sadd
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia7–0Qatar Al-Gharafa
Matchday 8
Home teamScoreAway team
Sharjah United Arab Emirates1–2Uzbekistan Nasaf
Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia4–3United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia2–1United Arab Emirates Al Wahda
Al-Shorta Iraq3–2Qatar Al-Duhail
Al Sadd Qatar1–4Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Al-Gharafa Qatar0–2Iran Tractor

East Region

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Japan Machida Zelvia 8 5 2 1 15 7 +8 17 Advance to round of 16
2 Japan Vissel Kobe 8 5 1 2 14 7 +7 16
3 Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima 8 4 3 1 10 6 +4 15
4 Thailand Buriram United 8 4 2 2 10 8 +2 14
5 Australia Melbourne City 8 4 2 2 9 7 +2 14
6 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 8 3 2 3 8 7 +1 11
7 South Korea FC Seoul 8 2 4 2 10 9 +1 10
8 South Korea Gangwon FC 8 2 3 3 9 11 −2 9
9 South Korea Ulsan HD 8 2 3 3 6 8 −2 9
10 China Chengdu Rongcheng 8 1 3 4 7 11 −4 6
11 China Shanghai Shenhua 8 1 1 6 5 13 −8 4
12 China Shanghai Port 8 0 4 4 2 11 −9 4
Source: ACLE
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
Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Melbourne City Australia0–2Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Gangwon FC South Korea2–1China Shanghai Shenhua
Machida Zelvia Japan1–1South Korea FC Seoul
Buriram United Thailand2–1Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Ulsan HD South Korea2–1China Chengdu Rongcheng
Shanghai Port China0–3Japan Vissel Kobe
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Japan1–1China Shanghai Port
FC Seoul South Korea3–0Thailand Buriram United
Chengdu Rongcheng China1–0South Korea Gangwon FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia0–0Japan Machida Zelvia
Vissel Kobe Japan1–0Australia Melbourne City
Shanghai Shenhua China1–1South Korea Ulsan HD
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Melbourne City Australia2–1Thailand Buriram United
Ulsan HD South Korea1–0Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Chengdu Rongcheng China0–2Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shanghai Port China0–2Japan Machida Zelvia
Gangwon FC South Korea4–3Japan Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Shenhua China2–0South Korea FC Seoul
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Japan1–0South Korea Gangwon FC
Machida Zelvia Japan1–2Australia Melbourne City
FC Seoul South Korea0–0China Chengdu Rongcheng
Buriram United Thailand2–0China Shanghai Port
Vissel Kobe Japan1–0South Korea Ulsan HD
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia3–1China Shanghai Shenhua
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Melbourne City Australia2–0Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Gangwon FC South Korea1–3Japan Machida Zelvia
Shanghai Port China1–3South Korea FC Seoul
Chengdu Rongcheng China1–1Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Ulsan HD South Korea0–0Thailand Buriram United
Shanghai Shenhua China0–2Japan Vissel Kobe
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Vissel Kobe Japan2–2China Chengdu Rongcheng
Machida Zelvia Japan3–1South Korea Ulsan HD
Buriram United Thailand2–2South Korea Gangwon FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia0–0China Shanghai Port
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Japan1–0China Shanghai Shenhua
FC Seoul South Korea1–1Australia Melbourne City
Matchday 7
Home teamScoreAway team
Vissel Kobe Japan2–0South Korea FC Seoul
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Japan2–1Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shanghai Shenhua China0–2Japan Machida Zelvia
Chengdu Rongcheng China0–1Thailand Buriram United
Ulsan HD South Korea1–2Australia Melbourne City
Gangwon FC South Korea0–0China Shanghai Port
Matchday 8
Home teamScoreAway team
Machida Zelvia Japan3–2China Chengdu Rongcheng
FC Seoul South Korea2–2Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Buriram United Thailand2–0China Shanghai Shenhua
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia1–0Japan Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Port China0–0South Korea Ulsan HD
Melbourne City Australia0–0South Korea Gangwon FC

Knockout stage

Main article: 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage

Bracket

Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
W8Qatar Al Sadd
April – Jeddah
W1Saudi Arabia Al Hilal
W7Qatar Al-Duhail
April – Jeddah
W2Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli
Winner QF1
Winner QF2
W6United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli
April – Jeddah
W3Iran Tractor
W
E
W5United Arab Emirates Al Wahda
25 April – Jeddah (KASCSS)
W4Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Winner SF1
Winner SF2
E8South Korea Gangwon FC
April – Jeddah
E1Japan Machida Zelvia
E7South Korea FC Seoul
April – Jeddah
E2Japan Vissel Kobe
Winner QF3
Winner QF4
E6Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
April – Jeddah
E3Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
E
W
E5Australia Melbourne City
E4Thailand Buriram United

Round of 16

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
West Region
Al Sadd Qatar1Saudi Arabia Al Hilal3 Mar10 Mar
Al-Duhail Qatar2Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli2 Mar9 Mar
Shabab Al Ahli United Arab Emirates3Iran Tractor2 Mar9 Mar
Al Wahda United Arab Emirates4Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad3 Mar10 Mar
East Region
Gangwon FC South Korea5Japan Machida Zelvia3 Mar10 Mar
FC Seoul South Korea6Japan Vissel Kobe4 Mar11 Mar
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia7Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima4 Mar11 Mar
Melbourne City Australia8Thailand Buriram United3 Mar10 Mar

Top scorers

  Team eliminated for this round / Matches voided by AFC / Player left the team
As of 18 February 2026
Rank[9] Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 MD7 MD8 R16-1 R16-2 QF SF F Total
1 Algeria Houssem Aouar Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 2 3 1 6
Algeria Adil Boulbina Qatar Al-Duhail 1 1 3 1
3 Spain Rafa Mújica Qatar Al Sadd 3 1 1 5
4 France Karim Benzema Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad / Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 1 2 1 4
France Enzo Millot Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 2 1 1
Poland Krzysztof Piątek Qatar Al-Duhail 1 1 1 1
Brazil Breno Cascardo United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli 1 1 2
Brazil Felipe China Chengdu Rongcheng 1 2 1
9 Brazil Marcos Leonardo Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 1 2 3
Serbia Sergej Milinković-Savić Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 1 1 1
Uruguay Darwin Núñez Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 1 2
Algeria Riyad Mahrez Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 1 1 1
Saudi Arabia Abu Al-Shamat Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 1 1 1
PortugalGuinea-Bissau Roger Fernandes Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 1 2
France Benjamin Bourigeaud Qatar Al-Duhail 1 1 1
Spain Joselu Qatar Al-Gharafa 2 1
United Arab Emirates Caio Canedo United Arab Emirates Al Wahda 1 1 1
Albania Regi Lushkja Iran Tractor 2 1
Thailand Suphanat Mueanta Thailand Buriram United 1 1 1
Japan Yuki Soma Japan Machida Zelvia 1 2
Australia Max Caputo Australia Melbourne City 1 1 1
England Jesse Lingard South Korea FC Seoul 2 1
Japan Taisei Miyashiro Japan Vissel Kobe 1 2
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

References

  1. ^ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". AFC. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabia to host AFC Champions League Elite – Final Stage". the-AFC. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  3. ^ "More Member Associations to benefit from inclusive AFC Champions League". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  5. ^ a b "SAFF approves mechanism for participation of Saudi clubs in AFC competitions". saudi gazette.
  6. ^ "AFC Calendar (Jul-2025-Jun-2026)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 10 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Venues confirmed for AFC Champions League Elite Finals Jeddah 2026". Asian Football Confederation. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  8. ^ "#ACLElite set for lift off". the-afc.com. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  9. ^ "AFC Champions League Elite– Top Scorers". the-afc.com. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
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