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 played72
Goals scored199 (2.76 per match)
Attendance868,380 (12,061 per match)
Top scorer Adil Boulbina (5 goals)
All statistics correct as of 23 December 2025.

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)
Al-Ahli 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite title holder[Note ACLE] 15th (2024–25) Vissel Kobe 2024 J1 League champions and 2024 Emperor's Cup winners 4th (2024–25)
Al-Ittihad 2024–25 Saudi Pro League champions[5] and 2024–25 King's Cup winners 13th (2023–24) Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2024 J1 League runners-up 6th (2019)
Al-Hilal 2024–25 Saudi Pro League runners-up[5] 21th (2024–25) Machida Zelvia 2024 J1 League third place[Note JPN] 1st
Shabab Al Ahli 2024–25 UAE Pro League champions and 2024–25 UAE President's Cup winners 13th (2024–25) Ulsan HD 2024 K League 1 champions 13th (2024–25)
Sharjah 2024–25 UAE Pro League runners-up
2024–25 AFC Champions League Two title holder 		7th (2023–24) Gangwon FC 2024 K League 1 runners-up 1st
Al Wahda 2024–25 UAE Pro League third place 13th (2021) FC Seoul 2024 K League 1 fourth place[Note KOR] 9th (2020)
Al Sadd 2024–25 Qatar Stars League champions 20th (2024–25) Shanghai Port 2024 Chinese Super League champions and 2024 Chinese FA Cup winners 9th (2024–25)
Al-Gharafa 2025 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 14th (2024–25) Shanghai Shenhua 2024 Chinese Super League runners-up[Note CHN] 11th (2024–25)
Tractor 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League champions 7th (2021) Buriram United 2024–25 Thai League 1 champions
2024–25 Thai FA Cup champions 		13th (2024–25)
Nasaf 2024 Uzbekistan Super League champions 9th (2023–24) Melbourne City 2024–25 A-League Men regular season runners-up[Note AUS] 3rd (2023–24)
Al-Shorta 2024–25 Iraq Stars League champions 7th (2024–25) Johor Darul Ta'zim 2024–25 Malaysia Super League champions 11th (2024–25)
Qualifying play-off participants Al-Duhail 2024–25 Qatar Stars League runners-up 12th (2023–24) Chengdu Rongcheng 2024 Chinese Super League third place[Note CHN] 1st
Sepahan 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 16th (2024–25) 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 3–2 Sepahan
East Region
Chengdu 3–0 Bangkok United

West Region

Al-Duhail 3–2 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 Al Hilal (Q) 6 6 0 0 15 5 +10 18 Advance to round of 16
2 Tractor (Q) 6 4 2 0 10 2 +8 14
3 Al-Ahli (Q) 6 4 1 1 17 6 +11 13
4 Al Wahda (Q) 6 4 1 1 10 5 +5 13
5 Shabab Al Ahli 6 3 1 2 11 10 +1 10
6 Al-Ittihad 6 3 0 3 11 8 +3 9
7 Al-Duhail 6 2 1 3 13 12 +1 7
8 Sharjah 6 2 1 3 6 13 −7 7
9 Al-Gharafa 6 2 0 4 7 12 −5 6
10 Al Sadd 6 1 2 3 9 12 −3 5
11 Al-Shorta 6 0 1 5 2 17 −15 1
12 Nasaf (E) 6 0 0 6 6 15 −9 0
Updated to match(es) played on 23 December 2025. 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
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Sharjah 4–3 Al-Gharafa
Al Wahda 2–1 Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli 4–2 Nasaf
Al-Shorta 1–1 Al Sadd
Shabab Al Ahli 1–1 Tractor
Al-Hilal 2–1 Al-Duhail
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf 2–3 Al-Hilal
Al-Gharafa 2–0 Al-Shorta
Tractor 0–0 Al Wahda
Al-Duhail 2–2 Al-Ahli
Al Sadd 1–1 Sharjah
Al-Ittihad 0–1 Shabab Al Ahli
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Al Wahda 3–1 Al-Duhail
Sharjah 0–5 Tractor
Al-Shorta 1–4 Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli 4–0 Al-Gharafa
Shabab Al Ahli 4–1 Nasaf
Al-Hilal 3–1 Al Sadd
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf 1–2 Al Wahda
Tractor 1–0 Al-Shorta
Al-Duhail 4–1 Shabab Al Ahli
Al-Gharafa 1–2 Al-Hilal
Al Sadd 1–2 Al-Ahli
Al-Ittihad 3–0 Sharjah
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf 0–1 Tractor
Shabab Al Ahli 2–0 Al-Gharafa
Al-Duhail 4–2 Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli 0–1 Sharjah
Al Wahda 3–1 Al Sadd
Al-Hilal 4–0 Al-Shorta
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Sharjah 0–1 Al-Hilal
Tractor 2–1 Al-Duhail
Al-Shorta 0–5 Al-Ahli
Al-Gharafa 1–0 Al Wahda
Al Sadd 4–2 Shabab Al Ahli
Al-Ittihad 1–0 Nasaf
Matchday 7
Home teamScoreAway team
Nasaf 9 Feb Al-Shorta
Al Wahda 9 Feb Al-Ahli
Shabab Al Ahli 9 Feb Al-Hilal
Al-Duhail 9 Feb Sharjah
Tractor 10 Feb Al Sadd
Al-Ittihad 10 Feb Al-Gharafa
Matchday 8
Home teamScoreAway team
Sharjah 16 Feb Nasaf
Al-Ahli 16 Feb Shabab Al Ahli
Al-Hilal 16 Feb Al Wahda
Al-Shorta 16 Feb Al-Duhail
Al Sadd 17 Feb Al-Ittihad
Al-Gharafa 17 Feb Tractor

East Region

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Vissel Kobe (Q) 6 4 1 1 12 6 +6 13 Advance to round of 16
2 Machida Zelvia 6 3 2 1 10 5 +5 11
3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 3 2 1 6 3 +3 11
4 Melbourne City 6 3 1 2 7 6 +1 10
5 FC Seoul 6 2 3 1 8 5 +3 9
6 Johor Darul Ta'zim 6 2 2 2 6 5 +1 8
7 Buriram United 6 2 2 2 7 8 −1 8
8 Ulsan HD 6 2 2 2 5 6 −1 8
9 Gangwon FC 6 2 1 3 9 11 −2 7
10 Chengdu Rongcheng 6 1 3 2 5 7 −2 6
11 Shanghai Shenhua 6 1 1 4 5 9 −4 4
12 Shanghai Port 6 0 2 4 2 11 −9 2
Updated to match(es) played on 10 December 2025. 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
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Melbourne City 0–2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Gangwon FC 2–1 Shanghai Shenhua
Machida Zelvia 1–1 FC Seoul
Buriram United 2–1 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Ulsan HD 2–1 Chengdu Rongcheng
Shanghai Port 0–3 Vissel Kobe
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–1 Shanghai Port
FC Seoul 3–0 Buriram United
Chengdu Rongcheng 1–0 Gangwon FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim 0–0 Machida Zelvia
Vissel Kobe 1–0 Melbourne City
Shanghai Shenhua 1–1 Ulsan HD
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Melbourne City 2–1 Buriram United
Ulsan HD 1–0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Chengdu Rongcheng 0–2 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shanghai Port 0–2 Machida Zelvia
Gangwon FC 4–3 Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Shenhua 2–0 FC Seoul
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–0 Gangwon FC
Machida Zelvia 1–2 Melbourne City
FC Seoul 0–0 Chengdu Rongcheng
Buriram United 2–0 Shanghai Port
Vissel Kobe 1–0 Ulsan HD
Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–1 Shanghai Shenhua
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Melbourne City 2–0 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Gangwon FC 1–3 Machida Zelvia
Shanghai Port 1–3 FC Seoul
Chengdu Rongcheng 1–1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Ulsan HD 0–0 Buriram United
Shanghai Shenhua 0–2 Vissel Kobe
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Vissel Kobe 2–2 Chengdu Rongcheng
Machida Zelvia 3–1 Ulsan HD
Buriram United 2–2 Gangwon FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim 0–0 Shanghai Port
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–0 Shanghai Shenhua
FC Seoul 1–1 Melbourne City
Matchday 7
Home teamScoreAway team
Vissel Kobe 10 Feb FC Seoul
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 10 Feb Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shanghai Shenhua 10 Feb Machida Zelvia
Chengdu Rongcheng 10 Feb Buriram United
Ulsan HD 11 Feb Melbourne City
Gangwon FC 11 Feb Shanghai Port
Matchday 8
Home teamScoreAway team
Machida Zelvia 17 Feb Chengdu Rongcheng
FC Seoul 17 Feb Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Buriram United 17 Feb Shanghai Shenhua
Johor Darul Ta'zim 17 Feb Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Port 18 Feb Ulsan HD
Melbourne City 18 Feb Gangwon FC

Top scorers

  Team eliminated for this round / Matches voided by AFC / Player left the team
As of 23 December 2025
Rank[9] Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 MD7 MD8 R16-1 R16-2 QF SF F Total
1 Adil Boulbina Al-Duhail 1 1 3 5
2 Karim Benzema Al-Ittihad 1 2 1 4
3 Caio Canedo Al Wahda 1 1 1 3
Felipe Chengdu Rongcheng 1 2
Joselu Al-Gharafa 2 1
Marcos Leonardo Al Hilal 1 2
Jesse Lingard FC Seoul 2 1
Regi Lushkja Tractor 2 1
Riyad Mahrez Al-Ahli 1 1 1
Enzo Millot Al-Ahli 2 1
Sergej Milinković-Savić Al Hilal 1 1 1
Rafa Mújica Al Sadd 3
Taisei Miyashiro Vissel Kobe 1 2
Krzysztof Piątek Al-Duhail 1 1 1
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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