ACL Elite League: Iran’s Persepolis, Esteghlal Discover Rivals
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Thrilling battle lines were drawn following the conclusion of the AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) 2024/25 season League Stage draw on Friday.
In a pivotal change, the League Stage format will be utilized for the first time in an AFC club competition and features two leagues of 12 teams across the West and East regions.
The United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain FC, who won the final season of the AFC Champions League, will meet Qatar sides Al Sadd SC, Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan, Saudi Arabia trio Al Hilal SFC, Al Ahli Saudi FC and Al Nassr and Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor and Al Shorta of Iraq.
The line-up --comprising 22 teams that qualified directly and two Preliminary Stage winners-- were placed into two pots within each region for the draw.
For each region, every club was drawn into its respective position in the Draw Grid. Pot 1 clubs occupied any of the top two rows (A1 to C2) and Pot 2 clubs the bottom two (A3 to C4), which ensured they play against eight different sides from the other columns (e.g. clubs in column A were paired against clubs from columns B and C).
The Pairings Grid ensures that each team will play four home and four away matches against an equal number of clubs from Pots 1 and 2. An identical process applies to clubs in the East region, which were classified from D1 to D4, E1 to E4 and F1 to F4.
The country protection principle was in force during the draw and a bespoke draw software was utilized to prevent any deadlock situations from occurring.
The top eight finishers of each League will progress to the Round of 16, scheduled for March 2025, which will be followed by a unique centralized Finals that sees all matches from the Quarter-finals onwards being contested in Saudi Arabia between April 25 and May 4, 2025.
The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) is the 43rd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Elite.
The final stage will be played in Saudi Arabia from 25 April to 4 May 2025. The tournament winner will qualify for the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Additionally, the winner will enter the league stage of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite, if they have not already qualified through domestic performance.
Al Ain is the defending champion, as the AFC Champions League records and statistics are carried forward to the ACL Elite.
The teams in West are Pakhtakor (UZB), Al Sadd SC (QAT), Persepolis FC (IRN), Al Hilal SFC (KSA), Al Shorta (IRQ), Al Ain FC (UAE), Al Nassr (KSA), Al Rayyan SC (QAT), Esteghlal FC (IRN), Al Ahli Saudi FC (KSA), Al Gharafa SC (QAT), and Al Wasl FC (UAE).
The East section teams include Ulsan HD FC (KOR), Shanghai Port FC (CHN), Johor Darul Ta’zim FC (MAS), Central Coast Mariners (AUS), Buriram United (THA), Vissel Kobe (JPN), FC Pohang Steelers (KOR), Shandong Taishan FC (CHN), Yokohama F Marinos (JPN), Gwangju FC (KOR), Shanghai Shenhua FC (CHN), and Kawasaki Frontale (JPN).