2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite

2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite
The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
6–13 August 2024
Competition proper:
16 September 2024 – 3 May 2025
TeamsCompetition proper: 24 (from 12 associations)
Final positions
Champions Al-Ahli (1st title)
Runners-up Kawasaki Frontale
Tournament statistics
Matches played111
Goals scored334 (3.01 per match)
Attendance1,677,544 (15,113 per match)
Top scorer(s) Salem Al-Dawsari
(10 goals)
Best player Roberto Firmino
Best goalkeeper Édouard Mendy

The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) was the 43rd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Elite. The revamped format, along with the rebranding, saw 24 teams playing eight games against different opponents in the brand new league phase.[1]

The finals was played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 25 April to 3 May 2025.[2] The tournament winner, Al-Ahli, qualified for the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. Additionally, they entered the league stage of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite, as they had not qualified through domestic performance.[3]

Al-Ain were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the league stage.[4]

Association team allocation

The associations were allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2022 competitions were completed.[5]

Participation for 2024–25 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-Ain 2023–24 AFC Champions League title holder 18th (2023–24) Vissel Kobe 2023 J1 League champions 3rd (2022)
Al-Hilal 2023–24 Saudi Pro League champions
2023–24 King's Cup winners 		20th (2023–24) Kawasaki Frontale 2023 Emperor's Cup winners 11th (2023–24)
Al-Nassr 2023–24 Saudi Pro League runners-up 8th (2023–24) Yokohama F. Marinos 2023 J1 League runners-up 7th (2023–24)
Al-Ahli 2023–24 Saudi Pro League third place[Note KSA] 14th (2021) Ulsan HD 2023 K League 1 champions 12th (2023–24)
Al-Sadd 2023–24 Qatar Stars League champions
2024 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 		19th (2023–24) Pohang Steelers 2023 Korean FA Cup winners 10th (2023–24)
Al-Rayyan 2023–24 Qatar Stars League runners-up[Note QAT] 13th (2022) Gwangju FC 2023 K League 1 third place[Note KOR] 1st
Persepolis 2023–24 Persian Gulf Pro League champions 12th (2023–24) Shanghai Port 2023 Chinese Super League champions 8th (2023–24)
Esteghlal 2023–24 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 12th (2021) Shanghai Shenhua 2023 Chinese FA Cup winners 10th (2020)
Al-Wasl 2023–24 UAE Pro League champions
2023–24 UAE President's Cup winners 		4th (2019) Buriram United 2023–24 Thai League 1 champions 12th (2023–24)
Pakhtakor 2023 Uzbekistan Super League champions 20th (2023–24) Central Coast Mariners 2023–24 A-League Men regular season premiers
2023–24 AFC Cup winners 		6th (2015)
Al-Shorta 2023–24 Iraq Stars League champions 6th (2021) Johor Darul Ta'zim 2023 Malaysia Super League champions 10th (2023–24)
Play-off round Al-Gharafa 2023–24 Qatar Stars League third place[Note QAT] 13th (2022) Shandong Taishan[Note CHN] 2023 Chinese Super League runners-up 12th (2023–24)
Bangkok United 2023–24 Thai FA Cup winners 5th (2023–24)
Preliminary round Sepahan 2023–24 Hazfi Cup winners 15th (2023–24)
Shabab Al-Ahli 2023–24 UAE Pro League runners-up[Note UAE] 12th (2023–24)
Notes
  1. ^
    China (CHN): Considered to have withdrawn at the final match of the league stage.[6]
  2. ^
    Qatar (QAT): As 2024 Emir of Qatar Cup winners Al-Sadd qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the Emir of Qatar Cup winners was transferred to the third placed team in the 2023–24 Qatar Stars League.
  3. ^
    South Korea (KOR): As 2023 Korean FA Cup winners Pohang Steelers qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the Korean FA Cup winners was transferred to the third placed team in the 2023 K League 1.
    As both East region finalists in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League and the 2023–24 AFC Cup (Yokohama F. Marinos and the Central Coast Mariners) qualified for the Champions League Elite through their domestic performance, Gwangju FC qualified directly into the League stage rather than the qualifying play-off.[7]
  4. ^
    Saudi Arabia (KSA): As 2023–24 King's Cup winners Al-Hilal qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the King's Cup winners was transferred to the third placed team of the 2023–24 Saudi Pro League.
  5. ^
    United Arab Emirates (UAE): As 2023–24 UAE President's Cup winners Al Wasl qualified for the Champions League Elite via their league position, the spot reserved for the UAE President's Cup winners was transferred to the runners-up of the 2023–24 UAE Pro League.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.[8] All matches were played on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, apart from the quarter-finals and final. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were played at a centralised venue in Jeddah.

Stage Round Draw date West region East region
Preliminary stage Preliminary round 1 No draw[a] 6 August 2024
Preliminary round 2 13 August 2024
League stage Matchday 1 16 August 2024 16–17 September 2024 17–18 September 2024
Matchday 2 30 September–1 October 2024 1–2 October 2024
Matchday 3 21–22 October 2024 22–23 October 2024
Matchday 4 4–5 November 2024 5–6 November 2024
Matchday 5 25–26 November 2024 26–27 November 2024
Matchday 6 2–3 December 2024 3–4 December 2024
Matchday 7 3–4 February 2025 11–12 February 2025
Matchday 8 17–18 February 2025 18–19 February 2025
Round of 16[b] No draw[a] 3–4 and 10–11 March 2025 4–5 and 11–12 March 2025
Finals[c] Quarter-finals 17 March 2025 25–27 April 2025
Semi-finals 29–30 April 2025
Final 3 May 2025 at
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
Notes
  1. ^ a b Pre-determined format
  2. ^ Two-legged ties
  3. ^ Single leg ties

Qualifying play-offs

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite 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 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two.[9]

Preliminary round

A total of 2 teams played in the preliminary round.

West Region
Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Sepahan 1–4 (a.e.t.) Shabab Al-Ahli

Play-off round

A total of 4 teams played in the play-off round: 3 teams which entered in this round, and 1 winners of the preliminary round.

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
West Region
Al-Gharafa SC 1–0 Shabab Al-Ahli
East Region
Shandong Taishan 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)		 Bangkok United

League stage

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage
Location of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage teams
Orange: East Region; Blue: West Region

West Region

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Al-Hilal 8 7 1 0 26 7 +19 22 Advance to round of 16
2 Al-Ahli 8 7 1 0 21 8 +13 22
3 Al-Nassr 8 5 2 1 17 6 +11 17
4 Al-Sadd 8 3 3 2 10 9 +1 12
5 Al Wasl 8 3 2 3 8 12 −4 11
6 Esteghlal 8 2 3 3 8 9 −1 9
7 Al-Rayyan 8 2 2 4 8 12 −4 8
8 Pakhtakor 8 1 4 3 4 6 −2 7
9 Persepolis 8 1 4 3 6 10 −4 7
10 Al-Gharafa 8 2 1 5 10 18 −8 7
11 Al-Shorta 8 1 3 4 7 17 −10 6
12 Al Ain 8 0 2 6 11 22 −11 2
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
Results
Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Al Ain 1–1 Al-Sadd
Al-Shorta 1–1 Al-Nassr
Esteghlal 3–0 Al-Gharafa
Al-Ahli 1–0 Persepolis
Pakhtakor 0–1 Al Wasl
Al-Rayyan 1–3 Al-Hilal
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
Al-Sadd 2–0 Esteghlal
Persepolis 1–1 Pakhtakor
Al Wasl 0–2 Al-Ahli
Al-Nassr 2–1 Al-Rayyan
Al-Gharafa 4–2 Al Ain
Al-Hilal 5–0 Al-Shorta
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Al-Shorta 0–0 Pakhtakor
Al-Sadd 1–0 Persepolis
Al Ain 4–5 Al-Hilal
Al-Rayyan 1–2 Al-Ahli
Esteghlal 0–1 Al-Nassr
Al-Gharafa 1–2 Al Wasl
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
Al Wasl 1–1 Al-Sadd
Al-Ahli 5–1 Al-Shorta
Persepolis 1–1 Al-Gharafa
Al-Hilal 3–0 Esteghlal
Pakhtakor 0–1 Al-Rayyan
Al-Nassr 5–1 Al Ain
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Al Ain 1–2 Al-Ahli
Esteghlal 0–0 Pakhtakor
Al-Gharafa 1–3 Al-Nassr
Al-Rayyan 1–1 Persepolis
Al-Shorta 1–3 Al Wasl
Al-Sadd 1–1 Al-Hilal
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Persepolis 2–1 Al-Shorta
Al-Ahli 2–2 Esteghlal
Al Wasl 1–1 Al-Rayyan
Al-Nassr 1–2 Al-Sadd
Pakhtakor 1–1 Al Ain
Al-Hilal 3–0 Al-Gharafa
Matchday 7
Home teamScoreAway team
Al Ain 1–2 Al-Rayyan
Esteghlal 1–1 Al-Shorta
Al-Sadd 1–3 Al-Ahli
Al-Nassr 4–0 Al Wasl
Al-Gharafa 1–0 Pakhtakor
Al-Hilal 4–1 Persepolis
Matchday 8
Home teamScoreAway team
Pakhtakor 2–1 Al-Sadd
Al-Shorta 2–0 Al Ain
Persepolis 0–0 Al-Nassr
Al-Ahli 4–2 Al-Gharafa
Al-Rayyan 0–2 Esteghlal
Al Wasl 0–2 Al-Hilal

East Region

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Yokohama F. Marinos 7 6 0 1 21 7 +14 18 Advance to round of 16
2 Kawasaki Frontale 7 5 0 2 13 4 +9 15
3 Johor Darul Ta'zim 7 4 2 1 16 8 +8 14
4 Gwangju 7 4 2 1 15 9 +6 14
5 Vissel Kobe 7 4 1 2 14 9 +5 13
6 Buriram United 8 3 3 2 7 12 −5 12
7 Shanghai Shenhua 8 3 1 4 13 12 +1 10
8 Shanghai Port 8 2 2 4 10 18 −8 8
9 Pohang Steelers 7 2 0 5 9 17 −8 6
10 Ulsan HD 7 1 0 6 4 16 −12 3
11 Central Coast Mariners 7 0 1 6 8 18 −10 1
12 Shandong Taishan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrawn, record expunged[a]
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
Notes:
  1. ^ Shandong Taishan were considered to have withdrawn from the AFC Champions League Elite after the club confirmed that it did not intend to report for their league stage match against Ulsan HD on 19 February 2025.[6] Their remaining fixture was cancelled, with their seven played matches being expunged.[10]
Results
Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Gwangju FC 7–3 Yokohama F. Marinos
Shandong Taishan 3–1 Central Coast Mariners
Buriram United 0–0 Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Shenhua 4–1 Pohang Steelers
Ulsan HD 0–1 Kawasaki Frontale
Shanghai Port 2–2 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
Central Coast Mariners 1–2 Buriram United
Kawasaki Frontale 0–1 Gwangju FC
Pohang Steelers 3–0 Shanghai Port
Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–0 Shanghai Shenhua
Vissel Kobe 2–1 Shandong Taishan
Yokohama F. Marinos 4–0 Ulsan HD
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Gwangju FC 3–1 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shanghai Port 3–2 Central Coast Mariners
Shandong Taishan 2–2 Yokohama F. Marinos
Buriram United 1–0 Pohang Steelers
Ulsan HD 0–2 Vissel Kobe
Shanghai Shenhua 2–0 Kawasaki Frontale
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
Central Coast Mariners 2–2 Shanghai Shenhua
Kawasaki Frontale 3–1 Shanghai Port
Vissel Kobe 2–0 Gwangju FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–0 Ulsan HD
Pohang Steelers 4–2 Shandong Taishan
Yokohama F. Marinos 5–0 Buriram United
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
Vissel Kobe 3–2 Central Coast Mariners
Ulsan HD 1–3 Shanghai Port
Shandong Taishan 1–0 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Buriram United 0–3 Kawasaki Frontale
Gwangju FC 1–0 Shanghai Shenhua
Yokohama F. Marinos 2–0 Pohang Steelers
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Central Coast Mariners 0–4 Yokohama F. Marinos
Pohang Steelers 3–1 Vissel Kobe
Johor Darul Ta'zim 0–0 Buriram United
Shanghai Port 1–1 Gwangju FC
Kawasaki Frontale 4–0 Shandong Taishan
Shanghai Shenhua 1–2 Ulsan HD
Matchday 7
Home teamScoreAway team
Central Coast Mariners 1–2 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Vissel Kobe 4–0 Shanghai Port
Pohang Steelers 0–4 Kawasaki Frontale
Shandong Taishan 3–1 Gwangju FC
Yokohama F. Marinos 1–0 Shanghai Shenhua
Buriram United 2–1 Ulsan HD
Matchday 8
Home teamScoreAway team
Gwangju FC 2–2 Buriram United
Kawasaki Frontale 2–0 Central Coast Mariners
Shanghai Shenhua 4–2 Vissel Kobe
Johor Darul Ta'zim 5–2 Pohang Steelers
Ulsan HD Canc. Shandong Taishan
Shanghai Port 0–2 Yokohama F. Marinos

Knockout stage

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite knockout stage

Bracket

Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
W8 Pakhtakor101
25 April – Jeddah
W1 Al-Hilal044
W1 Al-Hilal7
E4 Gwangju FC0
E5 Vissel Kobe202
29 April – Jeddah
E4 Gwangju FC (a.e.t.)033
W1 Al-Hilal1
W2 Al-Ahli3
W7 Al-Rayyan101
26 April – Jeddah
W2 Al-Ahli325
W2 Al-Ahli3
E6 Buriram United0
E6 Buriram United011
3 May – Jeddah
E3 Johor Darul Ta'zim000
W2 Al-Ahli2
E2 Kawasaki Frontale0
E8 Shanghai Port011
26 April – Jeddah
E1 Yokohama F. Marinos145
E1 Yokohama F. Marinos1
W3 Al-Nassr4
W6 Esteghlal000
30 April – Jeddah
W3 Al-Nassr033
W3 Al-Nassr2
E2 Kawasaki Frontale3
E7 Shanghai Shenhua101
27 April – Jeddah
E2 Kawasaki Frontale044
E2 Kawasaki Frontale (a.e.t.)3
W4 Al-Sadd2
W5 Al-Wasl112
W4 Al-Sadd134

Round of 16

A total of 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage, with eight teams in each region.

The first legs were played on 3–5 March, and the second legs were played on 10–12 March 2025.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
West Region
Pakhtakor 1–4 Al-Hilal1–00–4
Al-Rayyan 1–5 Al-Ahli1–30–2
Esteghlal 0–3 Al-Nassr0–00–3
Al-Wasl 2–4 Al-Sadd1–11–3
East Region
Shanghai Port 1–5 Yokohama FM0–11–4
Shanghai Shenhua 1–4 Kawasaki Frontale1–00–4
Buriram United 1–0 Johor Darul Ta'zim0–01–0
Vissel Kobe 2–3 Gwangju FC2–00–3 (a.e.t.)

Finals

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, all as single-legged ties, were held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 25 April to 3 May 2025.

Quarter-finals

Al-Hilal 7–0 Gwangju FC
 Report
Attendance: 48,713
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Kuwait)
Al-Ahli 3–0 Buriram United
 Report
Attendance: 43,027
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Yokohama F. Marinos 1–4 Al-Nassr
 Report
Attendance: 12,003
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Kawasaki Frontale 3–2 (a.e.t.) Al-Sadd
 Report
Attendance: 2,873
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Semi-finals

Al-Hilal 1–3 Al-Ahli
S. Al-Dawsari 42' Report
Attendance: 50,613
Al-Nassr 2–3 Kawasaki Frontale
 Report
Attendance: 28,810

Final

Main article: 2025 AFC Champions League Elite final


Al-Ahli 2–0 Kawasaki Frontale
 Report
Attendance: 58,281

Top scorers

  Team eliminated for this round / Matches voided by AFC
  Player was not in the team but the team was still active for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 MD7 MD8 R16-1 R16-2 QF SF F Total
1 Salem Al-Dawsari Al-Hilal 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 10
2 Riyad Mahrez Al-Ahli 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 9
Jasir Asani Gwangju FC 3 1 2 1 2
4 Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Nassr 1 1 2 2 1 1 8
Anderson Lopes Yokohama F. Marinos 1 2 1 1 1 2
6 Aleksandar Mitrović Al-Hilal 1 3 1 1 6
Roberto Firmino Al-Ahli 2 1 1 1
Ivan Toney Al-Ahli 2 2 1 1
9 Akram Afif Al-Sadd 1 1 1 1 1 5
Arif Aiman Johor Darul Ta'zim 2 1 1 1
Matías Vargas Shanghai Port 1 1 3
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 2023.
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabia to host AFC Champions League Elite – Final Stage". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  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 14 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Pivotal reforms approved by AFC Competitions Committee". AFC. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Latest update on AFC Champions League Elite™". Asian Football Confederation. 19 February 2025.
  7. ^ "광주FC - GWANGJU FOOTBALL CLUB". www.gwangjufc.com (in Korean). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". Asian Football Confederation. 1 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Preliminary battles to kick-start ACL Elite 2024/25". the-AFC. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  10. ^ "AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
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