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by | Mar 16, 2018 | Hosta

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The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two (ACL Two) will be the 21st edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Previously known as the AFC Cup, which had been in existence for the previous 20 seasons, this is the first season using a revised format and the new name (AFC Champions League Two).[1][2] It will feature 32 teams in the group stage.[3]

Association team allocation

The associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking,[4] which was published after the 2022 competitions were completed.[5]

Participation for 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two
Participating
Not participating
Notes
  1. ^
    AFC Licensing (AFC): Association did not have a licensed club.[6]

Teams

class=notpageimage|
Location of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two group stage teams
Blue: West Region Orange: East Region

The number of appearances and last appearance include the AFC Cup as the predecessor of the AFC Champions League Two.

Notes
  1. ^
    Iran (IRN): Sepahan and Mes Rafsanjan qualified for the 2023–24 Hazfi Cup final. However, Mes Rafsanjan were not granted an AFC Champions League Elite license. Even if Mes Rafsanjan wins the Hazfi Cup, the AFC Champions League Elite qualifying play-off slot will be awarded to the 2023–24 Persian Gulf Pro League third place, which is also Sepahan and 2023–24 Persian Gulf Pro League fourth place qualifies to AFC Champions League Two group stage.
  2. ^
    Malaysia (MAS): Johor Darul Ta'zim, the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup winners, also won the league title. As a result, the 2023 Malaysia Super League runners-up, Selangor, qualified for the Champions League Two.
  3. ^
    Qatar (QAT): Al-Sadd had already qualified for the Champions League Elite as the 2023-24 Qatar Stars League champions has also won the 2024 Emir of Qatar Cup. Thus, second-placed Al-Rayyan have also qualified for the Champions League Elite league stage, the third-placed Al-Gharafa qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off, the fourth-placed Al-Wakrah qualified for the Champions League Two group stage.
  4. ^
    Saudi Arabia (KSA): Al Hilal being the 2023–24 King Cup winners, have already qualified to 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite as the 2023–24 Saudi Pro League champions, so Saudi Pro League fourth-placed team will qualify for the Champions League Two group stage.[7]
  5. ^
    Singapore (SGP): Albirex Niigata (S), the 2023 Singapore Premier League champions, are a team from Japan and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Lion City Sailors, the Singapore Premier League runners-up, qualified for the Champions League Two group stage. Since Lion City Sailors also won the 2023 Singapore Cup, Tampines Rovers FC, also qualified for the group stage as the second-best placed local team in the 2023 Singapore Premier League.
  6. ^
    South Korea (KOR): Pohang Steelers had already qualified for the Champions League Elite as the 2023 K League 1 runners-up when they won the 2023 Korean FA Cup. Thus, third-placed Gwangju FC qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off, while the fourth-placed Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors qualified for the Champions League Two group stage.
  7. ^
    Tajikistan (TJK): Istiklol won both the 2023 Tajikistan Higher League and 2023 Tajikistan Cup. Ravshan Kulob, as the league runners-up, also entered the group stage.
  8. ^
    Thailand (THA): Bangkok United, the 2023-24 Thai League 1 runners-up had qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off as the 2023-24 Thai FA Cup winner. Thus, third-placed Port qualified for the Champions League Two group stage.
  9. ^
    Turkmenistan (TKM): Arkadag, the 2023 Ýokary Liga and 2023 Turkmenistan Cup champions only have AFC Challenge League license. So Altyn Asyr, the regular season runners-up replaced Arkadag in AFC Champions League Two qualifying play-offs.
  10. ^
    United Arab Emirates (UAE): Al-Wasl, who has already qualified to Champions League Elite as 2023–24 UAE President's Cup winners, also won the 2023–24 UAE Pro League and Al Ain, the UAE Pro League third-placed team was assured a place in the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage by winning the 2023–24 AFC Champions League, so UAE Pro League fourth-placed team, Sharjah, qualified for the Champions League Two group stage.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[8]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary stage No draw[a] 14 August 2024
Group stage Matchday 1 16 August 2024 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2 1–3 October 2024
Matchday 3 22–24 October 2024
Matchday 4 5–7 November 2024
Matchday 5 26–28 November 2024
Matchday 6 3–5 December 2024
Knockout stage Round of 16 12 December 2024 11–13 February 2025 18–20 February 2025
Quarter-finals 4–6 March 2025 11–13 March 2025
Semi-finals 8–9 April 2025 15–16 April 2025
Final 17 May 2025

Qualifying play-offs

Losers of the preliminary stage will enter the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Challenge League.

Preliminary stage

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region[9]
East Bengal India West 1 (14 Aug) Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr
Al-Ahli Bahrain West 2 (14 Aug) Kuwait Al-Kuwait

See also

Notes

  1. ^ pre-determined format

References

  1. ^ "Asian Champions League to relaunch with fewer teams and more prize money in 2024-25 season". AP News. 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ "History beckons for AFC Cup 2023/24 contenders as final edition of popular competition kicks off". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  3. ^ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". the-AFC.
  4. ^ "AFC Club Competitions 2024/25 Slot Allocation" (PDF). fas.org.sg. Football Association of Singapore. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  5. ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  6. ^ "List of Licensed Clubs - AFC Club Competitions 2024/25" (PDF). 14 June 2024.
  7. ^ Sportstar, Team (1 May 2024). "Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej Highlights, King's Cup Semifinal: Ronaldo scores twice to help Al Nassr beat Al Khaleej 3–1". Sportstar. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  8. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Preliminary stage 3 (14 August) 🇮🇳 East Bengal vs 🇹🇲 Altyn Asyr 🇧🇭 Al Ahli vs 🇰🇼 Al Kuwait The winners will advance to ACL Two group stage, and the losers will drop to AFC Challenge League group stage". X (formerly Twitter).
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