THC Science

2024–25 AFC Champions League 2
Tournament details
Teams	Competition proper: 32 (from 24 associations)
	2025–26 →

The 2024–25 AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) will be the inaugural edition of the AFC Champions League 2, Asia's new second-tier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).^[1]^[2] It will feature 32 teams in the group stage.^[3]

Association team allocation[edit]

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 2
	Participating
	Not participating

West Region (4 groups)
Rank		Member Association	Points	Slots
Rank				Group stage	Play-off
Zone	AFC			Group stage	Play-off
—	—	2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying round losers	—	1 or 2	0
1	1	Saudi Arabia	93.795	1	0
2	4	Qatar	79.950	1	0
3	5	Iran	72.018	1	0
4	6	United Arab Emirates	64.129	1	0
5	9	Uzbekistan	45.006	1	0
6	10	Iraq	36.901	1	0
7	12	Jordan	30.161	1	1
8	16	Tajikistan	23.976	1	1
9	17	India	23.639	1	1
10	18	Bahrain	20.681	1	1
11	19	Kuwait	20.069	0	1
12	20	Turkmenistan	19.464	0	1
Total		Participating associations: 12		11–12	6
Total		Participating associations: 12		17–18

East Region (4 groups)
Rank		Member Association	Points	Slots
Rank				Group stage	Play-off
Zone	AFC			Group stage	Play-off
—	—	2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying round losers	—	1	0
1	2	Japan	91.821	1	0
2	3	South Korea	88.295	1	0
3	7	China	57.630	1	0
4	8	Thailand	49.470	1	0
5	11	Australia	33.830	1	0
6	13	Malaysia	29.951	1	0
7	14	Vietnam	29.469	1	1
8	15	Hong Kong	27.450	1	1
9	21	Philippines	18.428	1	1
10	24	Singapore	16.824	1	1
11	25	North Korea	16.117	0	1
12	26	Indonesia	15.083	0	1
Total		Participating associations: 12		11	6
Total		Participating associations: 12		17

Teams[edit]

West Region
Team	Qualifying method
	2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying round losers
	2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying round losers
	2023–24 Saudi Pro League fourth place^{[Note KSA]}
Al-Gharafa	2023–24 Qatar Stars League third place
	2023–24 Persian Gulf Pro League third place
	2023–24 UAE Pro League runners-up
Nasaf	2023 Uzbekistan Cup winners 2023 Uzbekistan Super League runners-up
	2023–24 Iraq FA Cup winners
	2023–24 Jordanian Pro League champions
Istiklol	2023 Tajikistan Higher League champions 2023 Tajikistan Cup winners
Mohun Bagan	2023–24 Indian Super League League Shield winners
	2023–24 Bahraini Premier League champions

Qualifying play-off participants
Team	Qualifying method
	2023–24 Jordan FA Cup winners
Ravshan Kulob	2023 Tajikistan Cup runners-up^{[Note TJK]}
East Bengal	2024 Super Cup winners
Manama	2023–24 Bahrain FA Cup winners
	2023–24 Kuwaiti Premier League champions
Arkadag	2023 Ýokary Liga champions 2023 Turkmenistan Cup winners

East Region
Team	Qualifying method
	2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying round losers
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	2023 J1 League third place
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2023 K League 1 fourth place^{[Note KOR]}
Zhejiang	2023 Chinese Super League third place
	2023–24 Thai League 1 runners-up
Sydney FC	2023 Australia Cup winners
Selangor	2023 Malaysia Super League runners-up^{[Note MAS]}
	2023–24 V.League 1 champions
	2023–24 Hong Kong Premier League champions
	2024 Philippines Football League champions
Lion City Sailors	2023 Singapore Premier League runners-up^{[Note SGP]} 2023 Singapore Cup winners

Qualifying play-off participants
Team	Qualifying method
	2023–24 Vietnamese Cup winners
	2023–24 Hong Kong FA Cup winners
Kaya–Iloilo	2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara winners
Tampines Rovers	2023 Singapore Premier League second-best placed local team^{[Note SIN]}
	2023–24 DPR Korea Premier Football League champions
	2023–24 Liga 1 champions

Notes

^
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 2.
^
Saudi Arabia (KSA): Al Hilal and Al Nassr, the 2023–24 King Cup finalists, have already qualified to Champions League Elite as the 2023–24 Saudi Pro League champions or runners-up, so Pro League fourth-placed team will qualify for the Champions League 2 group stage.^[6]
^
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 2 group stage. Since Lion City Sailors also won the 2023 Singapore Cup, Tampines Rovers FC, qualified for the qualifying play-offs as the second-best placed local team in the 2023 Singapore Premier League.
^
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 2 group stage.
^
Tajikistan (TJK): Istiklol qualified for the group stage directly by winning the 2023 Tajikistan Higher League. Thus, Ravshan Kulob, the 2023 Tajikistan Cup runners-up, qualified for the qualifying play-offs.

Schedule[edit]

The schedule of the competition is as follows.^[7]

Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	TBA	31 July 2024
	Preliminary round 2		7 August 2024
	Preliminary round 3		14 August 2024
Group stage	Matchday 1	TBA	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	TBA	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

References[edit]

^ "Asian Champions League to relaunch with fewer teams and more prize money in 2024-25 season". AP News. August 14, 2023.
^ "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.
^ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". the-AFC.
^ "AFC Club Competitions 2024/25 Slot Allocation" (PDF). fas.org.sg. Football Association of Singapore. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
^ "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.
^ Sportstar, Team (2024-05-01). "Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej Highlights, King's Cup Semifinal: Ronaldo scores twice to help Al Nassr beat Al Khaleej 3–1". Sportstar. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
^ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023.

[rdp-we-cnote_Note_MAS] 
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 2.

[rdp-we-cnote_Note_KSA] 
Saudi Arabia (KSA): Al Hilal and Al Nassr, the 2023–24 King Cup finalists, have already qualified to Champions League Elite as the 2023–24 Saudi Pro League champions or runners-up, so Pro League fourth-placed team will qualify for the Champions League 2 group stage.^[6]

[rdp-we-cnote_Note_SIN] 
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 2 group stage. Since Lion City Sailors also won the 2023 Singapore Cup, Tampines Rovers FC, qualified for the qualifying play-offs as the second-best placed local team in the 2023 Singapore Premier League.

[rdp-we-cnote_Note_KOR] 
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 2 group stage.

[rdp-we-cnote_Note_TJK] 
Tajikistan (TJK): Istiklol qualified for the group stage directly by winning the 2023 Tajikistan Higher League. Thus, Ravshan Kulob, the 2023 Tajikistan Cup runners-up, qualified for the qualifying play-offs.

[1] "Asian Champions League to relaunch with fewer teams and more prize money in 2024-25 season". AP News. August 14, 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.

[slot-4] "AFC Club Competitions 2024/25 Slot Allocation" (PDF). fas.org.sg. Football Association of Singapore. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.

[ranking-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] Sportstar, Team (2024-05-01). "Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej Highlights, King's Cup Semifinal: Ronaldo scores twice to help Al Nassr beat Al Khaleej 3–1". Sportstar. Retrieved 2024-05-02.

[7] "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[Note KSA]

[Note TJK]

[Note KOR]

[Note MAS]

[Note SGP]

[Note SIN]

[6]

[7]

THC Science

Bringing Science to the Cannabis Conversation!

Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction

Association team allocation[edit]

Teams[edit]

Schedule[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Tournament details
Teams	Competition proper: 32 (from 24 associations)
2025–26 →