2024 - 2025 AFC Champions League Elite
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| Match System |
| Qualification As of the 2024–25 edition of the tournament, the AFC Champions League Elite uses a league stage format of 24 teams, which is preceded by qualifying matches for teams that do not receive direct entry to the competition proper. Teams are also split into East and West zones. The number of teams that each association enters into the AFC Champions League Elite is determined annually through criteria as set by the AFC Competitions Committee. The criteria, which is a modified version of the UEFA coefficient, measures such thing as marketability and stadia to determine the specific number of berths that an association receives. The higher an association's ranking as determined by the criteria, the more teams represent the association in the competition. Tournament The tournament proper begins with a league stage of 24 teams, which are split into two leagues (East and West), with each team playing against eight opponents from their league (four at home and four away). The top eight teams from each league advance to the round of 16. In this phase, each club face another club from its region in a two-legged, home-and-away tie to decide which eight clubs progress to a centralised Finals tournament. If the aggregate score of the two games is tied after 180 minutes, the clubs play extra time. If still tied after extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final matches all feature cross-regional pairings, and are played in a single-leg format at centralised venue. |
