Thank you! Park Joo-ho, Ulsan, Buriram X Melbourne Homebit Cell Kobe, Shanghai Shenhua Expedition Street, avoided a great group of honey

Aug 15, 2025

Thank you! Park Joo-ho, Ulsan, Buriram X Melbourne Homebit Cell Kobe, Shanghai Shenhua Expedition Street, avoided a great group of honey



The opponent of Ulsan HD, Gangwon FC, and FC Seoul to challenge for the top in Asia has been decided

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held a raffle ceremony for the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE), League Stage and Asian Champions League 2 (hereinafter 'ACL2') at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 6 p.m. on the 15th (Korea time).

Three teams will challenge the new season's ACLE, including 'K League 1 defending champion' Ulsan HD, 'Last season's K League 1 runner-up team' Gangwon FC and 'Last season's K League 1 third place' FC Seoul. In ACLE, the top league of Asian clubs, a total of 24 clubs will be divided into 12 teams from East and West Asia to compete in the league stage. Each team will play a total of eight games (4 home games and 4 away games) at the league stage. With the reorganization of ACLE, the existing group stage was changed to the league stage, and the way the group was organized changed. AFC conducted a random draw from port 1. In the order of winning, D1→E1→F1→D2→E2→F2… The seed number was given by the back, and the league stage was not allowed to play against its own team.




Thank you! Park Joo-ho, Ulsan, Buriram X Melbourne Homebit Cell Kobe, Shanghai Shenhua Expedition Street, avoided a great group of honey
Thank you! Park Joo-ho, Ulsan, Buriram X Melbourne Homebit Cell Kobe, Shanghai Shenhua Expedition Street, avoided a great group of honey
Thank you! Park Joo-ho, Ulsan, Buriram X Melbourne Homebit Cell Kobe, Shanghai Shenhua Expedition Street, avoided a great group of honey
The draw was attended by Park Joo-ho and AFC Secretary-General Shin Man-gil, who experienced the Asian champion during the Ulsan Hyundai era. Park Joo-ho said, `I've experienced both the Europa League and the European Champions League while playing in Europe, but winning the Asian Championship in Ulsan is an unforgettable moment in my soccer career.' AFC's Deputy Secretary-General Shin Man-gil also took the stage side by side to introduce the new ACLE match system, which has become stronger and richer, and to explain each club's performance and history directly whenever the draw is held.

After the West Asia 1-2 port draw, they entered the East Asia draw. Port 1 in East Asia includes Shanghai Port, Ulsan HD, Buriram, Melbourne City, Vissel Kobe, and Johor Darul. In Port 2, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, FC Seoul, FC Machida Zevia, Gangwon FC, Shanghai Shenhua and Chengdu Longcheng were tied.

Ulsan will face Buriram United (Home/Thailand), Melbourne City (Home/Sydney), Shanghai Port (Original/China), Vissel Kobe (Original/Japan), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Home/Japan), Chengdu Longcheng (Home/China), Machida Zelvia (Original/Japan) and Shanghai Shenhua (Original/China) in Port 1.




Seoul, which will play in the ACL for the first time in five years since the 2020 season, will play Buriram United (Thailand), Melbourne City FC (Australia), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan), Chengdu Longcheng (China) at home, and face Shanghai Port (China), Vissel Kobe (Japan), Shanghai Shenhua (China) and Machida Zelvia (Japan) on the road.

Gangwon, which will play in its first ACL this season, will face Shanghai Port (China), Vissel Kobe (Japan), Shanghai Shenhua (China), and Machida Zelvia (Japan) at home, and will meet Buriram United (Thailand), Melbourne City FC (Australia), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan) and Chengdu Longcheng (China) on the road.

The 2025-26 ACLE East Asian League Stage will be held over about five months, starting with the first leg on September 17 and ending with the eighth leg on February 18 next year. The league stage will play a total of eight games, four home and away games per team, and after the league stage ends, the top eight teams in the East and West Asian leagues will automatically advance to the round of 16. The final stage (the quarterfinals to the finals) will be played in Saudi Arabia in a single match. If you don't win or lose in regular time, it leads to overtime and penalty shootouts.




The 'Top League' ACLE 24 clubs receive $800,000 (about W1.1 billion) from the AFC. $200,000 (about 270 million won) will be paid for advancing to the round of 16, $400,000 (about 550 million won) for advancing to the quarterfinals, and $600,000 (about 820 million won) will be paid for advancing to the semifinals. If he wins, he will receive 10 million dollars (about 13.8 billion won). The total prize money of the ACLE winner this season is $12 million (about 16.1 billion won).

Meanwhile, 32 clubs will participate in the ACL2 group stage, and among the K-League teams, Pohang will participate as the winner of last season's Korea Cup. As a result of the draw, Pohang will meet BG Pathum United (Thailand), Kaya FC Iloilo (Philippines), and Tampais Rovers FC (Singapore) in Group H. ACL2 will be divided into eight groups of four teams, starting with the first game on September 17 and playing the group stage until December 3. After the end of the group stage, the top two teams in each group will advance to the round of 16.



<2025-26 AFC Champions League Draw Results>

(1) ACLE

■ Ulsan

Home: Buriram United (Thailand), Melbourne City FC (Australia), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan), Chengdu Longcheng (China)

Away: Shanghai Port (China), Vissel Kobe (Japan), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Machida Zelvia (Japan)

■ Seoul

Home: Buriram United (Thailand), Melbourne City FC (Australia), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan), Chengdu Longcheng (China)

Away: Shanghai Port (China), Vissel Kobe (Japan), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Machida Zelvia (Japan)

■ Gangwon Province

Home: Shanghai Port (China), Vissel Kobe (Japan), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Machida Zelvia (Japan)

Away: Buriram United (Thailand), Melbourne City FC (Australia), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan), Chengdu Longcheng (China)

*ACLE Overall Participation Team

■ East Asia

Vissel Kobe (Japan), Ulsan HD (Korea), Shanghai Port (China), Buriram United (Thailand), Melbourne City FC (Australia), Johor Darlle Takjim (Malaysia), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan), Gangwon FC (Korea), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Machida Zelvia (Japan), FC Seoul (Korea), Chengdu Longcheng (China)

■ West Asia

Al Ahli FC (Saudi), Shabab Al Ahli (UAE), Al Saad SC (Qatar), Traktor SC (Iran), PFC Nasaf (Uzbekistan), Al Shorta (Iraq), Al Itihad (Saudi), Sharjah FC (UAE), Al-Garappa (Qatar), Al-Hilal SFC (Saudi), Al-Wahda (UAE), Al-Duhail SC (UAE)

(2) ACL2

■ East Asia

Group E : Beijing Guoan (China), MacArthur FC (Australia), Tai Po FC (Hong Kong), Hanoi FC (Vietnam)

Group F: Gamba Osaka (Japan), Namdin FC (Vietnam), Ratchaburi FC (Thailand), Eastern FC (Hong Kong)

Group G : Bangkok United (Thailand), Selangor FC (Malaysia), Ryan City Sailors FC (Singapore), Persib Bandung (Indonesia)

Group H: Pohang Steelers (Korea), BG Pathum United (Thailand), Kaya FC Iloilo (Philippines), Tampa Bay Rovers FC (Singapore)

■ West Asia

Group A: Al Wasl FC (UAE), Estegral FC (Iran), Al Muharrak SC (Barrain), Al Wehdat (Jordan)

Group B: Al Ahli SC (Qatar), PFC Andizan (Uzbekistan), FC Arcadak (Turkmenistan), Al Khaldiya SC (Barrain)

Group C: Sepahan SC (Iran), Al Hussein (Jordan), Mohun Bagan (India), Ahal FC (Turkmenistan)

Group D: Al Nasr (Saudi), Al Jaura SC (Iraq), FC Istiklol (Tazikistan), FC Goa (India)

※ ACL2 Total Participation Team

■ East Asia

Gamba Osaka (Japan), Pohang Steelers (Korea), Beijing Guoan (China), BG Pathum United (Thailand), Ratchaburi FC (Thailand), MacArthur FC (Australia), Selangor FC (Malaysia), Namdin FC (Vietnam), Hanoi FC (Vietnam), Tai Po FC (Hong Kong), Eastern (Hong Kong), Ryan City Sellers (Singapore), Tampa Bay FC (Singapore), Kaya FC Iloilo (Philippines), Persip Bandung (Indonesia), Bangkok United (Thailand)

■ West Asia

Al Nasr (Saudi), Al Wasl FC (UAE), Al Ahli SC (Qatar), Estegral FC (Iran), PFC Andizan (Uzbekistan), Al Jaura SC (Iraq), Al Hussein (Jordan), Al-Muharak SC (Barrain), Al-Kaldya SC (Barrain), Mohun Bagan (India), FC Goa (India), FC Istikrol (Tazikistan), FC Arkadak (Turkmenistan), Ahal FC (Turkmenistan), Sepahan SC (Iran)



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.