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The highly anticipated draw of the newly established AFC Champions League Elite format will take place in a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, August 16. In the AFC Champions League Elite, there will be two leagues of 12 teams each across the West and East regions, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo of Al-Nassr and Neymar of Al-Hilal among many other great football players from all over the world.
Notably, the AFC Champions League Elite will begin on September 16, 2024, while the final will go down on February 19, 2025, according to the report from Sportstar. In the two leagues of 12 teams each, a team will take on eight opponents within its region in four home and four away matches.
The top eight teams from both the leagues will make it through to the round of 16 where they will take on another team from their region in a two-legged tie with home and away matches. The eight teams in the quarter-final stage will have cross-regional pairings with a single-leg format, and the same rule will apply for the semi-final stage.
As far as the East region of the AFC Champions League Elite is concerned, the defending champions Al Ain are in Pot 1 alongside Neymar’s Al-Hilal. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr are placed in Pot 2 alongside another Saudi Arabian club, Al-Ahli.
The Pots for the East region of the AFC Champions League Elite are detailed below:
Pot 1: Al Ain FC (UAE), Al-Hilal SFC (KSA), Al-Sadd SC (QAT), Persepolis FC (IRN), Pakhtakor (UZB), Al-Shorta (IRQ)
Pot 2: Al-Nassr Club (KSA), Al-Rayyan SC (QAT), Esteghlal FC (IRN), Al Wasl FC (UAE), Al-Ahli Saudi FC (KSA), Winner of Preliminary Stage - Al-Gharafa SC (QAT) or Shabab Al-Ahli (UAE)
