AFC Champions League Elite
FIFA Region
AFC
Season
2026-2027
Location
Asia/Australia
Abbreviation
AFCCL
Summary
The 2026-2027 AFC Champions League Elite (AFCCL) is Asia's premier club football tournament where 36 top premier league/1st division club teams from 14 AFC participating F/As (football associations) are represented. The 2026-2027 winner will play in the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2027 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
The 2026-2027 AFCCL Elite Team Allocation table details club team slots earned by each F/A for the 2026-2027 AFC Elite. Overall F/A rankings are based on each association's performance in Asian competitions over the past eight seasons.
Al-Ahli Saudi SFC (KSA1) are the defending AFCCL Elite champion.
More Info...
2026-2027 AFC Champions League Elite
Team Allocation
Team Allocation
| F/A | AFC Rank | Group | Prelim |
|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Japan | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Korea Republic | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Qatar | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Iran | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Thailand | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| China PR | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Uzbekistan | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| Australia | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Iraq | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Jordan | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 14 | 0 | 1 |
Competition Structure
| Stage | # Teams | New Teams Entering This Round | Teams From Previous Round | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Round | 8 | 1 team each from Australia, Japan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabi, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam | 4 Knockout matches, most goals advance | |
| League Stage | 32 | (SEE GROUP COLUMN OF TEAM ALLOCATION TABLE) | 4 winners from Preliminary Round | 2 groups (Regions) of 16 with Home/Away matches (played at centralized venues) against each team in group, top 8 teams in each region advance |
| Round of 16 | 16 | None | top 8 teams each from East and West regions, 8 group runners-up | 8 sets of Home/Away matches, highest aggregate goals advances |
| Quarterfinals | 8 | None | 8 winners from Round of 16 | 4 sets of Home/Away matches, highest aggregate goals advances |
| Semifinals | 4 | None | 4 winners from Quarterfinals | 2 sets of Home/Away matches, highest aggregate goals advances |
| Final | 2 | None | 2 winners from Semifinals | 1 match played at a neutral site |
Preliminary Round 1
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
Tue - 11 Aug 2026
 | 02 | Công An Hà Nội (VIE1) | Coopers Stadium |
 | 01 | Gamba Osaka (JPN1) | Gangneung Stadium | |||
| AET | ||||||
 | 30 | Al-Hussein SC (JOR1) | Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium |
 | 14 | Al-Ittihad FC (KSA1) | Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium |