On December 28, the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, will witness the draw for the qualifying rounds of the AFC Champions League, for the East and West regions.
The clubs that achieved first place in the groups will be placed in the first level, with the exception of the club with the lowest points, which will drop to the second level alongside the three best clubs that achieved second place from the five groups for the East and West regions.
This edition is the last called the AFC Champions League, as the tournament will be launched with a new name starting from the next edition under the name “AFC Champions League for the Elite,” with the participation of 24 clubs equally representing the east and west of the continent.
The contracts of the clubs qualifying for the round of 16 from the West Asia region were completed, following the conclusion of the group stage matches in the region on Tuesday.
Five Arab clubs, Al-Hilal, Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Fayhaa from Saudi Arabia and Al-Ain from the Emirates, have guaranteed qualification to the round of 16, as these clubs are awaiting the draw to identify their competitors in the next round, which means that Al-Fayhaa may be facing one of its country’s clubs, Al-Hilal, Al-Nasr and Al-Ittihad, as He is in the second level and because he cannot play against Al Ain, the UAE, who was with him in the group stage according to the system.
The Emirati club Al Ain, champion of the first edition of the AFC Champions League with its modern system, qualified for its seat two rounds before the end of the competition, after topping the standings of the first group with 15 points from six matches, where it defeated Al Turkmani 2-1 in the sixth and final round.
The Uzbek club Nasaf took the lead in Group Two after drawing with Qatar’s Al-Sadd 2-2, raising its score to 11 points.
The top spot in Group Three went to Al-Ittihad Club of Saudi Arabia, which won the title twice before, after its victory over Iranian Sabahan 2-1 on Monday, raising its score to 15 points.
Sabahan was able to obtain one of the cards allocated to the best second place finishers, after collecting 10 points.
Al-Fayhaa Club of Saudi Arabia, the second in Group A, joined the list of finalists after defeating Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan 4-1 away from home, obtaining a seat among the top three clubs in second place.
Al-Hilal topped the fourth group standings with 16 points, after defeating Iran’s Nasaghi Mazandaran 2-1, while Uzbek club Navbakhor, which collected 13 points, qualified from the same group.
Finally, the top spot in Group Five went to Al-Nasr Saudi Club, which collected 14 points, after drawing with Tajikistan’s Esteghlal 1-1.
The list of eight qualified clubs includes three former champions: Al Hilal Saudi Arabia, Al Ittihad Saudi Arabia, and Al Ain UAE. In the east of the continent, the Thai clubs Bangkok United, Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale and South Korea’s Pohang Steelers have been confirmed to have reached the round of 16, while the remaining group stage matches will witness competition to determine the remaining five seats.
The first level of the West Asian club draw includes Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, Al-Ain and Al-Nasr clubs, while the second level includes Nasaf, Sabahan, Navbakhor and Al-Fayhaa clubs.
At the top of the calendar for the playoffs, the first leg matches of the round of 16 will be held from February 12 to 14, while the return matches will be held from the 19 to 21 of the same month.
The first leg matches of the 8th round will be held from the 4th to the 6th of next March, while the return matches will be held from the 11th to the 13th of the same month.
The first leg of the semi-final will be held on April 16 and 17, while the return matches will be held on the 23 and 24 of the same month.
While the first leg of the final round will be held on May 11, and the return match will be held on the 18 of the same month.
2023-12-07 17:23:24
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