millossobek
The 3-Stars Cup
(info from wikipedia)
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition in Asian football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations.
Introduced in 1967 as the Asian Champion Club Tournament, the competition rebranded and took on its current name in 2002 as a result of the merger between the Asian Club Championship, the Asian Cup Winners' Cup and the Asian Super Cup.
A total of 40 clubs compete in the round-robin group stage of the competition. Clubs from Asia's strongest national leagues receive automatic berths, with clubs from lower-ranked nations eligible to qualify via the qualifying playoffs, and they are also eligible to participate in the AFC Cup. The winner of the AFC Champions League qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup.
The most successful club in the competition is Al-Hilal with a total of four titles. They are also the reigning champions after winning their fourth title in 2021.
As of the 2021 edition of the tournament, the AFC Champions League has commenced with a double round-robin group stage of 40 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 to progress separately in the tournament.
The number of teams that each association enters into the AFC Champions League 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 Champions League, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in.
The number of teams that each association enters into the AFC Champions League 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 Champions League, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in.
The tournament proper begins with a group stage of 40 teams, divided into ten groups. Seeding is used whilst making the draw for this stage, with teams from the same country not being drawn into groups together. The group stage is divided into two zones; the first zone is the five East Asian groups and the other zone is the five West Asian groups. Each team meets the others in its group home and away in a round-robin format. The winning team and the runners-up from each group then progress to the next round.
For this stage, the winning team from one group plays against the runners-up from another group from their zone of the group stage. The tournament uses the away goals rule: if the aggregate score of the two games is tied after 180 minutes, then the team who scored more goals at their opponent's stadium advances. If still tied the clubs play extra time, where the away goals rule is no longer applied. If still tied after extra time, the tie shall be decided by a penalty shootout. East and West zones continue to be kept part until the final.
The group stage and Round of 16 matches are played through the first half of the year (February–May), whilst the knock-out stage thereafter is played during the second half of the year (August–November). The knock-out ties are played in a two-legged format, including the final.
For this stage, the winning team from one group plays against the runners-up from another group from their zone of the group stage. The tournament uses the away goals rule: if the aggregate score of the two games is tied after 180 minutes, then the team who scored more goals at their opponent's stadium advances. If still tied the clubs play extra time, where the away goals rule is no longer applied. If still tied after extra time, the tie shall be decided by a penalty shootout. East and West zones continue to be kept part until the final.
The group stage and Round of 16 matches are played through the first half of the year (February–May), whilst the knock-out stage thereafter is played during the second half of the year (August–November). The knock-out ties are played in a two-legged format, including the final.
Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia has been the most successful club in the tournament's history, winning a total of 4 titles, counting the combined AFC Club Championship and AFC Champions League history! followed by Pohang Steelers of South Korea with 3, Esteghlal, Seongnam, Al-Ittihad, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Urawa Red Diamonds, Maccabi Tel Aviv (now in UEFA), Al-Sadd, Thai Farmers Bank (no longer exists), Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Ulsan Hyundai and Guangzhou Evergrande with 2 titles, and Jubilo Iwata, Al-Ain, Hapoel Tel-Aviv (now in UEFA), Liaoning (no longer exists), Busan IPark, JEF United Chiba, Tokyo Verdy, Pas Tehran (no longer exists), Gamba Osaka, Western Sydey Wanderers, and Kashima Antlers each winning it once! South Korean clubs have been the most successful with 12 titles, followed by Japan with 7, Saudi Arabia with 6, Iran, China, and Israel with 3, Qatar and Thailand with 2, and Australia and the United Arab Emirates with 1 title each!
2022-23 AFC Champions League
The current tournament is ONGOING, the 2022-23 AFC Champions League. The tournament proper started on April 7, 2022 and will conclude on May 5, 2023, which will be played in Saitama Stadium!
The draw for the group stage was held on 17 January 2022 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 40 teams were drawn into ten groups of four: five groups each in the West Region (Groups A–E) and the East Region (Groups F–J). For each region, teams were seeded into four pots and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking and their seeding within their association, in consideration of technical balance between groups. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
In the group stage, each group was played in a double round-robin format in centralised venues. The winners of each group and three best runners-up from each region advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.
(click to enlarge!)
In the group stage, each group was played in a double round-robin format in centralised venues. The winners of each group and three best runners-up from each region advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.
(click to enlarge!)
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams will play a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. All ties will be played as a single-leg match (Regulations Article 9.1), except the final played as a two-leg match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winners if necessary.
The Bracket of the East Region was already played, from August 18 to 25, with (Urawa Red Diamonds already reaching the final!) and the West Region will be played from February 19-26! I will update this table as soon as the other teams become available!
The Bracket of the East Region was already played, from August 18 to 25, with (Urawa Red Diamonds already reaching the final!) and the West Region will be played from February 19-26! I will update this table as soon as the other teams become available!
As you guys can see in my signature, I love Asian Football, both at the Club and the National level. I've always loved the passion of the crowds, the identities of the teams, the different cultures and styles respresented, pretty much everything around it. Even though I'm more familiar with the East Asian teams, (Love the K-League both first and second divisions, and I also try to follow the J-League), I want to learn more about the West Asian leagues, their histories and identities. All I know right now is that Al-Hilal looks like the team to beat and now that the Saudi league is getting so much attention it might cement its status as the strongest league in the continent. Let's see what happens though.. I wanted to start this AFC Champions League thread for a loong time, and now that my friend @The Moroccan has started his own CAF Champions League thread, I think now is the time to start this thread! 🏆
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