On August 12, the AFC confirmed on its official website that the draw for the group stage of this season’s AFC Champions League will take place at 5:00 PM on August 16.
The AFC Champions League group stage format is similar to that of the UEFA Champions League, with East and West Asia divisions, with 12 teams in each division. Each team will play eight matches, including four home matches and four away matches, with the final standings in the East and West Asian groups determined based on total points. Unlike the UEFA Champions League, where only the first match of each team’s eight matches is determined by draw, all eight matches in the AFC Champions League group stage are determined by a single draw ceremony.
Teams in both the East and West Asian divisions are divided into two tiers, and each team will play four matches against teams in the same tier and four matches against teams in the other tier.
The East Asian teams are divided as follows:
Tier 1: Vissel Kobe (Japan), Ulsan Hyundai (Korea), Shanghai SIPG (China), Buriram United (Thailand), Central Coast Mariners (Australia), Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia);
Tier 2: Kawasaki Frontale (Japan), Pohang Steelers (Korea), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), Gwangju FC (Korea), Play-off Winner (Shandong Taishan or Bangkok United).
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