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Doha: The remaining contenders for the continent’s ultimate club prize will discover their last-eight fate on Monday at the draw in Kuala Lumpur
The draw for the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite Finals Jeddah 2025 will chart the path from the quarter-finals to the showpiece final, with all seven highly-anticipated battles to take place in a unique centralised format between April 25 and May 3 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Thrillingly, each quarter-final will be a cross-regional showdown, marking the first time that there will be no regional division of West and East teams in Asia’s top-tier men’s competition since the 2013 edition of the AFC Champions League.
Former Saudi Arabian international and two-time AFC Champions League winner Hamad Al Montashari, a key figure in Al Ittihad’s 2004 and 2005 triumphs, will add prestige to the ceremony by performing the Draw Assistant role.
The cast for the Finals draw was determined following the Round of 16’s conclusion last Wednesday, which saw Al Hilal SFC, Al Ahli Saudi FC, Al Nassr Club and Al Sadd SC advance from the West and Yokohama F. Marinos FC, Kawasaki Frontale, Gwangju FC and Buriram United progress from the East.
Former champions Al Hilal (2019, 2021) and Al Sadd (2011) will aim to taste glory again, while the cast also comprises two former finalists in Al Ahli Saudi (2012) and Marinos (2023/24).
Meanwhile, Gwangju are the first team to reach the last eight on their Continental debut since Vissel Kobe in 2020. Each club will be drawn into one of eight positions (1A-4A and 1B-4B) in the Finals bracket to ensure four cross-regional pairings.
Consequently, as Al Hilal has a better sporting result (in accordance with Article 8.
3 of the Competition Regulations) than Marinos, Al Hilal will be the highest-seeded club overall for the draw and be allocated into position 1A to contest the first Quarter Final, with Marinos allocated to 3A. The remaining three clubs in the West Club Pot will then each be drawn into position 2A, 3B or 4B, followed by the remaining three clubs in the East Club Pot being drawn into position 1B, 2B or 4A, in accordance with the draw procedures.
The first quarter-final is scheduled to take place on Friday, April 25, with the second and third quarter-finals set for April 26, and the final one to be played on April 27.
The first semi-final is scheduled for two days later on April 29, followed by the second semis on April 30.
The final will be staged on May 3 at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, with ultimate glory on the line and a record prize purse of at least $12m at stake.
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