Al Ain FC will play Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr FC once again in the revamped AFC Champions League Elite after the draw was made for the competition’s league stage this afternoon.
Al Zaeem knocked out the Saudi giants on penalties in the quarter finals en route to winning the AFC Champions League for a second time last season.
They will face off again in this season’s competition in the league stage, with Al Ain travelling to Al-Awwal Park - the date of the fixture is yet to be confirmed by the AFC.
The continental champions will also go up against Al Sadd SC (H), Pakhtakor (A), Al Shorta (A), Al Rayyan SC (H), Al Ahli Saudi SC (H), Al Gharafa SC (A) and Saudi champions Al Hilal SFC (H), who Al Ain defeated in the semi finals of last season’s competition, ending Al Hilal’s record-breaking run of 34 consecutive wins.
UAE Pro League champions Al Wasl FC will face the exact same opponents during the league stage.
A pivotal change in the new-look ACL Elite, the league stage format is being utilised for the first time in an AFC club competition and features two leagues of 12 teams across the West and East regions.
The 12 teams in each league play against eight opponents from their league (four home and four away), with the top eight finishers of each league progressing to the round of 16, which will be played over two legs.
The winners will be book their spot in the unique centralised Finals that sees all matches from the quarter finals onwards being contested in Saudi Arabia between April 25 and May 4, 2025.
The quarter finals, semi finals and final will all feature cross-regional pairings and will consist entirely of single-legged ties.
This season’s champions will win a minimum of $12m, which is a three-fold increase from the sum won by Al Ain in May in the final edition of the Asian Champions League under its previous format.
They will also get their hands on the new look trophy, which was revelaed for the first time during the draw in Kuala Lumpur.
Elements of the Continent’s rich cultural tapestry have been elegantly incorporated into its classic vase form, with the motif of the lotus flower at its heart – a powerful emblem of the growth, strength and resilience that thrives throughout Asia.
The 70-centimetre-tall piece was handcrafted by world-renowned trophy makers, Thomas Lyte. The London-based luxury goldsmiths and silversmiths, who hold a Royal Warrant, are responsible for making many of the world's biggest trophies in professional sports.
