[Official] 'Winning prize money of 15 billion won' The strongest team in Asia will be decided, and the quarterfinals of ACLE will be decided

*This content was translated by AI.

The quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) tournament, which will determine the strongest team in Asia in the 2025-2026 season, have been confirmed.

AFC held a draw ceremony for the quarterfinals of the tournament at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 25th (Korea time) and announced the quarterfinals. The tournament, which was divided into East and West Asia until the round of 16, will be held in a way that teams from the two regions will face off through a lottery from the quarterfinals.

As a result of the draw, ▲Al-Sad (Qatar)/Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) vs Vissel Kobe (Japan) ▲Al-Ahli (Saudi)/Al-Duhail (Qatar) vs Johor Darlle Takjim (Malaysia) ▲Machida Zelvia (Japan) vs Al-Itihad (Saudi)/Al-Wahda (UAE) ▲ Buriram United (Thailand)-Traktor (Iran)/Shab Al-Ahli (UAE) will meet in the quarterfinals.

The round of 16 in East Asia has already been held and all the teams that advanced to the quarterfinals have been confirmed, but the round of 16 in West Asia has been postponed to the middle of next month due to the unstable situation in the Middle East. The postponed round of 16 in West Asia was not a home-and-away method, but a single-round match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which changed the way the tournament was held.

All the teams that advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament will also gather in Saudi Jeddah and determine the winning team through a single match from the quarterfinals on the 16th to the final on the 25th of next month. After the quarterfinals, the tournament will be played at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and Prince Abdullah Alfaisal Stadium.

The ACLE winning team will be given a prize of as much as 10 million dollars (about 15 billion won) and a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup. The prize money for the runner-up is also 4 million dollars (about 6 billion won).

All K-League teams participating in this tournament were eliminated. FC Seoul and Gangwon FC finished their tournament journeys in the round of 16 and Ulsan HD in the league stage, respectively. Last season, Gwangju FC, led by head coach Lee Jung-hyo, reached the quarterfinals.

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*This content was translated by AI.