The draw for the inaugural edition of the Asian Elite League, held today, Friday, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, resulted in thrilling clashes among the continent's giants in the western region. The Asian Football Confederation made a number of adjustments to the tournament's format, limiting participation to the strongest 24 teams in the continent—12 from the west and 12 from the east. Each team will play against only 8 opponents from its group in the first round, with 4 home matches and 4 away matches, while not facing 3 other teams.
Below are each team's matches as determined by the draw:
- **Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan)**
- Home: Al-Sadd, Al-Ain, Al-Rayyan, Al-Wasl
- Away: Persepolis, Al-Shorta, Esteghlal, Al-Gharafa
- **Al-Sadd (Qatar)**
- Home: Persepolis, Al-Hilal, Esteghlal, Al-Ahli
- Away: Pakhtakor, Al-Ain, Al-Wasl, Al-Nassr
- **Persepolis (Iran)**
- Home: Pakhtakor, Al-Shorta, Al-Nassr, Al-Gharafa
- Away: Al-Sadd, Al-Hilal, Al-Rayyan, Al-Ahli
- **Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)**
- Home: Persepolis, Al-Shorta, Esteghlal, Al-Gharafa
- Away: Al-Sadd, Al-Ain, Al-Rayyan, Al-Wasl
- **Al-Shorta (Iraq)**
- Home: Pakhtakor, Al-Ain, Al-Nassr, Al-Wasl
- Away: Persepolis, Al-Hilal, Esteghlal, Al-Ahli
- **Al-Ain (UAE)**
- Home: Al-Sadd, Al-Hilal, Al-Rayyan, Al-Ahli
- Away: Pakhtakor, Al-Shorta, Al-Nassr, Al-Gharafa
- **Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia)**
- Home: Al-Sadd, Al-Ain, Al-Rayyan, Al-Wasl
- Away: Persepolis, Al-Shorta, Esteghlal, Al-Gharafa
- **Al-Rayyan (Qatar)**
- Home: Persepolis, Al-Hilal, Esteghlal, Al-Ahli
- Away: Pakhtakor, Al-Ain, Al-Nassr, Al-Wasl
- **Esteghlal (Iran)**
- Home: Pakhtakor, Al-Shorta, Al-Nassr, Al-Gharafa
- Away: Al-Sadd, Al-Hilal, Al-Rayyan, Al-Ahli
- **Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia)**
- Home: Persepolis, Al-Shorta, Esteghlal, Al-Gharafa
- Away: Al-Sadd, Al-Ain, Al-Rayyan, Al-Wasl
- **Al-Gharafa (Qatar)**
- Home: Pakhtakor, Al-Ain, Al-Nassr, Al-Wasl
- Away: Persepolis, Al-Hilal, Esteghlal, Al-Ahli
- **Al-Wasl (UAE)**
- Home: Al-Sadd, Al-Hilal, Al-Rayyan, Al-Ahli
- Away: Pakhtakor, Al-Shorta, Al-Nassr, Al-Gharafa
In the eastern region, Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea will face Shanghai Port of China, Vissel Kobe of Japan, Shandong Taishan of China, and Kawasaki Frontale of Japan at home, as well as Johor Darul Ta'zim of Malaysia, Buriram United of Thailand, Yokohama Marinos of Japan, and Shanghai Shenhua of China away.
**Team Classification:**
The AFC divided teams in both the west and the east into two classifications, each containing 6 teams.
- **West**
- **Level 1**: Al-Ain (UAE), Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Al-Sadd (Qatar), Persepolis (Iran), Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan), Al-Shorta (Iraq)
- **Level 2**: Al-Nassr (Saudi Arabia), Al-Rayyan (Qatar), Esteghlal (Iran), Al-Wasl (UAE), Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia), Al-Gharafa (Qatar)
- **East**
- **Level 1**: Vissel Kobe (Japan), Ulsan Hyundai (South Korea), Shanghai Port (China), Buriram United (Thailand), Central Coast Mariners (Australia), Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia)
- **Level 2**: Kawasaki Frontale (Japan), Pohang Steelers (South Korea), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Yokohama Marinos (Japan), Guangzhou (South Korea), Shandong Taishan (China)
**Tournament Format:**
The tournament features 24 teams, with 22 qualifying directly and 2 qualifying from the preliminary round (Al-Gharafa from the west and Shandong Taishan from the east). The participating teams are divided into two groups of 12 each. The first round draw ensures that each team in the west plays against only 8 opponents from its group, with 4 home and 4 away matches, while not facing 3 other teams, mirroring the format in the east. Each team must compete against 8 opponents, with 4 from each classification, and play against 2 teams from the first classification at home and another 2 away, and similarly for the second classification.
The draw was structured to avoid matches between teams from the same country, so there won't be any exclusively Saudi, Emirati, or Qatari matches in the first round. The top 8 teams from each league (west and east) will qualify for the Round of 16, with matches to be played over two legs. Starting from the quarter-final round, matches will be held in Saudi Arabia, consisting of a single match per round, not two legs, as announced by the AFC earlier.
**Match Dates:**
- **Group Stage**: From September 16, 2024, to February 19, 2025
- Round 1: September 16-18, 2024
- Round 2: September 30 to October 2, 2024
- Round 3: October 21-23, 2024
- Round 4: November 4-6, 2024
- Round 5: November 25-27, 2024
- Round 6: December 2-4, 2024
- Round 7: West: February 3-4, 2025; East: February 11-12, 2025
- Round 8: February 17-19, 2025
- **Round of 16**:
- First Leg: March 3-5, 2025
- Second Leg: March 10-12, 2025
- **Quarter-finals to Final**: April 25 to May 4, 2025.
