The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage was played from 16 September 2024 to 19 February 2025.
This was the first season with a single-league format for each region, which replaced the group format used until the previous season. A total of 12 national associations were represented in the league stage.
Gwangju FC made their debut appearances in the Champions League since the introduction of the group stage. This also marked Gwangju's debut appearances in Asian football. Gwangju's Jasir Asani was the first-ever goalscorer of the competition's league stage.
Draw The draw for the league stage took place on 16 August at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Seeding For each region, the title holder or the highest seeded team from each member association involved were allocated into Pot 1, while the remaining teams were allocated into Pot 2. RegionPot 1Pot 2 Al Ain Al-Hilal Al-Sadd Persepolis Pakhtakor Al-Shorta Al-Nassr Al-Rayyan Esteghlal Al Wasl Al-Ahli Al-Gharafa Vissel Kobe Ulsan HD Shanghai Port Buriram United Central Coast Mariners Johor Darul Ta'zim Kawasaki Frontale Pohang Steelers Shanghai Shenhua Yokohama F. Marinos Gwangju FC Shandong Taishan
Grid result Each team was drawn a position in the draw grid for their region: column A–C for West and D–F for East. Teams from Pot 1 were drawn into positions 1 or 2 while teams from Pot 2 were drawn into positions 3 or 4.
Each position had pre-determined matchups as part of a pairings grid. Teams in each column played matches with the other columns in each region. ColumnABCDEFNumber1 Pakhtakor Al-Sadd Persepolis Ulsan HD Shanghai Port Johor Darul Ta'zim2 Al-Hilal Al-Shorta Al Ain Central Coast Mariners Buriram United Vissel Kobe3 Al-Nassr Al-Rayyan Esteghlal Pohang Steelers Shandong Taishan Yokohama F. Marinos4 Al-Ahli Al-Gharafa Al Wasl Gwangju FC Shanghai Shenhua Kawasaki Frontale
Schedule The schedule of the league stage was as follows.
RoundDates (West region)Dates (East region)Matchday 116–17 September 202417–18 September 2024Matchday 230 September–1 October 20241–2 October 2024Matchday 321–22 October 202422–23 October 2024Matchday 44–5 November 20245–6 November 2024Matchday 525–26 November 202426–27 November 2024Matchday 62–3 December 20243–4 December 2024Matchday 73–4 February 202511–12 February 2025Matchday 817–18 February 202518–19 February 2025
League stage The detailed schedule was announced on 16 August 2024 after the draw ceremony.
West Region
Results summary
Matches
Matchday 1
Matchday 2
Matchday 3
Matchday 4
Matchday 5
Matchday 6
Matchday 7
Matchday 8
East Region
Results summary
Matches Matchday 1
Matchday 2
Matchday 3
Matchday 4
Matchday 5
Matchday 6
Matchday 7
Matchday 8
Notes
References
External links