Today, the draw ceremony for the Elite tournament of Asia's most prestigious club competition, the AFC Champions League, was held.
Iran's champion and Super Cup winner, Tabriz’s Tractor club, will also participate in the tournament, Idman.biz reports.
This season, a total of 24 teams will compete, divided into West and East zones based on geography, with 12 teams in each zone. Teams will compete in a single tournament system rather than in groups.
Each team will play eight matches. Based on their results, the top eight teams from each zone will qualify for the Round of 16, where they will face opponents within their own zone. Only from the quarterfinals onward will the West and East zones meet. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and final will take place next year from April 17 to 25 in Saudi Arabia.
According to the draw, Tractor will face the following teams: at home – Al-Sadd (Qatar), Al-Shorta (Iraq), Al-Duhail (Qatar), and Al-Wahda (UAE); away – Shabab Al-Ahli (UAE), Nasaf (Uzbekistan), Sharjah (UAE), and Al-Gharafa (Qatar).
The tournament will begin on September 15.
The current holder of the AFC Champions League Elite tournament is Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli club.
Last season, for the first time in history, Tractor became Iran's champion and is the country’s sole representative in the AFC Champions League Elite tournament. Last season, the Tabriz club also participated in the AFC Champions League 2 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Idman.biz
