The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has unveiled the first promotional campaign for the revamped version of Asia’s biggest club competition, which launches this year under the name of the AFC Champions League for Elite. It is an extension of the AFC Champions League and the Asian Club Champions Cup, which were launched in 1967.
Football fans in Asia will have an exciting opportunity to get a closer look at the new AFC Champions League trophy when it makes its way across the continent during the 2024/25 season.
The continental federation confirmed on its website that the original trophy is scheduled to visit each of the 12 member associations participating in the Asian Men’s Club Championship, with the home of the last edition’s champion, Al Ain FC of the United Arab Emirates, set as the first stop on the opening day of the league stage, Monday, September 16.
Each subsequent match in the league stage will feature a different destination, along with two more in the round of 16, as the trophy travels through Qatar, Australia, China, Iraq, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Uzbekistan before
Arrive in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to stay for the duration of the final stage, which culminates in the very important decisive match on May 4, 2025.
The AFC explained that fans will be able to visit the trophy, see the dazzling prize and take photos with it, after it was revealed during the league stage draw last month, as the best 24 clubs in Asia lead the scene for the confrontations.
Highly anticipated.
Fans will also be able to see the new trophies for both the AFC Women’s Champions League and AFC Champions League 2, which will be on display during the opening day of each tournament – on October 2 and 3 in Wuhan, China, which will host Group A of the AFC Women’s Champions League.
The second show will be held in Hiroshima, Japan, where Sanfrecce Hiroshima of Japan will open their AFC Champions League Group 5 campaign against Kaya FC Iloilo of the Philippines on September 19.