AFC Champions League Standings: How the Table Works

Table coming soon….

This page explains the AFC Champions League standings — the table for Asia’s top club football competition, officially the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) — and how to read the live table shown below. The table updates automatically as results come in, so rather than list who leads right now, this guide covers the 2026/27 format, what each position means, how ties are broken, the key dates, and how the season ends. Scroll the table for the current order, then read on to understand it.

What is the AFC Champions League Elite?

The AFC Champions League Elite is the premier club competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the governing body for football across Asia and Australia. It was renamed for the 2024/25 season — before that it was simply the “AFC Champions League”, which is why most people still search for it under the old name. The second-tier competition is now called AFC Champions League Two.

Clubs qualify through their domestic leagues and cups the season before. The competition is split into a West region (Gulf, Central and West Asia) and an East region (East Asia, South-East Asia and Australia), and the two sides stay apart until the final stages. Because the standings are regional, you will usually see two separate tables — one for each region — not a single combined ladder.

How the 2026/27 format works

For 2026/27 the AFC expanded the competition from 24 to 32 clubs, with 16 teams in each region. The headline numbers are:

• Teams: 32 in total — 16 in the West region and 16 in the East region.
• Matches: each club plays 8 league-stage games against 8 different opponents from its own region — 4 at home and 4 away. It does not play every team in the region.
• Points: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss. Clubs are ranked within their region by total points.

The eight matches are spread across eight match-days from September to February. Each regional table is ordered by points, and the position a club finishes in decides whether it advances. If the columns and letters in the table are unfamiliar, our guide to how to read a sports standings table walks through every row and column.

What each place in the table means

In the 2026/27 ACLE, a club’s league-stage position decides one thing: whether it reaches the knockout round or is eliminated. There is no promotion or relegation — this is a knockout competition with a league phase, not a domestic division.

• Positions 1–8 in each region: advance to the knockout round of 16, with the higher-placed clubs seeded against the lower-placed ones.
• Positions 9–16 in each region: eliminated — no knockout place.

A proposed play-off for the clubs finishing 7th to 10th has been deferred, so for 2026/27 the top eight simply go through directly. Finishing position also sets the seeding: the region’s top side faces the eighth-placed club, second plays seventh, and so on. For the meaning of each column — W, D, L, GD, Pts and the rest — see our glossary of standings table abbreviations.

How ties are broken

When two or more clubs finish level on points, the AFC separates them using a set order of tiebreakers. For the 2026/27 league stage the criteria, applied in sequence, are:

1. Points (the starting point for every ranking).
2. Goal difference across all league-stage matches.
3. Goals scored.
4. Number of matches won.
5. A penalty shoot-out — used only if exactly two clubs remain tied and met on the final match-day.
6. Fair play ranking.
7. Drawing of lots.

This “whole-table” approach — total goal difference rather than head-to-head first — is common in competitions with a single-round league phase. If you want the general principle behind it, our explainer on how points and tiebreakers work covers why different competitions order these rules differently.

Key dates for the 2026/27 season

The 2026/27 competition proper runs from 14 September 2026 to the final on 1 May 2027. The main stages are:

• League stage: 14 September 2026 to mid-February 2027 (the final match-day falls on 15–17 February 2027).
• Round of 16: March 2027, played within each region.
• Finals rounds (quarter-finals onward): late April into early May 2027, staged in Saudi Arabia.
• Final: 1 May 2027.

Dates can shift, so treat them as a guide and check the official schedule close to kick-off. Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia are the reigning champions.

How the season ends

The season does not end on the table — the table only decides who qualifies. The 16 qualifiers play a knockout round of 16 as two-legged ties within their own region (home and away). From the quarter-finals onward the surviving clubs are brought together for a centralised finals stage in Saudi Arabia, where the remaining rounds — quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final — are played as single matches at neutral venues.

The winner is crowned champion of Asia and earns a place in the next edition of the competition, plus a pathway into FIFA’s intercontinental club fixtures. That is how Asia’s champion crosses paths with the wider club game — Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli met New Zealand’s Auckland FC at the FIFA Intercontinental Cup after winning the Asian title.

How to follow the competition from New Zealand

No New Zealand club appears in these standings. NZ-based teams such as Auckland FC and the Wellington Phoenix play in the A-League but sit under Oceania (OFC), not the AFC, so they are not eligible for the AFC Champions League Elite. If you are tracking a NZ-based side instead, see how the A-League Men standings work, or browse the wider range of New Zealand sports standings.

There is no confirmed dedicated New Zealand TV broadcaster for the competition. In territories without a local rights deal, the AFC streams selected matches and highlights free on its official YouTube channel, The AFC Hub, which is the most reliable free route for NZ fans; per-match listing sites also show where individual games are carried. Rights can change season to season, so confirm before kick-off.

Note the time difference when planning to watch. New Zealand (NZDT, UTC+13 in summer) is about 10 hours ahead of the Gulf, so West region matches that kick off in the evening there land in the early hours of the morning in New Zealand. East region games in Japan, South Korea and Australia are only a few hours ahead of NZ time, making them far easier to catch at a sociable hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the AFC Champions League the same as the AFC Champions League Elite?

Yes. The top-tier competition was renamed AFC Champions League Elite from the 2024/25 season. Searches for “AFC Champions League” now point to the same tournament; the separate second-tier event is AFC Champions League Two.

How many teams are in the AFC Champions League Elite table?

For 2026/27 there are 32 clubs, split into two regional tables of 16 — one for the West region and one for the East region. The two regions keep separate standings until the finals rounds.

How many points is a win worth?

A win is worth 3 points, a draw 1 point and a loss 0 points. Each club plays 8 league-stage matches, and its total points set its position in the regional table.

Which positions qualify for the knockout round?

The top eight clubs in each region advance to the knockout round of 16. Clubs finishing 9th to 16th are eliminated. There is no promotion or relegation in this competition.

Can a New Zealand club play in the AFC Champions League Elite?

No. New Zealand-based clubs belong to the Oceania confederation (OFC), not the AFC, so Auckland FC and the Wellington Phoenix are not eligible, even though they play in the A-League. No NZ team appears in these standings.