# 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite

The 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) will be the 44th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the second under the AFC Champions League Elite title.
The final stage will be played in Saudi Arabia. The tournament winner will qualify for the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. Additionally, the winner will enter the league stage of the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite, if they have not already qualified through domestic performance.

## Association team allocation

The associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2023–24 competitions were completed.
Participation for 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite :
* Participating
* Not participating

## Teams

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count since the 2002–03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.
West Region :
| Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) |
| | 2024–25 Saudi Pro League champions | |
| | 2024–25 King's Cup winners | |
| | 2024–25 Saudi Pro League runners-up | |
| | 2024–25 UAE Pro League champions | |
| | 2024–25 UAE President's Cup winners | |
| | 2024–25 Qatar Stars League champions | |
| | 2025 Emir of Qatar Cup winners | |
| | 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League champions | |
| Nasaf | 2024 Uzbekistan Super League champions | 9th (2023–24) |
| | 2024–25 Iraq Stars League champions | |
Qualifying play-off participants :
* Qualifying method
* 2024–25 UAE Pro League runners-up
* 2024–25 Qatar Stars League runners-up
* 2024–25 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up
East Region :
| Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) |
| Vissel Kobe | 2024 J1 League champions 2024 Emperor's Cup winners | 4th (2024–25) |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2024 J1 League runners-up | 6th (2019) |
| Machida Zelvia | 2024 J1 League third place | 1st |
| Ulsan HD | 2024 K League 1 champions | 13th (2024–25) |
| Gangwon FC | 2024 K League 1 runners-up | 1st |
| Shanghai Port | 2024 Chinese Super League champions 2024 Chinese FA Cup winners | 9th (2024–25) |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 2024 Chinese Super League runners-up | 11th (2024–25) |
| | 2024–25 Thai League 1 champions | |
| | 2024–25 A-League Men regular season premiers | |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 2024–25 Malaysia Super League champions 2024 Malaysia FA Cup winners | 11th (2024-25) |
Qualifying play-off participants :
| Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) |
| FC Seoul | 2024 K League 1 fourth place | 9th (2020) |
| Chengdu Rongcheng | 2024 Chinese Super League third place | 1st |
| | 2024–25 Thai FA Cup winners | |
The following teams will also qualify to the West or East region unless they had already qualified based on their domestic performance.
West or East Region :
| Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) |
| | 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite winners | |
West or East Region :
| Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) |
| | 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two winners | |

### Notes

* ^ China (CHN): Shanghai Port already qualified for the League stage as the 2024 Chinese Super League champions and also won the 2024 Chinese FA Cup. Thus, Shanghai Shenhua, the 2024 Chinese Super League runners-up, qualified for the League stage while Chengdu Rongcheng, the third-placed team, qualified for the Qualifying play-off.
* ^ Japan (JPN): Vissel Kobe already qualified for the League stage as the 2024 J1 League champions and also won the 2024 Emperor's Cup. Therefore, Machida Zelvia, which finished third in the 2024 J1 League, qualified for the League stage.
* ^ South Korea (KOR): Gimcheon Sangmu, the 2024 K League 1 third-placed team, cannot qualify for AFC competitions due to their military status. Therefore, FC Seoul, which finished fourth in the 2024 K League 1, qualified for the Qualifying play-off.