The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite will be the 43rd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first under this new name and rebranded format.[1]
The associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2022 competitions were completed.[4]
NOTE: The following slot allocation is provisional. The final number of slots allocated to each association will be based on the AFC Champions League criteria in the Entry Manual and confirmed by the AFC. The slots do not yet include the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup titleholders in the qualifying play-offs should they not qualify for the tournament through domestic performance.
Participation for 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite
NOTE 1: The following list of participating teams is provisional. The final list of participating teams will be confirmed by the AFC, based on the final slot allocation for each association and the list of teams passing the club licensing requirements. NOTE 2: Only teams assured of a place are displayed.
South Korea (KOR):Pohang Steelers had already qualified as the 2023 K League 1 runners-up when they won the 2023 Korean FA Cup, so third-placed Gwangju FC qualified for the Champions League Elite qualifying play-off. Since both East region finalists in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup (Yokohama F. Marinos and Central Coast Mariners) had already qualified through their domestic performance, Gwangju were later confirmed for the league stage[5] based on their association's higher ranking, leaving only two teams left in the qualifying play-off for the remaining group stage slot.
