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2025–26 AFC Champions League Two
The 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two is the 22nd edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the second under the AFC Champions League Two title.
| Column 1 |
|---|
| Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh hosted the final |
| Qualifying: 13 August 2025 Competition proper: 16 September 2025 – 16 May 2026 |
| Competition proper: 32Total: 35 (from 23 associations) |
| 115 |
| 333 (2.9 per match) |
| 751,879 (6,538 per match) |
| Trent Buhagiar (Tampines Rovers)(8 goals) |
| ← 2024–25 2026–27 → |
| All statistics correct as of 22 April 2026. |
The 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two is the 22nd edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the second under the AFC Champions League Two title.
It features 32 teams in the group stage. The winner will be given a direct league stage slot for the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite, if not already qualified through their domestic performance.
Sharjah are the reigning champions. They were unable to defend their title as they participated in the AFC Champions League Elite league stage instead.
The associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published after the 2023–24 competitions were completed. Slots are subject to later re-balancing based on the 2024–25 competition results.
| Participation for 2025–2026 AFC Champions League Two | |
|---|---|
| Participating | |
| Not participating |
Notes
The number of appearances and last appearance include the AFC Cup as the predecessor of the AFC Champions League Two.
| Entry round | West Region | East Region | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sepahan | 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying round loser | 2nd (2024–25) | Bangkok United | 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite qualifying round loser | 2nd (2024–25) |
| Al-Nassr | 2024–25 Saudi Pro League third place | 1st | Gamba Osaka | 2024 J1 League fourth place | 1st |
| Al Wasl | 2024–25 UAE Pro League fourth place | 1st | Pohang Steelers | 2024 Korean FA Cup winners | 1st |
| Al Ahli | 2024–25 Qatar Stars League fourth place | 1st | Beijing Guoan | 2024 Chinese Super League fourth place | 1st |
| Esteghlal | 2024–25 Hazfi Cup winners | 1st | BG Pathum United | 2024–25 Thai League 1 third place | 1st |
| Andijon | 2024 Uzbekistan Cup winners | 1st | Ratchaburi | 2024–25 Thai League 1 fourth place | 1st |
| Al-Zawraa | 2024–25 Iraq Stars League runners-up | 6th (2023–24) | Macarthur FC | 2024 Australia Cup winners | 2nd (2023–24) |
| Al-Hussein | 2024–25 Jordanian Pro League champions | 3rd (2024–25) | Selangor | 2024–25 Malaysia Super League runners-up | 7th (2024–25) |
| Al-Wehdat | 2024–25 Jordan FA Cup winners | 14th (2024–25) | Nam Định | 2024–25 V.League 1 champions | 2nd (2024–25) |
| Al-Muharraq | 2024–25 Bahraini Premier League champions | 8th (2021) | Công An Hà Nội | 2024–25 Vietnamese Cup winners | 1st |
| Al Khaldiya | 2024–25 Bahraini King's Cup winners | 3rd (2024–25) | Tai Po | 2024–25 Hong Kong Premier League champions | 3rd (2019) |
| Mohun Bagan SG | 2024–25 Indian Super League league shield winners | 8th (2023–24) | Eastern | 2024–25 Hong Kong FA Cup winners | 5th (2024–25) |
| Istiklol | 2024 Tajikistan Higher League champions | 8th (2024–25) | Lion City Sailors | 2024–25 Singapore Premier League champions2024–25 Singapore Cup winners | 12th (2024–25) |
| Arkadag | 2024–25 AFC Challenge League winners | 1st | Tampines Rovers | 2024–25 Singapore Premier League runners-up | 16th (2024–25) |
| Kaya–Iloilo | 2024–25 Philippines Football League champions | 6th (2024–25) | |||
| Goa | 2025 Super Cup winners | 1st | Persib | 2024–25 Liga 1 champions | 3rd (2024–25) |
| Ahal | 2024 Ýokary Liga runners-up | 6th (2021) | Manila Digger | 2024–25 Philippines Football League runners-up | 1st |
| Regar-TadAZ Tursunzoda | 2024 Tajikistan Cup winners | 2nd (2013) | |||
| Al-Seeb | 2024–25 Oman Professional League champions | 2nd (2022) |
Notes
The quarter-finals for the West region have been postponed due to the impacts from the 2026 Iran War.
The schedule of the competition is as follows.
| Stage | Round | Draw date | West Region | East Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Stage | Preliminary stage 1 | No draw | 13 August 2025 | |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 15 August 2025 | 16–17 September 2025 | 17–18 September 2025 |
| Matchday 2 | 30 September and 1 October 2025 | 1–2 October 2025 | ||
| Matchday 3 | 21–22 October 2025 | 22–23 October 2025 | ||
| Matchday 4 | 4–5 November 2025 | 5–6 November 2025 | ||
| Matchday 5 | 28–29 October and 25–29 November 2025 | 26–27 November 2025 | ||
| Matchday 6 | 23–24 December 2025 | 10–11 December 2025 | ||
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 | 30 December 2025 | 10–11 and 17–18 February 2026 | 11–12 and 18–19 February 2026 |
| Quarter-finals | 19 April 2026 | 4–5 and 11–12 March 2026 | ||
| Semi-finals | 22 April 2026 | 8 and 15 April 2026 | ||
| Final | 16 May 2026 |
Notes
The three winners of the play-off round (two from West Region and one from East Region) will advance to the group stage to join the 29 direct entrants. The losers of the qualifying play-offs will enter the group stage of the 2025–26 AFC Challenge League.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||
| Goa | 2–1 | Al-Seeb |
| RT Tursunzoda | 1–2 | Ahal |
| East Region | ||
| Persib | 2–1 | Manila Digger |
The group stage draw took place on 15 August 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
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In the knockout stage, 16 teams play a single-elimination tournament, split by Region. Each tie will be played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, except the final which will be played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winners if necessary (Regulations Article 10). The order of matches (home vs away) was determined at the draw, except for the final, which was pre-determined on a rotation basis, with the match to be hosted by the team from the West Region. The draw for the knockout stage was held on 30 December 2025.
The first legs were played on 10 and 12 February, and the second legs were played on 17 and 19 February 2026.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||||
| Al-Zawraa | 5–6 | Al Wasl | 3–2 | 2–4 (a.e.t.) |
| Arkadag | 0–2 | Al-Nassr | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Sepahan | 2–3 | Al Ahli | 2–2 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Esteghlal | 2–4 | Al-Hussein | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| East Region | ||||
| Pohang Steelers | 2–3 | Gamba Osaka | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Ratchaburi | 3–1 | Persib | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Bangkok United | 4–2 | Macarthur FC | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Công An Hà Nội | 1–6 | Tampines Rovers | 0–3 | 1–3 |
The West Region quarter-finals fixtures were originally scheduled to take place between 3 and 10 March, but were postponed by the AFC due to impacts from the 2026 Iran war. The quarter-finals for the West Region were rescheduled to take place on 19 April, as single-legged ties.
The first legs for the East Region were played on 4 and 5 March, with the second legs played on 11 and 12 March.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||
| Al Wasl | 0–4 | Al-Nassr |
| Al Ahli | 3–1 | Al-Hussein |
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Region | ||||
| Gamba Osaka | 3–2 | Ratchaburi | 1–1 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Bangkok United | 4–3 | Tampines Rovers | 2–1 | 2–2 |
The East Region first leg was played on 8 April, and the second leg was played on 15 April. The semi-final for the West Region was played on 22 April.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||
| Al-Nassr | 5–1 | Al Ahli |
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Region | ||||
| Gamba Osaka | 3–1 | Bangkok United | 0–1 | 3–0 |
The final is scheduled to be played on 17 May 2026. The host of the final was determined by the pre-determined rotation basis, with the team of the West Region hosting the final. The winners will also qualify for the preliminary stage of the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite, unless they have already qualified through their league performance.
As of 22 April 2026
Note
-
Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4)
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2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite
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2025–26 AFC Challenge League
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2025–26 AFC Women's Champions League
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AFC Calendar 2025–26 (Updated on 4 Aug 2025) (Archive1)
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2025–26 AFC Champions League Two at GSA
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