Melbourne City have created history as their men’s and women’s team prepare to feature in the AFC Champions League next season.
City have etched their name into the history books, becoming the first Australia club to qualify for both the men’s and women’s competitions for the Champions League in the same season.
As New Zealand’s Auckland FC – the Isuzu UTE A-League premiers – are part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), it means they are ineligible to compete in AFC club competition, allowing City to qualify in second spot.
“It’s brilliant for the club and it’s brilliant for the players. It’s a great competition. I love the competition. I had some absolutely great nights playing in that competition,” Vidmar told reporters post-game at AAMI Park.
“Being in the Elite is extra special. I know the competition has changed a lot over the last couple of years, so that definitely won’t be easy with the teams in there. Teams from Saudi, Japan obviously.
“But really pleasing. We deserve to be there after the season that we’ve had.”
Vidmar added: “We faced a lot of challenges throughout the season and we’ve done an extraordinary job up to this point, but we’ve still got a fair bit of work to do to get where we want to get.”
As for women’s counterparts City – who are in the Ninja A-League Semi-Finals, they will compete on the continent again next season.
Two-time reigning Ninja A-League premiers City are gearing up for next month’s semi-finals in the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League, while they have already secured their spot in the 2025-26 edition after finishing first in the domestic competition once more.
“I’m very proud of our consistency and how we have stayed focussed since day one,” City’s Ninja A-League boss Michael Matricciani said last month.
“The Champions League is a great competition to be apart of and it’s really pleasing to know that we will be there once again next season.”
