Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC will this week find out who they will be playing in a new era for Asian football as they get set to play in the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) new look Champions League formats for season 2024-25.
With last season bringing about an end to the original formats of the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup respectively, the new campaign brings with it two fresh competitions which will see both Isuzu UTE A-League champions Mariners and the Sky Blues pit themselves against the best of the best in Asian football.
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After finishing the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League regular season as Premiers, Mark Jackson’s Central Coast will now enter the inaugural edition of the AFC Champions League Elite.
Meanwhile, Sydney FC’s 2023 Australia Cup triumph means they have now qualified for the AFC Champions League Two – the competition replacing the AFC Cup which was won by the Mariners in it’s final season.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the draw for the respective competitions.
When is the draw and how do I watch?
The draw for this year’s AFC Competition will take place this Friday, August 16 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
You can watch the ceremony, which begins at 7pm AEST (5pm local time), live on the AFC’s YouTube channel by clicking here.
ACL Elite: Central Coast Mariners
Qualifying for the AFC’s premier club competition thanks to the first part of their historic treble in season 2023-24, the Mariners will now face off against some of Asia’s biggest clubs in a bid to not only win more silverware but also secure a hefty pay day as well.
Replacing the old group-stage format, the new ACL Elite competition will now feature 24 teams who make up two leagues of 12 – one in the Western zone and the other in the Eastern zone.
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In contrast to the old format which saw each teams play three matches at home and the corresponding three matches away against the same sides, the new format will see clubs play eight fixtures – four at home and four away, all against different opposition.
With the Mariners occupying a slot in Pot 1 of the Eastern side of the draw, that means they sit amongst the top six sides who have qualified, the others being Vissel Kobe (Japan), Ulsan Hyundai FC (South Korea), Kevin Muscat’s Shanghai Port (China), Buriram United (Thailand) and Johor Darul Ta’zim F.C (Malaysia).
POT 1
| CLUB | NATION |
| Vissel Kobe | Japan |
| Ulsan Hyundai FC | Korea |
| Shanghai Port | China |
| Buriram United | Thailand |
| Central Coast Mariners | Australia |
| Johor Darul Ta’zim FC | Malaysia |
Placed in Pot 2 of the Eastern side of the draw are Kawasaki Frontale (Japan), FC Pohang Steelers (South Korea), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Yokohama F. Marinos, (Japan), Gwangju FC (South Korea) and Shandong Taishan FC (China).
POT 2
| CLUB | NATION |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Japan |
| FC Pohang Steelers | South Korea |
| Shanghai Shenhua | China |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Japan |
| Gwangju FC | South Korea |
| Shandong Taishan | China |
Who can the Mariners be drawn against?
So this is where things get a little more complicated.
While in theory the Mariners can be drawn against any of the other 11 sides in the Eastern league, the reality is their pool of possible opponents will be much smaller given other teams can’t.
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With the AFC adopting the ‘country protection principal’, clubs from nations like Japan, South Korea and China therefore can’t be drawn against fellow domestic sides meaning their fixtures will be limited.
Keen A-Leagues fans will note the Mariners could be pitted against Melbourne Victory legend Kevin Muscat and Shanghai Port or Yokohama F.Marinos and their interim Australian coach John Hutchinson.
The eight league-stage games take place between September 2024 and February 2025.
How much is the competition worth to the Mariners?
Qualification for the ACL Elite could well net the Mariners a very tidy some of money, especially if they go deep into the competition.
Already set to earn a guaranteed minimum of USD $800,000 (approximately AUD $1.2 million), the further the Mariners progress in the tournament, the grander the financial rewards become.
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Should the Gosford side manage to win the ACL Elite, their prize money would exceed USD $10 million – approximately AUD $15 million.
The breakdown of the ACL Elite Champion’s prize money is:
- Qualification for the tournament: USD $800,000 (A$1.2m)
- Qualification for Round of 16: USD $200,000 (A$301k)
- Qualification for Quarter-Finals: USD $400,000 (A$602k)
- Qualification for Semi-Finals: USD $600,000 (A$903k)
- Champion: USD $10 million (A$15m)
ACL Two: Sydney FC
Unlike the league system of the new ACL Elite, the newly-named ACL Two will follow the same format of its predecessor the AFC Cup.
Care of their 2023 Australia Cup win over Brisbane Roar, Ufuk Talay’s Sydney FC will be sorted into one of eight four-team groups.
Playing the traditional three fixtures at home and three away, the group stage matches will kick off on September 17 and be completed by December 5, with the top-two sides progressing through to the knockout phase.
The Sky Blues will enter the ACL Two in Pot 2, meaning they will be drawn against a big Asian side of the likes of Sanfrecce Hiroshima of Japan, who now boast the services of former Melbourne City star Tolgay Arslan, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea or China’s Zhejiang FC.
The rest of the teams in their group will then come from countries such as Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia.
| POT 1 | NATION |
| Bangkok United | Thailand |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Japan |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC | South Korea |
| Zhejiang FC | China |
| POT 2 | |
| Port FC | Thailand |
| Sydney FC | Australia |
| Selangor FC | Malaysia |
| Nam Dinh FC | Vietnam |
| POT 3 | |
| Lee Man | Hong Kong |
| Kaya FC-Iloilo | Philippines |
| Lion City Sailors | Singapore |
| Muangthong United | Thailand |
| POT 4 | |
| Eastern | Hong Kong |
| Dynamic Herb Cebu FC | Philippines |
| Tampines Rovers FC | Singapore |
| Persib Bandung | Indonesia |
One change from the previous AFC Cup format is that the number of ‘zones’ in the competition has been reduced from five (West, Central, East, South and ASEAN) to just two – West and East – which means there is less travel and fewer games for an A-Leagues team to contend with should they progress through to the knockout stages.
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If the Sky Blues do make it out of the group stage as either a winner or a runner-up they will then face a group winner or second-placed finisher from either the eastern or the western zone, with the round of 16 to commence in February 2025.
How much is the competition worth to Sydney FC?
Much like the Mariners last year, should Sydney FC manage to conquer the ACL Two then they would be in line to secure a hefty windfall.
With prize money increased this year, the Sky Blues’ Australia Cup triumph and subsequent qualification for the ACL Two means they’ve already netted themselves roughly A$450,000.
Furthermore, should Talay’s side go all the way and win the inaugural version of the ACL Two then they’d bank nearly $3.28m USD – a sum that converts to nearly A$5m.
