Melbourne City and Macarthur Bulls have learned their fate in the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two, with this season’s draw now confirmed.
Isuzu UTE A-League champions City and 2024 Australia Cup champions Macarthur are Australia’s two representatives in continental competition this season.
City will play four matches at home – facing Japanese giants Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Thai powerhouse Buriram United, Malaysian juggernaut Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, and South Korea’s Gangwon FC – and four away, travelling to face two-time J1 League champions Vissel Kobe, Mitch Duke’s Machida Zelvia, FC Seoul and Ulsan HD.
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In ACL Two, Macarthur have been drawn in Group B alongside Chinese Super League outfit Beijing Guoan, Kong Kong’s Tai Po FC and Vietnamese debutants Cong An Ha Noi FC.
ACL Elite and a couple of City reunions
City earned an ACL Elite berth after finishing second in 2024-25. The prize normally reserved for the Isuzu UTE A-League Premiers, it was the highest placed Australian side who gained entry into the competition given Premiers Plate winners Auckland FC cannot compete due to their ineligibility for AFC tournaments. In 2024-25, just qualifying for the AFC Champions League Elite netted teams, including Central Coast Mariners, USD$800k (AUD $1.27m).
At Friday’s League Stage draw, Aurelio Vidmar’s City discovered their opponents as they eye last 16 qualification for the first time in the history of their men’s team.
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City’s eight matches will be played between mid-September and mid-February, with the top eight teams in the East Region League Stage progressing to the Round of 16.
In the last 16, each remaining club will face another club from their region – East or West – in a two-legged, home-and-away tie to decide which eight clubs progress to a centralised “Finals” campaign.
The fixture against Sanfrecce is poised to setup a reunion with former City star Tolgay Arslan and ex-Macarthur captain Valere Germain, while club great Curtis Good is set to return to Melbourne with Buriram.
Former Serie A midfielder Arslan stood out in his one and only season with City, who have bolstered their squad with Champions League winner Takeshi Kanamori, former Celtic youngster Liam Bonetig and academy sensation Beckham Baker.
The German made an immediate impact in his first season with City after arriving from Udinese, scoring 19 goals and supplying seven assists across 34 appearances as he claimed the club’s inaugural Scott Jamieson Medal and Players’ Player of the Year award.
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Another A-Leagues graduate is set for a reunion against Aussie opposition, with Subway Socceroos striker Duke – formerly of Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners – on the books of Japan’s Machida.
Johor are Malaysia’s most successful club in the midst of a record 11 consecutive league crowns.
Japanese giants Kobe are two-time Champions League quarter-finalists as they prepare for another fixture against an Australian team in the ACL Elite, having edged Central Coast Mariners 3-2 last season.
FC Seoul of South Korea are two-time runners-up and boast former Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard, who wears the captain’s armband, while fellow South Korean outfit Gangwon are making their ACL Elite debut.
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Bulls back in ACL Two
Australia’s sole AFC Champions League Two berth was awarded to the Australia Cup champions, meaning Macarthur’s upset win over Melbourne Victory in the 2024 decider clinched the Bulls’ second AFC berth.
Mile Sterjovski’s Macarthur will be back in the second tier of AFC competition for the first time since 2023-24. Two seasons ago, the Bulls featured in the AFC Cup – now known as ACL Two – and made it all the way to the Zonal finals before losing to eventual champions and Isuzu UTE A-League rivals Central Coast Mariners.
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In the 2024-25 ACL Two, A-Leagues rivals Sydney FC reached an historic semi-final and it resulted in a substantial payday. For reaching the group stage alone, Sydney earned USD $300,000 – roughly AUD $450,000. As a result of their semi-final run, the Sky Blues netted an additional USD $780,000 which equates to over AUD $1.2million.
Back in Asia, the Bulls – who have recruited South Korean star Ji Dong-won as well as Socceroo Anthony Caceres, Šime Gržan and others – will play three home games at Campbelltown Sports Stadium and three on the road.
The top two finishers in each group will progress to the Round of 16 and this season’s competition features Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr from Saudi Arabia.
“We were very excited with the draw result and to go to those countries and cities. We were in the AFC Cup a couple of years ago – we reached the ASEAN Zone Final and lost just by the last kick of the game to the eventual winners of the AFC Cup but we are confident of our chances,” said Macarthur team manager Michael Swibel via the AFC.
“We won the Australia Cup last year. We have a new squad coming together and are looking forward to the match-ups.”
Beijing Guoan are competing in the ACL Two for the first time as they continue to challenge Kevin Muscat’s Shanghai Port in the Chinese Super League. The Chinese club are led by former Barcelona, Real Betis and Villarreal boss Quique Setien.
Tai Po enter the competition as Hong Kong Premier League champions, while Cong An Hanoi are two-time winners of the V.League 1 in Vietnam – and have Adelaide United loanee Stefan Mauk on their books.
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AFC prize money
If 2024-25 is anything to go by, the financial incentives are significant in the ACL Elite.
Just for qualifying for the AFC Champions League elite last season, the Mariners earned a guaranteed minimum of USD $800,000 (approximately AUD $1.2 million).
The further City progress in the tournament, the grander the financial rewards become. Based on the prize money last term, should the Isuzu UTE A-League champions manage to win the ACL Elite, their prize money would exceed USD $12m– approximately AUD $18m.
The breakdown of the ACL Elite Champion’s prize money is:
- Qualification for the tournament: USD $800,000
- Qualification for Round of 16: USD $200,000
- Qualification for Quarter-Finals: USD $400,000
- Qualification for Semi-Finals: USD $600,000
- Champion: USD $10 million
The ACL Elite features 24 clubs from around the AFC – 12 from the West region, and 12 from the East region. City come from the East region of the confederation.
Meanwhile, should Macarthur replicate the Mariners’ 2024 triumph in AFC’s second-tier club competition, the Bulls would secure a substantial payday.
For reaching the group stage alone, Macarthur have earned USD $300,000 – roughly AUD $450,000 based on last season’s prize money for Sydney FC. If Mile Sterjovski’s side go all the way and win the final, as champions they would receive at least USD $3.28m – approximately $4.92m.
