Melbourne City have discovered who they will face in the group stage of the 2025-26 AFC Women’s Champions League.
To be held in Vietnam between November 13-19, City – the top seeds – have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC, Lion City Sailors FC and Stallion Laguna FC as the reigning Ninja A-League premiers look to go one step further this season.
City suffered a heart-breaking loss to China’s Wuhan Jiangda in the inaugural 2024-25 Champions League final.
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Michael Matricciani’s side return for the second edition of the Champions League after claiming back-to-back Ninja A-League Premierships thanks to their invincible regular season which saw City go undefeated before the Finals Series.
City have the chance to not only claim continental silverware in the AFC but a significant payday in Asia.
There’s huge financial incentive for City as the Ninja A-League’s representative in the 2025-26 Women’s Champions League campaign, with the winner set to take home at least USD 1.3 million (roughly AUD 1.95 million).
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FULL FIXTURES:Â Every match of the Ninja A-League 25-26 season here
DERBY DATES:Â The matches to circle in your calendar now
FIRST 5 FIXTURES: Your Ninja A-League team’s start to the 2025-26 season
FINALS SERIES:Â 2025-26 structure and dates
TRANSFER CENTRE: Your club’s ins/outs ahead of the upcoming season
Format
The teams feature the AFC’s top six clubs from 2024-25, and six more via the preliminary stage, which consisted of a record 19 sides and concluded on August 31.
Group-stage fixtures in Myanmar will be staged between November 9-15, with City’s matches in Vietnam scheduled for November 13-19, while games in China will be played from November 17-23.
Following the Group Stage, eight clubs—the top two finishers of each group and the two overall best third-placed clubs—will advance to the Knockout Stage, with the single-leg Quarter-final pairings to be decided by a draw and played in March 2026.
Following the group stage, eight clubs – the top two finishers of each group and the two overall best third-placed clubs – will advance to the knockout phase, with the single-leg quarter-final pairings to be decided by a draw and played in March 2026.
The centralised semi-finals and final are scheduled for May 20 to 23, 2026.Â
Prize money
City have secured automatic qualification to the group stage, which is great news for the Ninja A-League side as each group-stage participant is set to receive an automatic prize of USD 100,000 (roughly AUD 150,000).
Should City reach the quarter-finals in 2025-26, an additional USD 80,000 (AUD 120,000) would go the way of the Australian club.
City would receive a further USD 120,000 (AUD 180,000) for reaching the semi-finals – and should the Ninja A-League outfit make the final but fall short, the runners-up would receive an additional USD 500,000 (AUD 750,000).
The winners would receive an additional USD 1 million (AUD 1.5 million), taking the winning club’s total winnings to USD 1.3 million (AUD 1.95 million).
