The AFC Champions League, the most important club event in 2020, started on February 1 1. * * A total of 32 teams participated in this competition, which were divided into 8 groups, and the home and away double-cycle system was adopted. The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. The group stage adopts the home and away double-cycle points competition system, that is, each team in each group will face the other three teams twice, once at home and once away, and the points obtained in each game will be included in the group points.
Introduction to AFC Champions League:
The AFC Champions League, also known as the Asian Champions League, is an Asian club football tournament founded by the AFC in 2002, formerly known as the Asian Championship and the Asian Club Championship.
The AFC Champions League is the highest level of club football in Asia, equivalent to the European Champions League and the Libertadores Cup in South America, and higher than the AFC Champions Cup. The winning team will represent AFC in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The top 10 associations of the Asian Games have the places to directly participate in the group stage, and the remaining eight group stage places will be produced through the playoff stage.
The first match (the AFC Champions League in 2002/03) was held in different years, and the previous AFC Champions League matches were all completed in the same natural year. In February 2022, the AFC officially announced that the AFC Champions League would resume the New Year's Eve system from 2023, and the number of foreign aid places would increase from "3+ 1" to "5+ 1" from the 2023/24 season.
On May 6, 2023, in the second round of the AFC Champions League final, Puhe Red Diamond Football Club defeated Saudi Crescent Football Club 1-0 with a total score of 2-/KLOC-0, and won the AFC Champions League in 2022. This is the third time in the history of Puhe Red Diamond Team to win the AFC Champions League.
Starting from the 2024-2025 season, AFC Champions League and AFC Champions Cup will be replaced by AFC Champions League, AFC Champions League II and AFC Champions League Challenge.
The birth of AFC Champions League;
The first AFC Champions League was held in the 2002/03 season, and its predecessor was the Asian Championship Club Championship and the Asian Club Championship.
The first Asian Champions Club Championship was held in 1967, with 8 teams participating. The tournament of 197 1 was suspended until 1986 was reopened and renamed as the Asian Club Championship. Only local league champions can participate. The first Asian Cup Winners' Cup was held in 199 1, with the participation of world cup champions. The winners of the two events will compete for the Asian Super Cup.