AFC Competitions
At stake will be club, continental and global stage honours for the continent's teams.
Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at how the action will unfold over the next 12 months.
January
The year will kick off with the draw for the knockout stage of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League™ 2024/25 on January 8 with the eight remaining teams to discover their path to glory.
The Cast
Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (JPN)
Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (JPN)
Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women's FC (KOR)
Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women's FC (KOR)
Abu Dhabi Country Club (UAE)
Abu Dhabi Country Club (UAE)
Melbourne City FC (AUS)
Melbourne City FC (AUS)
Ho Chi Minh City Women's FC (VIE)
Ho Chi Minh City Women's FC (VIE)
Wuhan Jiangda Women's FC (CHN)
Wuhan Jiangda Women's FC (CHN)
Taichung Blue Whale Women's Football Team (TPE)
Taichung Blue Whale Women's Football Team (TPE)
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Focus will then shift to the AFC Women's Futsal Asian Cup™ China 2025 Qualifiers, which will run on January 11-19 and will be contested across four centralised venues. At stake will be nine tickets to the Finals.
The draw for the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2025 will be held on January 23, with 15 spots up grabs.
February
February will see the return of the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2024/25 and AFC Champions League Two™ 2024/25.
The League Stage of the #ACLElite will conclude with Matchdays Seven and Eight scheduled for February 3-4, 11-12 and 17-19.
The first leg of the #ACLTwo's Round of 16 will be played on February 11-13 with the second leg on February 18-20.
February will also bear witness to the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025, with the tournament to run from February 12 to March 1.
March
The club competitions will switch into high gear with the two-leg #ACLElite Round of 16 to be played on March 3-5 and 10-12 followed by the draw in Riyadh on March 14.
The two-leg #ACLTwo quarter-finals will be contested on March 4-6 and 11-13 while the first leg of the AFC Challenge League™ 2024/25 is scheduled for March 5-6 with the reverse fixtures to be played on March 12-13.
The last eight stage of the AFC Women's Champions League™ 2024/25 - to be contested in a single leg format - will be on March 22-23.
The AFC Asian Qualifiers™ - Road to 26 will return with Matchdays 7 and 8 to be played on March 20 and 25 while Matchday One of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ Qualifiers Final Round will be contested on March 25.
The draw for the AFC Women's Asian Cup™ Australia 2026 Qualifiers is scheduled for March 21 while fans can expect high octane action at the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup™ Thailand 2025 on March 20-30.
April
The month will kick off with the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2025, which runs from April 3-20 with 16 teams vying for continental glory.
Saudi Arabia 2025 - The Cast
Group A winners - DPR Korea
Group A winners - DPR Korea
Group B winners - Afghanistan
Group B winners - Afghanistan
Group C winners - Korea Republic
Group C winners - Korea Republic
Group D winners - Thailand
Group D winners - Thailand
Group E winners - Uzbekistan
Group E winners - Uzbekistan
Group F winners - Japan
Group F winners - Japan
Group G winners - Australia
Group G winners - Australia
Group H winners - UAE
Group H winners - UAE
Group I winners - Yemen
Group I winners - Yemen
Group J winners - Tajikistan
Group J winners - Tajikistan
Group C runners-up - China PR
Group C runners-up - China PR
Group I runners-up - Vietnam
Group I runners-up - Vietnam
Group G runners-up - Indonesia
Group G runners-up - Indonesia
Group A runners-up - IR Iran
Group A runners-up - IR Iran
Group J runners-up - Oman
Group J runners-up - Oman
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The #ACLTwo semi-finals will be played on April 8-9 and 15-16 while the #ChallengeLeague last four ties will be contested on April 9-10 and 16-17.
That will be followed by the #ACLElite knockout stage, which will be contested in a centralised format in Saudi Arabia from April 25-May 4.
May
The conclusion of the #ACLElite on May 4 will be followed by the finals of the other three club competitions.
The #ChallengeLeague final is on May 10 with the #ACLTwo decider seven days later. The centralised semi-finals and final of the AFC Women's Champions League will be on May 21-24.
On the national competitions' front, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles will be held on May 1-11 while the AFC Women's Futsal Asian Cup China 2025 is scheduled for May 7-18.
June
The AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26 will conclude with Matchdays Nine and Ten on June 5 and 10 while Matchday Two of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round will be played on June 10.
The draw for the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers is scheduled for June 12 while the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 Qualifiers will be played on June 23-July 5.
Also in June will be the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, with four Asian sides competing for honours in the expanded 32-team tournament which will be hosted by the United States.
July
The draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers Playoff - which will offer two tickets to the Finals - is tentatively scheduled for July 17 while the 2025/26 seasons of the #ACLElite and #ACLTwo will kick off with the Preliminary Stage 1 on July 29 and 30 respectively.
The #ChallengeLeague Preliminary Stage 1 will be played on July 29.
August
The month will kick off with the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup™ 2026 Qualifiers, which are scheduled to run on August 2-10.
Preliminary Stages 2 and 3 of the #ACLElite will be on August 5 and 12 respectively while the same stages of the #ACLTwo will be played on August 6 and 13.
The #ChallengeLeague Stages 2 and 3 are scheduled for August 5 and 12 while the AFC Women's Champions League 2025/26 will kick off with the centralised preliminary stage to be played on August 23-31.
September
The AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers will be played on September 1-9 while Asia's best will challenge for the title at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025 on September 27-October 19.
Matchdays One and Two of the #ACLElite 2025/26 are scheduled for September 15-17 and September 29-October 1 while the opening matchdays of the #ACLTwo 2025/26 will be played on September 16-18 and September 30-October 2.
October
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers Playoff - Group Stage will kickoff on October 8 with matches to also be played on October 11 and 14.
Matchdays Three and Four of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round are scheduled for October 9 and 14.
The AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers will run from October 9 to 17 while the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Indonesia 2026 Qualifiers are scheduled for October 15-26.
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025, which will see 24 teams vying for honours, will be played on October 17 to November 8.
Matchday Three of the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 will be played on October 20-22 while the third round of AFC Champions League Two 2025/26 games are scheduled for October 21-23.
The centralised group stage of the AFC Challenge League 2025/26 will be played on October 25-November 1.
November
Matchday 4 of the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 will see the teams in action on November 3-5 with the fifth round of games on November 24-26.
The AFC Champions League Two 2025/26's Matchday Four ties will run on November 4-6 with the following round of games scheduled for November 25-27 while the centralised AFC Women’s Champions League 2024/25 Group Stage is scheduled for November 9-15.
A busy month will also witness the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025, which will see the cast increased to 48 sides, on November 5-27.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers Asian Playoffs will be held on November 15 and 18 while Matchday Five of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round will be played on November 18.
The inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup 2025 will be hosted by the Philippines on November 21-December 7 while the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers are scheduled for November 22-30.
December
The FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup Philippines 2025 will conclude with the inaugural champions crowned on December 7.
The AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 will see Matchday Six contested on December 8-10 while the AFC Champions League Two 2025/26 ties are scheduled for December 9-11 with both competitions then taking a breather until February 2026.
Get set for 12 months of thrilling action with so much at stake on all fronts for Asian football.
Note: Dates are subject to change
