JEDDAH — The group stage draw for the AFC Champions League produced evenly matched groupings for the Saudi Arabian teams taking part in the new event. The groups appeared to be evenly matched, with Group D, which contains Al Hilal, appearing to be the simplest due to the teams it has. Al Hilal, the runner-up in the last AFC Champions League, is in first place in Group D, followed by Nassaji of Iran, Mumbai City of India, and Navbahor of Uzbekistan.
Al Ittihad is currently in first place in Group C, followed by Sepahan from Iran, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq, and AGMK from Uzbekistan.
Al Nassr is placed in Group E alongside Persepolis from Iran, Al-Duhail from Qatar, and Istiklol from Uzbekistan. Al-Fayhaa was placed in Group A together with Pakhtakor from Uzbekistan, Ahal from Turkmenistan, and Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates. Al-Sadd in Qatar, Nasaf in Uzbekistan, Al-Faisaly in Jordan, and Sharjah in the UAE are the only cities in Group B.
The competing teams were divided into four tiers by the Asian Football Confederation. Al Hilal and Al Ittihad from Saudi Arabia were ranked in Tier 1, Al-Fayhaa in Tier 2, and Al Nassr in Tier 4.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be used starting in the group stage, according to the AFC. The AFC General Secretary, Dato' Windsor John, indicated that this choice intends to raise the tournament's caliber and keep up with changes in the Asian region.
The participating clubs were sorted into 10 groups, each with four teams, through a random drawing. West Asian clubs were allocated to Groups 1 through 5, while Eastern clubs were assigned to Groups 6 through 10.
Group 6 in East Asia consists of the teams Jeonbuk Hyundai of South Korea, Bangkok United of Thailand, Lion City Sailors of Singapore, and Kitchee of Hong Kong. Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan, Shandong Taishan of China, Kaya FC of the Philippines, and Incheon United of South Korea are the teams in Group 7.
Buriram United of Thailand, Ventforet Kofu of Japan, Melbourne City of Australia, and Zhejiang of China make up Group 8. Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea, Kawasaki Frontale of Japan, JDT of Malaysia, and Pathum United of Thailand make up Group 9. The Wuhan of China, the Pohang Steelers of South Korea, the Hanoi of Vietnam, and the Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan make up Group 10.
The top team from each of the ten groups, together with the three best second-place teams from each region, will proceed to the Round of 16 after the conclusion of the group stage.
The tournament's 21st iteration adopts a more contemporary format by switching from a spring to a fall season. The competition will take place between September 2023 and May 2024.
The final matches are set for May 11 and 18, 2024, with the knockout rounds taking place from February through April of the following year.
