Wikipedia

2024–25 AFC Challenge League group stage

The 2024–25 AFC Challenge League group stage was played from 26 October to 2 November 2024.[1]

Draw

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The draw for the group stage took place on 22 August at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 18 teams were drawn into five groups: three comprising four teams from the West each (Groups A–C) and two involving three teams from the East each (Groups D–E).[2] Teams were seeded into pots: four pots for West region and three pots for East region, and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.

The following 18 teams entered the group stage draw, which included the 14 direct entrants, two losers from the AFC Champions League Two qualifying play-offs (labeled ACL2) and the two winners of the preliminary stage (labeled PS).

Region Groups Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
West Region A–C   East BengalACL2   Arkadag   Bashundhara Kings   Hilal Al-Quds
  Al-Ahli ClubACL2   Nejmeh   Al-Seeb   Abdysh-Ata KantPS
  Al-Arabi   Al-Fotuwa   Maziya   ParoPS
East Region D–E   Madura United   Svay Rieng   Young Elephants —
  Shan United   Tainan City   SP Falcons —

Format

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In the group stage, each group will be played in a single round-robin format on a centralised venue. Eight teams will progress to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage : the three group winners and best-ranked runners-up from the West, and the group winners and runner-ups of each group from the East.

Tiebreakers

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The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 8.3):[3]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams playing each other in the last round of the group are tied;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

Schedule

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The schedule of the group stage is as follows.[4]

Round Dates (West region) Dates (East region)
Matchday 1 26 October 2024 27 October 2024
Matchday 2 29 October 2024 30 October 2024
Matchday 3 1 November 2024 2 November 2024

Groups

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The detailed schedule was announced on 22 August 2024 after the draw ceremony.[5]

West Region

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Group A

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EAB NJM PAR BSK
1   East Bengal 3 2 1 0 9 4 +5 7 Advance to Quarter-finals 3–2 2–2
2   Nejmeh 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6 1–0
3   Paro (H) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 1–2
4   Bashundhara Kings 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0 0–4 1–2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
East Bengal  2–2  Paro
 Report
Attendance: 3,800
Referee: Mohammad Ghabayen (Jordan)
Nejmeh  1–0  Bashundhara Kings
 Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Jin Jingyuan (China)
Paro  1–2  Nejmeh
 Report
Attendance: 1,700
Referee: Resul Mammedov (Turkmenistan)
Bashundhara Kings  0–4  East Bengal
Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Mohammad Deham (Bahrain)
East Bengal  3–2  Nejmeh
 Report
Attendance: 437
Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand)
Bashundhara Kings  1–2  Paro
 Report
Attendance: 869
Referee: Mohammad Mofeed Naser Ghabayen (Jordan)

Group B

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AKG AAK ABD MAZ
1   Arkadag 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6[a] Advance to Quarter-finals 2–1
2   Al-Arabi 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6[a] 3–2 0–1
3   Abdysh-Ata Kant 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6[a] 0–2
4   Maziya 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0 0–2 0–3
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head goal difference: Arkadag +1; Al-Arabi 0; Abdysh-Ata Kant –1.
Al Arabi  0–1  Abdysh-Ata Kant
Report Atabayev   62'
Attendance: 500
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara (Japan)
Arkadag  2–1  Maziya
 Report Cantillana   45'
Attendance: 20
Referee: Ramachandran Venkatesh (India)
Abdysh-Ata Kant  0–2  Arkadag
Report
Attendance: 80
Referee: Yahya Al Balushi (Oman)
Maziya  0–2  Al Arabi
Report
  • Majed   7'
  • Khalaf   8'
Attendance: 350
Referee: Mohammed Kanah (Syria)
Al Arabi  3–2  Arkadag
 Report
Attendance: 720
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara (Japan)
Maziya  0–3  Abdysh-Ata Kant
Report
Attendance: 150
Referee: Muath Owfi (Palestine)

Group C

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ASB AAM AFT HAQ
1   Al-Seeb (H) 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 9 Advance to Quarter-finals 1–0 3–0
2   Al-Ahli Club 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2[a] 1–1 0–0
3   Al-Fotuwa 3 0 2 1 1 6 −5 2[a] 0–5
4   Hilal Al-Quds 3 0 2 1 0 3 −3 2[a] 0–0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head goals scored: Al-Ahli Club 1, Al-Fotuwa 1, Hilal Al-Quds 0;
    Overall goal difference: Al-Ahli Club –1, Al-Fotuwa –5.
Al-Ahli Club  0–0  Hilal Al-Quds
Report
Attendance: 214
Referee: Tuan Mohd Yaasin (Malaysia)
Al-Fotuwa  0–5  Al-Seeb
Report
Attendance: 2,224
Referee: Daniel Elder (Australia)
Hilal Al-Quds  0–0  Al-Fotuwa
Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Sheikh Ahmad Alaeddin (Lebanon)
Al-Seeb  1–0  Al-Ahli Club
 Report
Attendance: 3,087
Referee: Abdulhadi Al Asmar Al Ruaile (Qatar)
Al-Ahli Club  1–1  Al-Fotuwa
 Report
Attendance: 156
Referee: Asker Nadjafaliev (Uzbekistan)
Al-Seeb  3–0  Hilal Al-Quds
 Report
Attendance: 2,125
Referee: Tuan Mohd Yaasin (Malaysia)

Ranking of runners-up teams

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Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B   Al-Arabi 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6 Advance to Quarter-finals
2 A   Nejmeh 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
3 C   Al-Ahli Club 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2
Source: AFC

East Region

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Group D

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SNU TNC YEP
1   Shan United (H) 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 4 Advance to Quarter-finals 2–2
2   Tainan City 2 1 1 0 5 4 +1 4 3–2
3   Young Elephants 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3 0 0–2
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Young Elephants  0–2  Shan United
Report
Attendance: 970
Referee: Yudi Nurcahya (Indonesia)
Tainan City  3–2  Young Elephants
  • Cortés   25'
  • Kim Sung-Kyum   60'
  • Toninho   70'
 Report
Attendance: 263
Referee: Sinan Hussain (Maldives)
Shan United  2–2  Tainan City
 Report
  • Matheus Porto   12'
  • Toninho   87'
Attendance: 650
Referee: Daiyrbek Abdyldaev (Kyrgyzstan)

Group E

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MDU PRR SPF
1   Madura United 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4 Advance to Quarter-finals 2–1
2   Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 2–1
3   SP Falcons (H) 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1 0–0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
SP Falcons  0–0  Madura United
Report
Attendance: 1,069
Referee: Choi Hyun-jai (South Korea)
Svay Rieng  2–1  SP Falcons
 Report
  • Musatkin   67'
Attendance: 629
Referee: Wai Lun Wong (Hong Kong)
Madura United  2–1  Svay Rieng
 Report
Attendance: 83
Referee: Amir Arab Baraghi (Iran)

References

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  1. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Jul 2024 - Jun 2025)" (PDF). the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  2. ^ "#ChallengeLeague draw to decide 2024/25 Group Stage battles". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  3. ^ "AFC Challenge League 2024/25 Competition Regulations" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  4. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ "2024–25 AFC Challenge League Group Stage Draw Results & Match Schedule" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
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