Professional football clubs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Pohang Steelers will play their away matches exclusively against Chinese and Japanese teams in the 2026-2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE).

The league stage draw ceremony for the tournament was held today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Jeonbuk and Pohang will face Shanghai Port (China), Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia), Kashiwa Reysol, and Gamba Osaka (both Japan) at home, while playing away against Kashima Antlers, Vissel Kobe, Kyoto Sanga (all Japan), and Beijing FC (China).

Both teams will travel exclusively to China and Japan, which are relatively close in distance.

Daejeon Hana Citizen, which has advanced to the main tournament of the ACLE—the premier tier of Asian club football competitions—for the first time since its launch, will face Kashima, Kobe, Beijing, and Kyoto at home, and play away against Shanghai Port, Johor, Kashiwa, and Gamba Osaka.

Starting from this tournament, the number of participating teams in the ACLE main stage has expanded from 24 to 32, making advancement to the round of 16 more difficult.

Only the top 8 teams out of 16 competing in the East Asia league stage will advance to the round of 16.

The ACLE East Asia league stage will kick off on the 15th of next month and run for five months until February 17 of next year.

Each team will play 8 matches.

The round of 16 matches will be held from March 1 to 17 next year, and all matches from the quarterfinals to the final will take place in Saudi Arabia from April 23 to May 1.

(Photo provided by AFC, Yonhap News)