Newcastle Jets, Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory will soon know their respective paths to AFC glory this coming season, with the draw for both the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two competitions to be conducted on Tuesday, August 18.
Qualifying for the prestigious Asian Champions League Elite care of their maiden Premiership victory in season 2025/26, the Jets will now compete against 32 of the best teams from across the continent of Asia, split into an Eastern and Western conference.
As well as receiving a sizeable fee for winning the the competition, the eventual winners of the ACL Elite also secure a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
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Jets players celebrate being crowned Premiers
Meanwhile Adelaide United also had the chance to qualify for the ACL Elite but their 2-0 home loss to Vietnamese side Cong An Ha Noi last week saw them drop down into the ACL Two competition.
The Reds booked a place in the ACL Elite playoffs after finishing second during the regular A-League season, however their 2-0 loss sees them drop down into the ACL Two.
With Newcastle Jets winning the 2025 Australia Cup and the Premiership, Mark Milligan’s side passed up their ACL Two spot owing to their participation in the ACL Elite, and with Adelaide also earning an ACL Elite playoff spot, that meant the third-placed Australian side in the Isuzu UTE A-League would get a spot in the ACL Two.
Despite finishing third in the 2025/26 Isuzu UTE A-League season, the Black Knights status as an OFC club meant they are ineligible to compete in AFC competition, with fourth-placed Victory earning themselves the spot.
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Juan Mata of the Victory
Ethan Alagich of Adelaide United
What pots are the Aussie sides in?
In the ACL Elite, Newcastle Jets are placed in Pot Two alongside Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim, Japanese giants Vissel Kobe and Korean outfit Daejeon Hana Citizen.
Meanwhile in the ACL Two, Adelaide United are in Pot One of the Eastern Region alongside Gangwon FC (KOR), FC Machida Zelvia (JPN) and FC Seoul (KOR).
And finally Melbourne Victory are housed in Pot Two alongside the likes of BG Pathum United (THA), Kuching City (MAS) and China’s Shanghai Shenhua.
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When will the games be played?
When it comes to the ACL Elite, Newcastle will compete in an expanded tournament this season, with four more clubs set to feature in both the Western and Eastern zones.
Following the conclusion of the respective draws on Tuesday, the first ACL Elite matchday will be on September 14 and will conclude by the start of December.
As for the ACL Two, the Group Stage matches will take place between Tuesday, September 15 and Wednesday, December 3 with both the Reds and Victory playing three home matches as well as three away matches in a round-robin format.
The 2026/27 campaign will mark Adelaide United’s return to AFC Champions League competition, with the Reds set to test themselves against some of Asia’s leading clubs.
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What prize money is on offer?
When it comes to the ACL Elite, the Newcastle Jets are will receive a very handy sum just for qualifying.
Each participating club in the League Stage of the ACL Elite shall receive a participation fee of $800,000 USD – that works out to be just over $1.1 million AUD!
Furthermore, the Jets will also receive $100,000 USD PER WIN (that’s roughly $114,000 AUD) – and they play EIGHT league stage matches.
If they qualify for the Round of 16 then the Jets will net themselves an additional $200,000 USD. If they get to the quarter-finals it’s a further $400,000 USD and then a semi-final berth is worth a whopping $600,000 USD.
And for the winner of the competition? Well that will see one club earn themselves $10 million USD!
Al Ahli win the 2025/26 AFC Champions League Elite
What about the ACL Two?
Well both Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory have netted themselves a fee of $300,000 USD (roughly $424,000 AUD) just for qualifying for the tournament.
When it comes to winning matches, should the Reds and Victory chalk up some victories then they’ll receive $50,000 USD per win and the prize money on offer for latter-stage qualification is also very helpful.
Round of 16 qualification will see clubs earn $80,000 USD, quarter-final qualification will see them earn $160,000 USD and getting to the Semi-finals is worth $240,000 USD.
The prize for the winner? $2.5 million USD (roughly $3.5m AUD) whilst the runner-up receives $1 million USD.
Gamba Osaka won the 2025/26 AFC Champions League Two
