Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda and Dubai's Shabab Al Ahli will resume their Asian Champions League (ACL) campaigns this season with the first legs of their Round of 16 matches on home soil when the knockout phase gets under way from March 2 to 4.
As the pursuit of continental supremacy intensifies after the group stage, a draw ceremony at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur set the stage for the final 16 teams, divided into West and East Asia brackets - with both UAE clubs in the latter.
Less than a fortnight after the conclusion of the league stage, the remaining clubs are preparing to contest a place in the quarter-finals, which will be staged in Jeddah this April.
The knockout field features six returning sides from the previous season's latter stages, including defending champions Al Ahli Saudi, alongside continental debutants Gangwon and Machida Zelvia.
Sharjah narrowly missed out on qualification after finishing ninth in their 12-team group, with only the top eight advancing.
Shabab Al Ahli will be the first of the UAE clubs in action, hosting Iranian side Tractor FC for the opening match of the stage at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on March 2 at 8pm.
The UAE representatives, buoyed by their domestic double in the 2024/25 season, have secured their fifth appearance in the knockout phase out of 10 tournament campaigns.
Having finished as runners-up in 2015, Shabab Al Ahli face a Tractor side competing in the knockout stage for only the third time across seven participations. This encounter marks the third meeting between the two clubs, following a stalemate during the league stage.
The continental action continues on March 3, as Al Wahda host Al Ittihad at Al Nahyan Stadium in the capital. With only a single point separating the two sides during the league stage, the 8pm kick-off looks set to be a closely contested seventh meeting between the teams.
Al Wahda, who reached the semi-finals in 2007, are making their fifth knockout appearance in 11 tournaments and will look to build on a recent matchday victory against the Saudi Arabian league champions. Al Ittihad, winners in 2004 and 2005, enter the tie for a 10th time in 13 participations as they seek a third Asian crown.
Elsewhere in the region, Qatar's Al Duhail are scheduled to host holders Al Ahli Saudi at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha on March 2 at 9.15pm, following a 2-2 draw between the sides in the preliminaries.
Al Duhail are making their eighth appearance in the knockout rounds, while their Saudi Arabian counterparts have reached this stage for a 10th time in 14 attempts.
Furthermore, Al Sadd, the 2011 winners with a record 18 tournament appearances for a Qatari club, will face Al Hilal at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on March 3 at 9.15pm.
The second-leg fixtures are slated for March 9-11, with the eight progressing clubs entering the draw for the centralised finals in Jeddah, scheduled to take place from April 16 to 25.
