The champion of Turkmenistan "Ahal" will start its performance in the group stage of the AFC Champions League-2023/24 with a home match against the winner of the Saudi Cup "Al Feiha". This meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 19, at the Ashgabat stadium.
AFC Champions League-2023/24
Zone West
Group "A"
- Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan)
- Al Feiha (Saudi Arabia)
- "Ahal" (Turkmenistan)
- Al-Ain (UAE)
1st round
September 19 (Tuesday)
- 19:00 / Pakhtakor - Al Ain
- 21:00 / "Ahal" - "Al-Feiha"
2nd round
October 3 (Tuesday)
- 19:00 / Al-Feiha - Pakhtakor
- 20:00 / "Al-Ain" - "Ahal"
3rd round
October 24 (Tuesday)
- 19:00 / Pakhtakor - Akhal
- 20:00 / Al Ain - Al Feiha
4th round
November 7 (Tuesday)
- 19:00 / "Ahal" - "Pakhtakor"
- 19:00 / Al Feiha - Al Ain
5th round
November 28 (Tuesday)
- 19:00 / "Al-Feiha" - "Ahal"
- 20:00 / Al-Ain - Pakhtakor
6th round
December 5 (Tuesday)
- 19:00 / "Pakhtakor" - "Al-Feiha"
- 19:00 / "Ahal" - "Al-Ain"
Group round matches of the main club tournament in Asia will be held from 18 September to 13 December. All teams will play three matches at home and away. The 1/8 finals, the matches of which will be held in February-April 2024, will feature the group winners and the top 3 teams each among the runners-up in both the Western and Eastern zones. The final will take place in a two-legged format: May 11 and 18, 2024.
This year's AFC Champions League will be the first to be held in the autumn-spring system and the last to feature 40 clubs. Starting next season, the tournament will be reduced to 24 teams.
The winner of the 2023/24 AFC Champions League will take part in the 2024 Club World Cup and also qualify for the next edition of the tournament.
Last season, Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan celebrated victory in the AFC Champions League by defeating Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal 2-1 in the final.
Turkmen clubs played in the AFC Champions League with long breaks. In 2003, Nisa Ashgabat reached the quarterfinal group tournament, following which it failed to break into the top four teams in Asia.
Last year, after 19 years, Ahal represented Turkmenistan for the first time in the main Asian football club competition. At the two-round tournament held in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) with the participation of four clubs from Turkmenistan, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the team of the Main Directorate "Turkmennebitonumleri" won the first ever victory in the AFC Champions League, beating the Qatari "Al-Gharafa" - 4: 2. And in the debut match in this prestigious club competition in Asia, she took points from the finalist of the AFC Champions League-2015, the bronze medalist of the United Arab Emirates "Shababa Al-Ahly" from Dubai, drawing with him - 1: 1. According to the results of six matches, Ahal with 4 points took 4th place in group C, passing ahead of Al-Gharafa (5 points), Shabab Al-Ahli (10 points) and Iranian Fulad (12 points). ).
This year, the reigning champion of Turkmenistan will make an attempt to compete for the main club football trophy of Asia for the second time in a row.
