'Kim Ki Dong-ho' Seoul confirms ACL elite 'directly to main line'... deleted PO variable
'Kim Ki Dong-ho' Seoul confirms ACL elite 'directly to main line'... deleted PO variable
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FC Seoul of the K-League 1 will advance directly to the final round of the AFC Champions League (ACLE) from 2025 to 2026. With the team initially qualified for the ACLE Playoff (PO), it had the luck to skip the PO and head straight to the finals.
The Korea Professional Football Federation officially announced on the 18th that Ulsan HD, Gangwon FC, and Seoul will play in the ACLE finals next season, and the Pohang Steelers will play in the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) finals. ACLE is the top club competition organized by AFC, and ACL2 is a level below the level, which is similar to the Champions League and Europa League, respectively, compared to the UEFA club competition.
The tickets for the 2025-2026 ACLE, which were originally allocated to the K-League, were two straight tickets to the finals and one ticket to the PO.
Among them, Ulsan and Gangwon, which won the K League 1 title and the runner-up prize, respectively, last season, were responsible for the two tickets to the finals. Kim Cheon-sang ranked third in the K League 1, but was not eligible to play in the ACLE due to the nature of the military team, and thus Seoul, ranked fourth, secured the remaining qualification for the ACLE PO.
However, as Ryan City Salers (Singapore) failed to win the 2024-2025 ACL2 final in Singapore on the 18th (Korea Standard Time) by losing 1-2 to Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), Seoul will be able to go straight to the main stage without PO.
If Ryan City, an East Asian regional team, won the championship, it had to qualify for ACLE PO and hold PO with Seoul as the winner of ACL2. For Seoul, the possibility of failing to advance to the finals could not be ruled out depending on the results if the PO was held. However, as Ryan City did not even get the ACLE PO qualification, Seoul automatically erased the PO variable and went straight to the finals.
It is the first time in five competitions that Seoul will compete in the AFC's top club competition since the 2020 season before the ACL reorganization. In addition, Ulsan will play nine consecutive tournaments since 2017, and Gangwon will play in the ACL for the first time since its foundation. 메이저사이트
Pohang, the winner of last season's Korea Cup, will play in the ACL2 finals, one step below ACLE. This season's ACL will enter the league stage from September after a draw on August 15.