2026 AFC Champions League Elite final
Football match
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The 2026 AFC Champions League Elite final was the final match of the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite, the 44th season of Asia's premier club football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the second since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Elite. It was played at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 25 April 2026 between defending champions and finals hosts Al-Ahli and Japanese club Machida Zelvia, in their first continental final.[1][2]
The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah hosted the final. | |||||||
| Event | Champions League Elite | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| After extra time | |||||||
| Date | 25 April 2026 | ||||||
| Venue | King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah | ||||||
| Referee | Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan) | ||||||
| Attendance | 58,984 | ||||||
Al-Ahli won 1–0 after extra time, the first final to went through it since 2011, winning a second Champions League title.[3]
Teams
In the following table, the finals until 2002 were in the Asian Club Championship era, and from 2003 to 2024 were in the AFC Champions League era.
Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first. (H: home; A: away; N: neutral).
 Al-Ahli |
Round |  Machida Zelvia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponents | Results | League stage | Opponents | Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Nasaf (H) |
4–2 | Match 1 |  FC Seoul (H) |
1–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Al-Duhail (A) |
2–2 | Match 2 |  Johor Darul Ta'zim (A) |
0–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Gharafa (H) |
4–0 | Match 3 |  Shanghai Port (A) |
2–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al Sadd (A) |
2–1 | Match 4 |  Melbourne City (H) |
1–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Sharjah (H) |
0–1 | Match 5 | Gangwon FC (A) |
3–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Al-Shorta (A) |
5–0 | Match 6 | Ulsan HD (H) |
3–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al Wahda (A) |
0–0 | Match 7 | Shanghai Shenhua (A) |
2–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shabab Al Ahli (H) |
4–3 | Match 8 | Chengdu Rongcheng (H) |
3–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West region, 2nd place | Final standings | East Region, 1st place
Source: AFC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponents | Results | Knockout stage | Opponents | Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Duhail (H) |
1–0 (a.e.t.) | Round of 16 | Gangwon FC (A, H) |
1–0 (0–0, 1–0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim (H) |
2–1 | Quarter-finals | Al-Ittihad (A) |
1–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vissel Kobe (H) |
2–1 | Semi-finals | Shabab Al Ahli (N) |
1–0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match
Details
| Al-Ahli | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Machida Zelvia |
|---|---|---|
Al-Buraikan  96' |
Report |
          Al-Ahli
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     Machida Zelvia
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Assistant referees:
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Match rules[4]
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