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Professional soccer K League 1 Ulsan HD, Pohang Steelers, Gwangju FC, and Jeonbuk Hyundai are aiming to win the Asian club competition.

The "2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE)" will begin on the 17th. Ulsan, Pohang and Gwangju will challenge the ACLE.

Jeonbuk will play in the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL2) in the 2024-2025 season, which is one step lower on the 19th.

AFC has changed its ALC system, which determines the strongest club team in Asia, to the Autumn Spring Festival from the 2023-2024 season. Previously, the festival started in spring and ended in autumn, but changed its operation method to the Autumn Spring Festival, which starts in autumn and ends in spring, just like in Europe.

The two sides also divided the level of competitions from 2024 to 2025. Just as the UEFA Europa League was divided into Champions League and Europa League, the two sides were divided into ACLE and ACL2.

The inaugural ACLE competition, which will involve 24 teams, will be divided into East and West Asian groups, with 12 teams participating in the league schedule. Each team will play eight games, with four home and away matches each.

The group stage will start in September and run until February 19 next year, and the tournament schedule will be held from March.

Until the round of 16, East and West Asia will be divided into home and away, but from the round of 8, Saudi Arabia will host a single match. The final round will be held in May.

As a result of the group stage draw held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 16th of last month, Ulsan, which will play as the K-League 1 winner last season, will face Shanghai Haigang (China), Vissel Kobe (Japan), Shandong Taishan (China), and Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) at home.

They will face Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), Johor Darlle Takjim (Malaysia), Buriram United (Thailand), and Shanghai Shenhua (China).

Pohang, which will play as the winner of last year's Korea Cup (FA Cup), will face Ulsan, the "East Coast rival," in the same match.

Gwangju, which ranked third in the K League 1 last year and will play in the AFC club competition for the first time in the club's history, will have home games with Johor, Buriram, Yokohama and Shanghai Shenhua, and will meet Shanghai Haigang, Vissel Kobe, Shandong and Kawasaki on the road.

Initially, Gwangju had to go through the ACLE Playoff (PO), but due to the Australian professional football A-League situation, it went straight to the finals without PO.

Gwangju will call Yokohama home at 7 p.m. on the 17th and be the first K-League club to have an ACLE schedule.

Yokohama is a powerhouse that collapsed Ulsan in the semi-finals of the last tournament, and it is not expected to be an easy opponent for Gwangju, which is the first time for a club competition.

At 9 p.m. on the day, Pohang will play its first match as an away match for Shanghai Shenhua. Shanghai Shenhua is a strong team that ranks second in the Chinese Super League this season, and is expected to stage a fierce match as well.

Finally, Ulsan will call Kawasaki home at 7 p.m. on the 18th to play the first game.

Kawasaki has been somewhat sluggish this season, staying in 13th place in the Japanese professional football J1 League, but it is a team that cannot be let down.

Ulsan, Pohang, and Gwangju are all set to finish the regular round of the "Hana Bank K League 1 2024," so it is too much to pay attention to ACLE, but ACLE cannot be neglected.

AFC is said to provide 800,000 U.S. dollars in prize money to all teams participating in this year's event. Teams that failed to advance to the round of 16 will also be given this amount.

If they win, they will receive an additional $12 million (about 16 billion won), and the runner-up team will receive a prize of $6 million (about 8 billion won). For K-League clubs with insufficient budget, there is a cushion of money that they cannot give up.

Meanwhile, ACL2, a club competition that is one level lower than ACLE, is played in a group league method similar to the existing ACL.

The tournament, which features 32 teams, is divided into 8 groups of 4 teams, and then the top 2 teams in each group play the round of 16 tournaments.

Jeonbuk will compete in Group H with Selangor (Malaysia), Muangtong United (Thailand), and dynamic hub Cebu (Philippines).

Jeonbuk's first schedule is a detailed away game at 9 p.m. on the 19th.

Jeonbuk should stay at the bottom of the league and worry about its survival, but it is expected to prepare for the challenge of catching both rabbits as it can also receive a large amount of money at $3.28 million (about 4.3 billion won).