Sydney FC face an AFC Champions League 2 leap into the relative unknown, having been drawn against two club sides they’ve never faced and one they defeated 5-0 two years ago.
The newly reformatted AFC club competition has pitted the Sky Blues against Sanfrecce Hiroshima from Japan, Kaya F.C.–Iloilo of the Philippines and Hong Kong based club Eastern FC in Group E of the 2024/25 tournament.
Sanfrecce finished third in the Japanese J1 league last season and are currently third. They are top seeds in the Group, and include former Melbourne City midfielder Tolgay Arslan.
Kaya FC are Group E third seeds and qualified by winning the Philippines League as 2024 Champions. They are yet to start their season and lost 5-0 to Sydney FC in Champions League qualifying two years ago.
And 4th seed Eastern FC qualified by winning the Hong Kong FA Cup last season and finished 3rd in the league.
Head Coach Ufuk Talay said: “It’s a hugely exciting draw, we are playing new teams that this club hasn’t faced before and it’s a brand new competition as well.
“It’s a major priority for Sydney FC to perform on the international stage in Asia and I’m confident we can do well, especially with the great support that we have.
“It won’t be easy ride however, with the new format pushing many of the lower ranked nations into the third tier competition and and some of the top seeded clubs into these eight groups.
“But we’ll ensure we are prepared as best we can for every circumstance and game.”
The Group Stage games are to be played in a round-robin, home-and-away format from September 17 to December 5.
Should the Sky Blues make it through the group stage by finishing in the top two of the group they will progress to the round of 16 for a two legged knock out completion which takes place in February 2025.
This will be followed by the quarter-finals on March 4, 2025 and semi-finals in April 2025, before the tournament culminates in a single-leg Final on May 17, 2025.
The inaugural contest will net the winner at least USD $3.28 million plus a slot in the following season’s AFC Champions League Elite.
For more details on the full draw head here.
Head here for details on the western part of the AFC competition.
