Persepolis, Sepahan among four Iranian clubs in AFC Champions League
Persian Gulf Pro League champion Persepolis will be joined by Sepahan, Nassaji Mazandaran, and Tractor in the next AFC Champions League (ACL) season.
The Asian Football Federation on Thursday unveiled the eligible teams for the continent’s elite clubs competition and the four Iranian sides as well as Golgohar Sirjan and Foolad Khuzestan were “licensed with sanctions.”
Two-time Asian champion Esteghlal, which lifted the Iranian top-flight trophy in the 2021/22 season, was excluded from the prestigious tournament after failing to meet the AFC’s club licensing requirements.
Persepolis, Sepahan, and Nassaji are awarded a direct slot in the group stage of the event, while Tractor will have to secure a group berth through the playoff round.
A run of seven successive wins saw Persepolis pip Sepahan to the league title by a single point in May – the Reds’ sixth Pro League crown in seven years – before Yahya Golmohammadi’s men defeated archrival Esteghlal 2-1 in extra time for the Iranian Hazfi Cup trophy, completing a second domestic league and cup double in four years.
The Tehran Reds – ACL finalist in 2018 and 2020 – will be back in the competition after missing out on the last edition due to club licensing shortcomings.
Sepahan, beaten in the 2007 final, represented the country last season, only to see its campaign come to an end in the group stage.
Minnow side Nassaji, which only won promotion to the domestic top-tier league in 2018, is gearing up for a maiden international appearance, thanks to a Hazfi Cup triumph in 2022 – a first trophy in the 64-year history of the northern Iranian club.
Tractor, meanwhile, will replace Esteghlal at the event courtesy of a fourth-spot finish in the league, which came after an impressive run under Spanish head coach Paco Jémez in the second half of the campaign.
The Tabriz-based club will host the winner of the preliminary-round encounter between the Emirati club Sharjah and Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings in a west region playoff on August 22.
The new season of the AFC Champions League will be staged across dual calendar years for the first time, with the group stage taking place from September 18 to December 13.
The expanded event will see 40 teams being divided across 10 groups in the west and east regions.
The knockout stage will be held from February 12 to April 24, 2024, before the two-legged final is staged on May 11 and 18, 2024.