The 2024-25 season of AFC continental play brings a brand new era of Asian club football to life, with four J.League participants taking part in the AFC Champions League Elite and the AFC Champions League 2.

The AFC Champions League Elite will use the Swiss model for their league stage, with the East and West regions being placed into single tables of 12 clubs each. Each team will play eight league stage matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight finishers in each region advancing to the knockout stages.

Vissel Kobe, who earned their place in the Elite tournament by virtue of their 2023 Meiji Yasuda J1 League title, lead the J.League contingent into the competition. They are joined by last year's J1 runners-up Yokohama F·Marinos and 2023 Emperor’s Cup winner Kawasaki Frontale.

The three J.League teams in the AFC’s top competition will all play the same eight opponents in the league stage: Thailand’s Buriram United, China’s Shandong Taishan, Shanghai Port and Shanghai Shenhua, South Korea’s Ulsan HD, Pohang Steelers and Gwangju FC, and Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.

The AFC Champions League Elite begins on September 17 and the league stage will run through February 19.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima qualified for the AFC Champions League 2 by finishing third in the 2023 J1 table. The tournament is using a traditional four-team group stage format, with each team playing the other three in their group home and away and the top two advancing.

The Viola were drawn into Group E with Australia’s Sydney FC, Philippines’ Kaya-Iloilo and Hong Kong’s Eastern Sports Club.

The group stage kicks off on September 17 and concludes on December 5.