Johor Darul Tazim Are in a Thirty-Two Team League Stage and It Starts on the Fourteenth
The AFC Champions League Elite league stage expands to 32 clubs for the first time since 2019 and runs to February.
The 2026-27 AFC Champions League Elite league stage begins on 14 September and runs to 8 February 2027 over eight matchdays.
The league stage carries 32 teams for the first time since 2019, split into a West region and an East region of 16 each. Clubs play inside their own region until the knockout rounds.
Johor Darul Tazim are in it as champions of the 2025-26 Malaysia Super League. They are the only Malaysian side in the league stage.
Thailand has three: Buriram United, Port and Ratchaburi, taken from the top three finishers in the Thai League.
Vietnam is represented by Cong An Ha Noi, who entered at the preliminary stage as 2025-26 V.League 1 champions rather than going straight into the group phase.
Johor Darul Tazim against Buriram United is already on sale through Malaysian ticketing, which makes it the fixture with the clearest regional pull on the opening matchdays.
The competition is the highest level of Asian club football and, unlike the domestic leagues, it runs across the merged September and October international break, so it has the calendar largely to itself in those weeks.