March 19 – The inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League 2024/25 has reached the quarter finals stage with matches to be played on Saturday, March 22, between the eight teams from eight different nations.
From an initial 13 teams in the groups, the qualifiers now move to the knockout stage with matches played as single ties.
Four of the qualified clubs are in their first season of AFC club competition: Abu Dhabi Country Club (UAE), Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC (Vietnam), Melbourne City FC (Australia) and Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC (China).
With two appearances each in the AFC Women’s Club Championship, South Korea’s Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC and Bam Khatoon FC from Iran have the most experience at international club level and face each other in the first of the quarter finals.
The Red Angels topped Group A. Domestically they achieved their 11th WK League title in 2023 but finished fourth in 2024. Bam Khatoon, founded in 1980, won their 11th domestic league crown and fourth in a row last month. They finished second in group B.
Reigning Vietnam Women’s National League champions and Group C runners-up Ho Chi Minh City Women’s welcome Group A runners-up Abu Dhabi Country Club.
The United Arab Emirates’ first professional women’s team are one of two clubs to have progressed to the last eight from the Preliminary Stage along with Bam Khatoon and are currently set for an 11th UAE Women’s Football League crown with an unbeaten record from 10 league matches in the 2024/25 season. They have won the UAE title in each of the 12 seasons it has been played
Melbourne City FC are undefeated in their league this season after 19 games, and advanced from Group B by winning all three matches. They are home to Taichung Blue Whale Women’s Football Team of Chinese Taipei, who lifted their record fifth Mulan Football League trophy in 2023 and finished second in the 2024/25 campaign.
The last quarter-final battle sees Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies will play host to China’s Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC. The Red Diamonds have yet to concede a goal, having scored 21 enroute to topping Group C. They were AFC Women’s Club Champions in 2023
Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC won a record fifth consecutive Chinese Women’s Super League triumph in 2024 with victory in their final match to underline their domestic dominance.
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