RSL clubs discover route to AFC Champions League Elite glory | OneFootball

Roshn Saudi League clubs have had their path laid out to AFC Champions League Elite success, with the draw for the latter stages of the continent's premier club prize made in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

RSL champions Al Hilal, currently second in the 2024-25 standings, were pitted against South Korea’s Gwangju FC in next month’s quarter-finals, while they could then meet Saudi Arabian counterparts Al Ahli in the last four.

The Jeddah club, unbeaten in this year’s rebranded continental competition, first take on Thailand’s Buriram United in the last eight.

Fifth at present in the RSL, Al Ahli will be hoping to make use of home-city advantage in their quest for continental glory: the entire latter stages of the rebranded tournament take place in Jeddah.

On the other side of the draw, and completing the Saudi set, Al Nassr have been drawn in the quarter-final against last year’s runners-up Yokohama F.Marinos. Should Cristiano Ronaldo’s side get past the Japanese club, they will then face in the last four either Qatar’s Al Sadd or Kawasaki Frontale of Japan.

Intriguingly, the make-up of the draw keeps alive the chances of an all-RSL final. In a change from the traditional AFC Champions League format, all remaining matches will be single clashes instead of two-legged encounters.

The quarter-finals kick off on April 25, with the final scheduled for May 3, at Alinma Stadium.

Al Hilal are record champions of Asia, with four titles. Meanwhile, the Riyadh club sit four points behind current RSL leaders Al Ittihad with nine rounds of the 2024-25 season remaining. The Saudi top flight has paused for the international break and returns on April 4 with .