Reigning Ninja A-League Premiers Melbourne City are set to face Taichung Blue Whale Women’s Football Team to begin the knockout phase of of the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League.
The official draw for the competition’s Quarter-Finals took place at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Michael Matricciani’s side went unbeaten through the group stage, defeating Bam Khatoon 2-1, BG College of Asian Scholars 3-0 and ending Kaya FC-Iloilo 4-0 to top Group B and progress to the final eight.
City have been confirmed as the host club for the quarter-final, but the venue, date and kick-off time for the fixture are yet to be confirmed.
QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Melbourne City FC (AUS) v Taichung Blue Whale (TPE)
Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC (KOR) v Bam Khatoon FC (IRN)
Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC (VIE) v Abu Dhabi Country Club (UAE)
Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (JPN) v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC (CHN)
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The knockout stage will follow the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final format.
The four Quarter-Final matchups will be confirmed via a draw, with the higher-ranked team of each tie to serve as the home side. The Quarter-Finals will be single-leg encounters and take place between March 22 and 23.
Then comes the Finals: between May 21 and 24, the four Semi-Finalists will assemble in a centralised location (TBC) for both of the single-leg Semis as well as the Final.
There’s significant financial incentive for City as the Ninja A-League’s representative in the 2024-25 Women’s Champions League campaign, with the winner of the inaugural edition of the tournament set to take home at least USD 1.3 million (roughly AUD 1.95 million).
City have secured automatic qualification to the group stage, which is great news for the Ninja A-League side as each group stage participant is set to receive an automatic prize of USD 100,000 (roughly AUD 150,000).
Should City reach the Quarter-Finals, an additional USD 80,000 (AUD 120,000) would go the way of Dario Vidosic’s side.
City would receive a further USD 120,000 (AUD 180,000) for reaching the Semi-Finals – and should the Ninja A-League side make the final but fall short, the runners-up would receive an additional USD 500,000 (AUD 750,000). The winners would receive an additional USD 1 million (AUD 1.5 million), taking the winning club’s total winnings to USD 1.3 million (AUD 1.95 million).
