KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) have moved up to third place in the 2024/25 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACL Elite) Eastern Zone league standings, following the withdrawal of Chinese club Shandong Taishan FC.
JDT had already qualified for the Round of 16 after finishing fourth and was scheduled to play South Korea’s Gwangju FC in the knockout stages.
However, with the withdrawal of Shandong, JDT has moved up the standings, and according to the competition format, the Southern Tigers are expected to take on Thailand’s Buriram United in the Round 16.
The 2015 AFC Cup champions and 10-time consecutive Super League champions have recorded four wins, two draws, and one loss.
Two Japanese clubs, Yokohama F. Marinos and Kawasaki Frontale, are in the top two positions with 18 points and 15 points, respectively.
Completing the top eight teams that have qualified for the Round of 16 of the tournament are Gwangju FC from South Korea, Vissel Kobe (Japan), as well as two Chinese representatives, Shanghai Shenhua FC and Shanghai Port FC.
Yesterday, the AFC confirmed that Shandong Taishan is deemed to have withdrawn from the competition under Article 5.2 of the Competition Regulations after notifying them of its decision not to participate in the group stage match against Ulsan HD FC from South Korea, scheduled for yesterday. – February 20, 2025