Doha: The opening round of the 2025-2026 AFC club competitions concluded with challenging results for Qatar's representatives in both the elite and secondary tiers. In the AFC Champions League 2, Al Ahli was held to a 0-0 draw by Bahrain's Al Khaldiya at Thumama Stadium on Wednesday. The other match in Group 2 mirrored this result, as Turkmenistan's Arkadag played out a scoreless draw with Uzbekistan's Andijan. This leaves all four teams tied with a single point heading into the second round of matches on October 1st, where Al Ahli will face Andijan away from home.

The focus then shifts to the premier competition, the AFC Champions League Elite, where the West region provided dramatic storylines. Al Duhail fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Al Hilal in Riyadh on Tuesday after initially taking the lead. Earlier, Al Gharafa lost a thrilling encounter 4-3 to the UAE's Al Sharjah despite having held a two-goal advantage, while Al Sadd secured a valuable 1-1 draw with Iraq's Al Shorta in Baghdad. Other results saw the UAE's Al Wahda defeat Saudi's Al Ittihad 2-1, and Saudi's Al Ahli overcome Uzbekistan's Nasaf 4-2.

The standings after Round 1 see Saudi's Al Ahli top the table on goal difference. Al Sadd sits mid-table with a point, while Al Gharafa and Al Duhail are among the teams yet to get off the mark. The quest for points continues on September 29th and 30th for the second round of fixtures, featuring key matches for Qatari sides. In the ACLE, each team will play a total of eight matches, with the top eight from the West and East regions advancing to the round of 16 in March 2026. The final stages will be played in a centralized format in Saudi Arabia the following April.