The Newcastle Jets face a challenging campaign in the Asian Champions League Elite, landing a very tricky draw for the $17 million tournament which includes all five qualified Japanese teams and a reunion with Eli Adams just months after he moved overseas.
The reigning premiers learned their fate in a Tuesday night draw held in Kuala Lumpur, where all eight matches for their league phase were booked in.
First up, the Jets will travel to Japan to face Kashima Antlers, who won the tournament in 2018, on Tuesday 15 September.
The club’s first home match in the campaign will be against Adams’ Gamba Osaka on Tuesday, 13 October. Details on ticketing for that clash at McDonald Jones Stadium have yet to be announced.
The rest of the Elite schedule is as follows:
- Kashima away — 8 PM, Tuesday, 15 September
- Gamba Osaka at home — 5.45 PM, Tuesday, 13 October
- Kyoto Sanga away — 8 PM, Tuesday, 27 October
- Shanghai Port at home — 5.45 PM, Tuesday, 3 November
- Kashiwa Reysol at home — 5.45 PM, Tuesday, 24 November
- Vissel Kobe away — 8 PM, Tuesday, 1 December
- Johor Darul Ta’Zim at home — 5.45 PM, Tuesday, 9 February, 2027
- Beijing Guoan away — 8 PM, Tuesday, 16 February, 2027
Head coach Mark Milligan has an interesting challenge in the groups, going head-to-head with fellow Australian managers Kevin Muscat (who is helming Shanghai) and Nick Montgomery (Beijing).
Just qualifying for the tournament has netted the Jets a guaranteed $1.2 million, but there’s up to $17 million on the line for the winner.
In addition to receiving that sizeable fee for winning the competition, the eventual winners of the ACL Elite can secure illustrious spots in the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
This is the first time the Jets have competed in the top Asian league since 2009. The club reached the Round of 16 in that campaign.
The first matchday for the Asian glamour comp will be on 14 September.
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