The draw for the 2009 Asian Champions League has been held in Dubai. The 2009 ACL will include 32 teams, four more than last year. China will be represented by three teams.
A ball juggling act greeted the guests before the official ceremony. The main guest was the Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed Bin Hammam.
The first team drawn in Group A was Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia. AFC pool the west and east Asian teams separately. 30 of the teams get automatic spots. The remaining two will be decided after play-offs. Two-time champions Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia were drawn with Esteghlal of Iran, Al Jazira of the UAE and Qatar's Umm Salal in a high quality Group C.
Defending champions Gamba Osaka of Japan earned their berth at the very last moment. They are with South Korea's FC Seoul, Shandong Luneng of China and Indonesian side Sri Wijaya. China's Beijing Guoan were in Group E and Shanghai Shenhua in Group G. After the draw, Mohammed Bin Hammam unveiled the new 2009 ACL 2009 trophy in Dubai.
(CCTV January 9, 2009)
