The stage is set for the draw for the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Elite, with Saudi Arabian giants Al-Nassr seeded one tier above rivals Al-Hilal ahead of Tuesday’s ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed the draw mechanism for the expanded league phase, which will feature 32 clubs divided equally between the West and East regions.

In each region, 16 teams will be split into four pots of four. Every club will play eight matches against eight different opponents, with four games at home and four away. Clubs will not face teams from their own national association during the league phase.

Al-Nassr, returning to the competition after missing last season’s edition, have been placed in Pot 2 alongside Uzbekistan’s Neftchi, Iraq’s Air Force Club and UAE side Shabab Al-Ahli.

Al-Hilal, one of the most successful clubs in Asian football, are in Pot 3 alongside Qatar’s Al-Gharafa, Iran’s Tractor and UAE club Al-Wasl.

Defending champions Al-Ahli headline Pot 1, alongside Al-Ain of the UAE, Qatar’s Al-Sadd and Iran’s Esteghlal.

Pot 4 consists of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ittihad, Qatar’s Al-Shamal and Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor.

The draw will use a fixed grid rather than individually selecting eight opponents for each club. Teams will be placed into four columns, with the position determining their home and away opponents.

The AFC has also introduced country-protection measures to ensure clubs from the same national association are not placed in positions that would result in them meeting during the league phase.

The East Region will follow the same format, with clubs including Kashima Antlers, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Buriram United, Shanghai Port, Vissel Kobe and Pohang Steelers among the participants.

The top eight teams from each region will advance to the Round of 16, which is scheduled to take place from March 1 to 17, 2027.

The competition will then move to Saudi Arabia for a centralised final stage, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final scheduled from April 23 to May 1, 2027.

Al-Ahli will begin their title defence seeking to make history by becoming the first club to win the revamped AFC Champions League Elite three times in succession.

The draw takes place on Tuesday, August 18, at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, with the outcome set to determine the first major matchups of the new Asian club season.

Fan in Afghanistan can meanwhile tune in on Tuesday, August 18, at 12.30pm Kabul time to watch the draw live and exclusively on Ariana Television.

FIFA has released new figures highlighting the enormous logistical and operational effort behind the FIFA World Cup 2026, describing the tournament as the biggest sporting event in history.

The expanded 48-team tournament was staged across Canada, Mexico and the United States over 39 days, featuring 104 matches in 16 Host Cities.

A total of 1,248 players competed before a cumulative stadium attendance of more than 6.8 million spectators.

According to FIFA, delivering the tournament required operations on an unprecedented scale, with 645 official sites across North America and nearly 300,000 accredited personnel supporting every aspect of the competition.

More than 43,000 volunteers, 73,700 accredited security personnel and 2,500 FIFA workforce members from 104 nationalities helped ensure the tournament ran smoothly.

Security operations involved more than one million shifts, while accreditation systems processed over five million scans across tournament venues.

The tournament also presented a major logistical challenge, with teams and officials travelling across three countries.

FIFA recorded 11,337 team movements during the competition, while approximately 300,000 square metres of specially grown sod were used for stadium pitches and training facilities.

The media operation was equally extensive. The International Broadcast Centre in Dallas served as the hub for global television coverage, with production teams using around 5,000 cameras and creating more than 24,000 pieces of content to broadcast every match to audiences worldwide.

FIFA also released figures illustrating the scale of fan services and stadium operations. During the tournament, supporters purchased nearly 675,000 hot dogs, more than 4.6 million soft drinks and bottled waters inside stadiums.

Beyond the match venues, FIFA Fan Festivals attracted more than nine million visitors across North America, while the organisation’s “Know Before You Go” communications programme sent more than 2,300 WhatsApp messages and 7.7 million emails to help fans navigate the tournament.

FIFA said the newly published statistics provide an insight into the scale and complexity of organising the expanded World Cup, noting that the figures are preliminary and that additional facts and operational data will be added to its World Cup Organisation resources in the coming months.

Zinedine Zidane has been appointed head coach of the France men’s national football team, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Tuesday.

The 54-year-old takes over from Didier Deschamps, who stepped down following the 2026 FIFA World Cup after leading France for 14 years.

Zidane’s appointment comes after France’s disappointing campaign at the tournament in North America. Widely regarded as one of the favourites, Les Bleus were eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals before losing to England in the third-place playoff.

The former France captain returns to coaching for the first time since leaving Real Madrid in 2021, where he enjoyed one of the most successful managerial spells in modern football.

“I have often said there is nothing greater than the French national team. It is therefore a joy and obviously a great honor to become the coach of France. It is also a responsibility,” Zidane said in a statement released by the FFF.

“I want to thank President Philippe Diallo, the Executive Committee and the French Football Federation for their trust and salute the fourteen years of Didier and his staff. I also have a special thought today for all my teachers. Needless to say, I have a lot of ambition for the French team.”

As a player, Zidane is regarded as one of France’s greatest footballers. He inspired the country to its first FIFA World Cup title in 1998, scoring twice in the 3-0 victory over Brazil in the final, before helping France win the UEFA European Championship in 2000.

His international playing career ended in dramatic fashion when he was sent off during the 2006 World Cup final against Italy following his infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi.

Zidane now aims to emulate Deschamps by winning the World Cup as both a player and a coach.

Speaking at his unveiling, Zidane said coaching the French national team had always been his ambition.

“It’s a continuation for me, a dream come true. Over the last four or five years, I’ve received offers to lead a club and I rejected them all for the France national team. It’s the only thing I’ve wanted to do,” he said.

Zidane brings an outstanding club coaching record to the role. During two spells in charge of Real Madrid, he guided the Spanish giants to three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, two La Liga championships and two FIFA Club World Cup trophies.

His immediate challenge will be preparing France for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, with a squad featuring attacking stars including Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola.

“We’ll be doing things differently. Deschamps is Deschamps, Zidane is Zidane. I will do what I know how to do,” he said. “I guarantee continuity so that the French national team keeps winning.”