How to watch and live stream AFC Champions League soccer in 2025

GOAL's all-you-need-to-know guide on how to watch the AFC Champions League.

The most prestigious tournament in Asian soccer, the AFC Champions League, has really heated up in recent years as a cluster of world-class stars arrive in Saudi Arabia to try and transform the world of soccer as we know it.

More attention than ever before is on the competition and it can often be a real clash of styles as the very technical outfits from Japan and South Korea meet the more European-like style of Saudi and Qatar, where the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and managers such as Steven Gerrard are plying their trade.

It makes for an incredibly intriguing competition, which is why so many of us are looking to tune in and watch and live stream AFC Champions League soccer.

The Asian Cup is only available to watch through the CBS Sports network, with the channel having the rights to the 2024-25 tournament. The network will show every game from the Group Stages right through to the final.

Which channels have the rights to AFC Champions League soccer?

There’s only one place to watch AFC Champions League soccer at present in the United States and that’s with CBS Sports. The network allows soccer fans to watch every minute of the competition through streaming on Paramount+, while they also broadcast selected matches live across their TV channels.

CBS has the rights until the end of the 2024-25 season when it will be up for negotiation. At present CBS Sports also has the broadcasting rights to the AFC Asian Cup and AFC Cup, two other prestigious competitions on the continent.

Upcoming AFC Champions League TV schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Streaming Link
March 3, 2025	11:00 AM	Esteghlal v Al Nassr	Paramount+
March 3, 2025	01:00 PM	Al Wasl v Al Sadd SC	Paramount+
March 4, 2025	07:00 AM	Shanghai Port v Yokohama F. Marinos	Paramount+
March 4, 2025	09:00 AM	Buriram United F.C. v Johor Darul Ta'zim	Paramount+
March 4, 2025	11:00 AM	Pakhtakor Tashkent FK v Al-Hilal	Paramount+
March 4, 2025	01:00 PM	Al Rayyan v Al-Ahli	Paramount+
March 5, 2025	05:00 AM	Vissel Kobe v Gwangju FC	Paramount+
March 5, 2025	07:00 AM	Shanghai Shenhua v Kawasaki Frontale	Paramount+
March 10, 2025	02:00 PM	Al Nassr v Esteghlal	Paramount+
March 10, 2025	02:00 PM	Al Sadd SC v Al Wasl	Paramount+
March 11, 2025	06:00 AM	Yokohama F. Marinos v Shanghai Port	Paramount+
March 11, 2025	08:00 AM	Johor Darul Ta'zim v Buriram United F.C.	Paramount+
March 11, 2025	02:00 PM	Al-Hilal v Pakhtakor Tashkent FK	Paramount+
March 11, 2025	02:00 PM	Al-Ahli v Al Rayyan	Paramount+
March 12, 2025	06:00 AM	Kawasaki Frontale v Shanghai Shenhua	Paramount+
March 12, 2025	06:00 AM	Gwangju FC v Vissel Kobe	Paramount+

Best TV packages to watch AFC Champions League soccer

Essentially, what you need is a package that provides you with CBS sports. There are several TV and streaming packages available for you to receive this, all coming in at different costs, so it’s about finding the most cost-effective for you.

Getty Images / GOAL
Paramount+
Paramount+ is a non-contract streaming service that is priced at $7.99 per month for the basic package, which means you’ll get commercial interruptions in any of the on-demand content you watch, while the $11.99 option will remove that for you.
You can save money by subscribing for a year, which will cost you $79.99 or $119.99 per year.
Alongside the AFC Champions League, you can also stream the UEFA Champions League and other UEFA competitions as well as the AFC Asian Cup and AFC Cup, amongst other top sporting events.
Watch the AFC Champions League on Paramount+
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The Bottom Line & FAQs
The Bottom Line
For fans wanting to watch the AFC Champions League, or indeed the other AFC competitions provided to US viewers, then Paramount+ is a no-brainer. It’s only $5.99 per month and also includes UEFA club competitions to watch.
AFC Champions League FAQs
When does the AFC Champions League take place?
The AFC Champions League follows in much the same way as the soccer season across Asia and Europe, with the qualifying rounds getting underway in August, before the competition proper, from the Group Stage through to the Final taking place in September through to May the following year.
How does a team qualify for the AFC Champions League?
All 47 AFC member associations have the opportunity for teams to qualify for the competition, with 40 teams getting to enter the Competition proper.
How teams qualify varies, but the associations are split across two regions, the West Region and the East Region. Slots are allocated to associations based on their teams’ performances in AFC competitions over the previous four years, with the top 12 nations in each region then able to enter teams into the Champions League.
How teams then qualify is through league position in domestic competition, as well as winning major cups, for example, the King Cup in Saudi Arabia or the Emperor’s Cup in Japan.
How did Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr qualify for the AFC Champions League?
Cristiano Ronaldo has been enjoying life in the AFC Champions League this season, with his side, Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia qualifying as they finished runners-up in the Saudi Professional League in the 2022/23 season.
When did the AFC Champions League start?
The AFC Champions League was formed in 1967 as a major competition for teams across Asia. It was rebranded as the Champions League in 2002 and has seen sides from across Saudi Arabia, China, South Korea and Japan, win it since.
Which team has won the most AFC Champions League titles?
Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, the club which Neymar currently represents, have won the most titles with four. They last won the competition in 2021, before Urawa Red Diamonds took the crown last season, their third in total.
Japanese and South Korean clubs tend to fare well, with Ulsan Hyundai and Kashima Antlers also winning in recent years. Only one Australian side has won the competition, the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014.

Which channels have the rights to AFC Champions League soccer?

Upcoming AFC Champions League TV schedule

Best TV packages to watch AFC Champions League soccer

Paramount+

The Bottom Line & FAQs