December 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has moved its AFC Champions League 2022 Round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-final centralised matches in the West region as well as the two-legged Final.
Originally scheduled from February 3-4, 2023 , the round of 16 wil now be played February 19-20, while the quarter-finals will be held on February 23 before the semi-final is staged on February 26.
The centralised venue for the West zone matches has still to be announced.
Meanwhile, the first leg of the Final will be played on April 29, 2023, in the West Region whilst the second leg of the Final will be held on May 6, 2023, in Saitama, Japan at the ground of Urawa Red Diamonds, the already qualified finalist from the East Region.
The AFC is in the process of transitioning its new club competition calendar, taking effect in full from 2023, as it moves away from its current Spring-Autumn calendar year season to following the Autumn-Spring calendar of the European season.
The AFC Champions League 2023/24 will open with the Preliminary Stage 1 on August 8, 2023, with the Group Stage being played from September 18 to December 13, 2023, and with a return to home and away fixtures rather than playing at the centralised venues.
The shift is a major restructuring of the AFC’s competition calendar with the aim of making its club sides and national teams more competitive internationally.
For clubs it will allow a greater synchronisation of transfer windows and improved chances for Asian clubs to sign better players, as well as providing a more even distribution of club matches over the year to maintain a balance with National Team matches.
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