July 17 – 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar will act as the regional hub for matches involving clubs from West Asia in the AFC Champions League, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced.
The AFC has rejigged the logistics, but largely maintained the format of its flagship club competition that was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The competition is scheduled to resume on September 14 and will run through October 3 with the group stages and single match ties in the knockout stages. The West Asian zone includes Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Uzbekistan.
Teams in the four groups in the West Zone have played two matches so far and have four to play to complete the groups.
The AFC is still to pick a venue in East Asia, where clubs from China, Thailand, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia are involved in the competition. In the eastern part of Asia, the Champions League will only return on October 16. Some clubs in the East have yet to start their Champions League campaigns.
“Member Associations have until July 24, 2020 to submit their interest to host the AFC Champions League matches in the East Zone,” said the AFC in a statement.
The AFC has planned the competition’s final for December 5. The winner qualifies as the AFC’s representative to this December’s Club World Cup in Qatar.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1735188248labto1735188248ofdlr1735188248owedi1735188248sni@o1735188248fni1735188248
