Asia's Champions League will resume in September at Centralized Venues

Sports

July 9th, 9:02am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia celebrate victory in last year's AFC Champions League final against Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds. AFP

Asia's Champions League will resume in September with remaining group games played at centralized venues and a single-leg final in December, officials said Thursday following a six-month pause caused by the new coronavirus. The continental club championship, featuring 32 teams stretching from Saudi Arabia in the west to Japan in the East, was suspended in March after just a handful of matches as travel restrictions kicked in across Asia to contain the pandemic. Chinese clubs Shanghai SIPG, Shanghai Shenhua and Guangzhou Evergrande are yet to play any group stage match after travel restrictions were imposed on teams from China, where the virus was first reported. But with the pandemic starting to ease in many countries, the AFC Thursday announced new dates for the competition, AFP reported. The four rounds of West Zone group stage matches for teams largely based in the Middle East will be crammed into 11 days from September 14 to 24 at a centralized venue still to be named. The East Zone has a greater match backlog and aim to complete their group fixtures from October 16 to November 1 also in a centralized venue yet to be named. The knockout phase will start immediately after the group stage is completed with matches reduced to one leg. The final be on December 5. Football is gradually resuming around the world after closing down because of the virus.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2379696/asias-champions-league-will-resume-september-centralized-venues