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AFP
Kuala Lumpur
Asia’s Champions League is getting closer to a return but it will have to wait until domestic competitions are back in action, a senior football official told AFP on Wednesday.
Football is gradually resuming around the world after closing down because of the coronavirus, although most leagues are still yet to return.
Asian Football Confederation General Secretary Windsor John said: “We are approaching closer to the return of football.”
“We have to wait for all the domestic leagues to start first,” added John, when asked about the return of the AFC’s club tournaments.
The AFC Champions League, Asia’s top club competition, and the second-tier AFC Cup have both been on hold since March, along with World Cup and Olympic qualifiers.
Of the 12 countries involved in the Champions League, South Korea is the only league back in action, with four more restarting in June or July and Thailand scheduled for September.
John said the AFC was “still in discussion” about when its competitions will restart, declining to reveal a possible date.
Time is tight for both club tournaments, with the 32-team Champions League needing to complete four rounds of group-stage matches before reaching the knock-out phase.
The Champions League and AFC Cup finals are both scheduled to take place in November.
Asked if there were any proposals to change the tournaments’ home-and-away format to avoid potential infections, John said talks were ongoing.
John said it was a “positive sign” that sport was beginning to return around the world, adding that the AFC had several contingency plans to cope with travel restrictions.
“We know that all our stakeholders, including our passionate fans and loyal sponsors are eager for the AFC’s competitions to resume,” he said.
“Our players too are equally motivated to return to the pitch to entertain and excite fans.
“But as the AFC has reiterated from the start of this pandemic, the health and wellbeing of everyone continues to remain our absolute priority.”
AFC adds: The competing member associations (MAs) representing Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand in the East Zone and Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Uzbekistan in the West Zone also committed to agreeing a format and timetable for the 99 remaining games as soon as possible.
Recognising the travel and medical restrictions, which differ across the Continent, the AFC proposed a series of options for concluding the AFC Champions League before the start of the scheduled FIFA Club World Cup to be held in Qatar in December.
The AFC is also holding a series of online meetings with the MAs involved in the AFC Cup in 2020 to agree a format to successfully complete that competition this year. Following a call on Tuesday with the West Zone, there will be further discussions with South, Central, ASEAN and East this week.
The AFC has been in regular contact with all competing MAs not only on the club competitions but also the Preliminary Joint Asian Qualifiers Round 2 and the centralised AFC U-16 and U-19 Championships and the AFC Futsal Championships.
Kuala Lumpur
Asia’s Champions League is getting closer to a return but it will have to wait until domestic competitions are back in action, a senior football official told AFP on Wednesday.
Football is gradually resuming around the world after closing down because of the coronavirus, although most leagues are still yet to return.
Asian Football Confederation General Secretary Windsor John said: “We are approaching closer to the return of football.”
“We have to wait for all the domestic leagues to start first,” added John, when asked about the return of the AFC’s club tournaments.
The AFC Champions League, Asia’s top club competition, and the second-tier AFC Cup have both been on hold since March, along with World Cup and Olympic qualifiers.
Of the 12 countries involved in the Champions League, South Korea is the only league back in action, with four more restarting in June or July and Thailand scheduled for September.
John said the AFC was “still in discussion” about when its competitions will restart, declining to reveal a possible date.
Time is tight for both club tournaments, with the 32-team Champions League needing to complete four rounds of group-stage matches before reaching the knock-out phase.
The Champions League and AFC Cup finals are both scheduled to take place in November.
Asked if there were any proposals to change the tournaments’ home-and-away format to avoid potential infections, John said talks were ongoing.
John said it was a “positive sign” that sport was beginning to return around the world, adding that the AFC had several contingency plans to cope with travel restrictions.
“We know that all our stakeholders, including our passionate fans and loyal sponsors are eager for the AFC’s competitions to resume,” he said.
“Our players too are equally motivated to return to the pitch to entertain and excite fans.
“But as the AFC has reiterated from the start of this pandemic, the health and wellbeing of everyone continues to remain our absolute priority.”
AFC adds: The competing member associations (MAs) representing Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand in the East Zone and Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Uzbekistan in the West Zone also committed to agreeing a format and timetable for the 99 remaining games as soon as possible.
Recognising the travel and medical restrictions, which differ across the Continent, the AFC proposed a series of options for concluding the AFC Champions League before the start of the scheduled FIFA Club World Cup to be held in Qatar in December.
The AFC is also holding a series of online meetings with the MAs involved in the AFC Cup in 2020 to agree a format to successfully complete that competition this year. Following a call on Tuesday with the West Zone, there will be further discussions with South, Central, ASEAN and East this week.
The AFC has been in regular contact with all competing MAs not only on the club competitions but also the Preliminary Joint Asian Qualifiers Round 2 and the centralised AFC U-16 and U-19 Championships and the AFC Futsal Championships.
