The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has released updated schedules for the restart of the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup.
Group stage matches for Groups A-D in the Champions League will be played on September 14-24. Groups E-H will play their matches in October and finish before November 1. The Final of the Champions League is now scheduled for December 5.
AFC Cup group stage matches will start from September 23 and will be finished by November 4. The Final is set for December 12 – the winner will qualify for the Champions League in 2021.
Both the Champions League and AFC Cup will be played in hubs. The locations of the centralised groups will be confirmed by the AFC at a later date.
Group stage matches for both tournaments will be played in full, however finals matches will now be single match ties instead of home and away fixtures.
“The AFC Administration has been in constant dialogue with our Mas (Member Associations), Leagues and Clubs in recent weeks so that we can establish a clear picture of the opportunities that exist in each MA,” Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary said.
“I would like to thank all our stakeholders, including our MAs, the Leagues and Clubs as well as our Commercial and Broadcast Partners, once again for their understanding and patience as well as loyalty and commitment to Asian football during what continues to be a difficult and uncertain time in the history of our game.
“Notwithstanding the challenging times, I am delighted that we are seeing more encouraging progress on the return of many domestic Leagues to the field and with them comes an expectation that we can conclude both the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup in the coming months.”
There are three Australian teams competing in the 2020 AFC Champions League. Melbourne Victory is third in Group E with one win and one loss. Perth Glory is last in Group F with one loss, while Sydney FC sits in third place of Group H with a draw and a loss.
The AFC also announced dates for national team and Futsal tournaments. The U-19 Championship will be played in Uzbekistan between October 14 to 31. The AFC Futsal Championship will be played in Turkmenistan from November 4 to 15.
