AFC Champions League (East) to be played in Doha from Nov. 18

Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 9 (IANS): The remaining matches of the AFC Champions League (East) will be played in Doha, Qatar from November 18 to December 13, the Asian Football Confederation announced on Friday.

The league, which was suspended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will resume from the group stage and continue through the Round of 16 to the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The final, will be played on December 19 at an as yet undecided venue.

“We are extremely grateful for the outstanding support of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) and are pleased that we can now build on the success of the AFC Champions League (West) while looking forward to the remaining exciting matches in Asia’s premier club competition,” Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said in a statement.

“We recognise the huge amount of work undertaken by the QFA, in conjunction with the AFC, the Qatar Local Authorities and Ministries, to ensure the smooth delivery of the AFC Champions League (West) and we look forward to a similarly positive collaboration for the AFC Champions League (East),” he added.

West zone games were moved to Qatar where they resumed last month.

QFA Secretary General Mansoor Alansari said that they would be providing a safe environment for the AFC in order to complete the league and they also look forward to hosting the leading clubs from the East Zone during November and December.

“Qatar knows how important football is to Asia so is pleased to be able to offer the world-class sporting infrastructure and operational and health and safety expertise that exists in the country to allow for the resumption of competitive continental football once again,” Alansari said.