Asia’s revamped 2-tier Champions League will get time to develop, football bosses say
Hong Kong club side Eastern to take on Kaya Iloilo of the Philippines at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday
Asian football’s revamped club competitions will be given time to develop before further amendments are considered, the continent’s most senior official said as the Asian Champions League Elite reaches the halfway point of its league phase.
The Asian Football Confederation reconfigured its club tournament line-up ahead of the campaign that started in September, in an effort to encourage fresh investment with a more streamlined top tier and greater inclusion in the schedule.
The opening phase, which recommences on Monday, has teams play eight matches using the Swiss league system, meaning clubs do not play the same opponent twice during the first round. Officials want to give the set-up time to establish itself.
“It’s a new concept, a new model so we need to see how it goes before we make any more changes,” Windsor John, the AFC’s general secretary, told Reuters. “It’s already a huge change for the clubs, for the fans and so on. Until we see it being tried and tested, only then can we make tweaks or changes.
“If we are going to make changes they can only happen after at least five years. Change for the sake of changing is not good, without proper data and statistics.”
The AFC Champions League Elite event has been reduced to 24 clubs from 40, while the new AFC Champions League Two features teams from Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia playing alongside clubs from lower-ranked nations for the first time.
