KUALA LUMPUR (Kyodo) The Asian Football Confederation on Thursday named Japan as the host for the one-off final of the revamped Asian Champions League next year.
Japan was selected for the final to be played in early November because of the country's ability to promote the continent's premier club competition and arouse regional interest, AFC officials said. Japanese officials hope to stage the 2009 final at National Stadium in Tokyo.
The ACL final has traditionally been played over two legs on a home-and-away basis. The 2008 final pits Gamba Osaka against Adelaide United of Australia on Nov. 5 and 12.
The AFC also approved a plan to allow each team in the ACL to field a maximum of four foreign players, one of whom must be from an AFC member country, following in the steps of the J. League, which will introduce a similar system next season.