Hazmat suits on, star players out as Asian Champions League returns
Two-time winner Guangzhou Evergrande will have to do without star man Paulinho as the delayed Asian Champions League East returns this week with a heavy schedule of games played in "bubble" conditions in Qatar. Fifteen teams will race through 33 matches in a little over ...
Qatar will host the single leg final of this year's Asian Champions League in Doha on Dec. 19 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday. Like most other sports in the world, this year's Asian Champions League was suspended in March ...
Asian soccer's governing body said player welfare was its "main priority" after criticism from the global players' union that it had been slow to provide enough support since the coronavirus shutdown. FIFPro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann last week said the Asian Football Confederation's engagement had ...
J. League risks paying price for Asian Champions League rescheduling
The Asian Football Confederation has thrown Japanese soccer into disarray by repeatedly rescheduling the continental tournament.
AFC official 'confident' Asian Champions League will finish in 2020
Asia's top club competition has been on hold since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
J. League to play through international windows during virus-shortened season
The J. League first division will play through international windows sanctioned by FIFA when it restarts following a roughly four-month break brought about by the coronavirus crisis, J. League Chairman Mitsuru Murai said Tuesday. While the J1 normally pauses to accommodate clubs with national team ...
AFC intends to push ahead with continental competitions despite pandemic
Asia's top soccer competitions will go ahead this year despite the coronavirus pandemic, a senior official said, although games may have to be played behind closed doors. Windsor John, general secretary of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), said he was confident that the Asian Champions ...
Upcoming Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be postponed as a safety measure in response to the coronavirus crisis, FIFA said Monday. Soccer's world governing body said it had reached an agreement with the Asian Football Confederation to push back the ...
The Asian Champions League pushed back the start of its East zone knock-out rounds on Monday after the competition was severely disrupted by the spread of COVID-19. Extra dates for group games were scheduled for May and June, shunting the round of 16, which usually ...
Iran on Sunday accused Asian soccer's governing body of bias for a proposed ban on it hosting club matches, after a spate of security incidents including the downing of an airliner. "It appears that the decision of your Competitions Committee was influenced by foreign media ...
Iran's soccer federation objects Asian Champions League hosting ban
Iran's soccer federation said Friday it has been banned from hosting international matches inside the country. The "federation received a letter today from the Asian Football Confederation... announcing the decision to hold AFC Champions League matches hosted by Iranian teams in neutral countries," said a ...
Saki Kumagai, Asako Takakura win AFC honors; Qatar's Akram Afif top male player
Qatar forward Akram Afif and Japanese World Cup heroine Saki Kumagai were named Asia's men's and women's players of the year at an awards ceremony in Hong Kong on Monday. Afif, who made a record 10 assists in Qatar's shock run to the Asian Cup ...
