Doha, Qatar: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) yesterday confirmed that all remaining knockout matches in its club competitions across the West Region will be played as single-leg ties at centralised venues, citing ongoing tensions in West Asia.
The decision follows the temporary postponement of fixtures earlier this month.
In a statement, the AFC said the revised format will apply to all remaining knockout fixtures, with matches now to be decided over a single leg rather than the traditional home-and-away format.
The Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite West Region will be held on April 13 and 14 at King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
The fixtures will precede the AFC Champions League Elite Finals, scheduled from April 16 to 25 in the same city.
To ease scheduling pressures, the AFC also confirmed that the quarterfinals and semifinals of the AFC Champions League Two and AFC Challenge League will be played as single-leg ties on April 19 and 22, with venues to be announced.
In the Round of 16 of the ACL Elite, Qatar’s Al Sadd SC will take on Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC, while Al Duhail SC face Al Ahli Saudi FC.
