Asia’s revamped club competitions will get time to develop, says AFC

KUALA LUMPUR – Asian football’s revamped club competitions will be given time to develop before further amendments are considered, said the continent’s most senior official, as the Asian Champions League Elite reaches the halfway point of its league phase.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 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 Nov 4, has teams playing 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 Asian Champions League Elite event has been reduced to 24 clubs from 40 sides, while the new Asian Champions League Two features 32 teams – clubs from Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia will play alongside those from lower-ranked nations for the first time.

The introduction of teams from the continent’s leading leagues into the Asian Champions League Two, which replaces the AFC Cup in the schedule, will have a long-term positive impact on the club game across the continent, John said.

“That has given a new stature to that competition where people think it’s the second tier, but it’s not second tier, it’s a top-class competition with some top-class teams playing,” he added.

“I believe only when you play with strong teams and with a variety of teams that you are able to gauge your standard and then you are able to invest in your team to prepare for the next season.

“That gives a good platform for our clubs that are playing the best teams from Saudi, Japan, Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

“They get to see that this is the standard we are looking at when we play in the Asian Champions League.

“That will hopefully improve the level domestically as well because they need to prepare for the next season if they win.” REUTERS