Footballers’ union Fifpro says AFC Champions League ‘unsustainable’

HONG KONG – The current Asian Champions League is “unsustainable”, the global footballers’ union Fifpro said in a report on Feb 19, accusing the regional governing body of failing to listen to players and clubs.

The continent’s top club competition is in the spotlight like never before, after Saudi Arabian teams shelled out hundreds of millions on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema.

The round of 16 began on Feb 13, three days after the Asian Cup final, which was won by hosts Qatar.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is responsible for both competitions, which span a vast area from Australia to the Middle East and Central Asia.

The current Asian Champions League is split into two zones, West and East, until a two-legged final home and away.

Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds are the reigning champions.

Next season, there will also be a geographical split at the start of the tournament. But the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be held in Saudi Arabia.

Fifpro said this remodelled version, which will see the winner take home an increased cheque of US$12 million (S$16 million), was also unsustainable.

Takuya Yamazaki, Fifpro’s chairman for Oceania-Asia, hopes its report will “spark meaningful discussions with governing bodies, leagues, clubs and fans” about the Champions League.

“The results indicate that, as anticipated, the merits do not outweigh the drawbacks for most players and clubs, making it an unsustainable system,” he said in the report.

Fifpro accused the AFC of adopting “a top-down approach that excludes the voices of players and clubs from decision-making”.

It called on the AFC to forge “a genuine partnership with players, clubs and leagues to ensure that the competition delivers for all parties”.

Among its conclusions, the 49-page report said that the average quality of teams in the Asian Champions League, which was created in 2002, was inferior to the top domestic divisions in Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

It said the average quality of the competition was also going down.

Fifpro also voiced concern about the economic cost for teams, given the long travel sometimes involved, and the effect of travel and match scheduling on the workload of players.

It said: “The AFC’s national team tournaments impose an increasingly severe burden of travel and time differences, given that many of Asia’s top players now play in Europe.

“Regarding the AFC’s international club competitions, not only do players face these same challenges, but also many clubs are participating at a financial loss, bearing various expenses that are not recovered by AFC’s subsidies or prize money.”

The Kuala Lumpur-based AFC was asked for comment but it has yet to respond to the report. AFP