Asian Champions League Elite to be moved to Jeddah

Four Asian Champions League Elite series that were postponed due to the war in the Middle East will be moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and played on a single-leg basis next month, the Asian Football Confederation said on Tuesday.

The last-16 matches had originally been scheduled to be played in Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on a home-and-away basis in the first two weeks of March. Those matches will now be held on April 13 and 14 as single legs ahead of the tournament’s finals stage.

Defending champions Al-Ahli are scheduled to take on Al-Duhail from Qatar while four-time champions Al-Hilal face Al-Sadd. Shabab Al-Ahli from the UAE plays Iran’s Tractor FC and Al-Wahda meets Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad.

Jeddah had already been scheduled to host the quarterfinals, semifinals and final with matches running from April 16-25. Last-16 matches on the Eastern side of the draw have already been played, with Japanese sides Vissel Kobe and Machida Zelvia joined in the quarterfinals by Thailand’s Buriram United and Johor Darul Ta’zim from Malaysia. The draw for the quarterfinals will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. The AFC Champions League Two and AFC Challenge League quarterfinals were also postponed due to the Mideast war. The AFC said Tuesday that those matches will be played on April 19 and 22 at centralised venues to be named at a later date.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al-Nassr is among the teams involved in the Asian Champions League Two competition.