The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced the confirmation of the centralised venues for the AFC Champions League 2021 Group Stage, after what it described as “an extensive feedback exercise with its Participating Member Associations, commercial partners and all relevant stakeholders.”
Saudi Arabia, India and the UAE are set to host the group stage games in the West Region, which are to be played between the 14th and 30th of April.
Three of the groups are slated to be hosted in Saudi Arabia: Groups A and D will be will be based in Riyadh, while Group C’s games will be played in Jeddah. The UAE city of Sharjah will host Group B, while Goa, India will be the venue for Group E.
QSL clubs Al Duhail, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan have secured automatic group stage spots and are set to play in Groups C, D and E respectively. A fourth Qatari club, Al Gharafa, could join them if they successfully navigate their play-off fixture with Uzbekistan’s AGMK on April. In case they go through, Al Gharafa will play in Group A.
Meanwhile, the AFC has decided to postpone the East Region’s group stage matches, originally planned for April 21 – May 7, to June/July 2021, after considering the existing travel restrictions and quarantine challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thailand has been confirmed as the host for Groups F, G and J, with the venues for Groups H and I as well as the exact dates for all Groups to be decided and communicated in due course. The Preliminary and Playoff matches of the AFC Champions League 2021 (East) are also postponed and will be played in centralised venues of their respective Group Stage matches.
