New Asian champions earn $12 million from club competition renewal, The winners of the new Asian Champions League Elite will pocket at least $12 million, the Asian Football Confederation said on Wednesday in a major boost for club football in the region.
The competition, which kicks off with a preliminary round in August, is at the heart of a major renewal of club football across the continent and features 27 clubs from 12 countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
The first prize is a threefold increase on the amount won by Al-Ain from the United Arab Emirates in May in the last edition of the Asian Champions League in the previous format.
Five clubs will take part in the Asian Champions League Elite preliminary rounds from August 6 to 13, with two teams joining the 22 clubs that have qualified directly for the competition stage.
Qatar’s Al-Gharafa will face the winner of a draw between the UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli and an unnamed Iranian qualifier, while in the east, China’s Shandong Taishan will take on Bangkok United.
The draw for the league phase, which divides clubs into western and eastern zones, will take place on August 16, with matches from September 16 to February 19.
The top eight teams from each of the confederation’s two sides will progress to the last 16, which will be played on a home-and-away basis, with the winners progressing to a final series as they are played in a centralized hub.
Saudi Arabia will host these matches as one-legged quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals from April 25 to May 4.
The confederation also announced that the winners of the Asian Champions League Two, the continent’s second club competition with 36 teams, will collect at least $3.28 million.
