
<p>Saudi Arabia have received the honor of hosting the final stage of the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) tournament. This adds to their roster of soccer events.</p>



<p>This is at the forefront of the transformation taking place in Asian soccer, which is seeing a number of developments. A growing number of contests are choosing Saudi Arabia as their site, making them one of the most desirable destinations.</p>



<p>In addition to hosting the first <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/afc-champions-league-tv-schedule/">Asian Champions League</a> for the next two years, the Asian Football Association (AFC) has suggested that this location should also host the tournament for the next three years. However, the AFC still has to ratify this.</p>



<p>Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/world-cup-tv-schedule/">World Cup</a>. Thus the nation is trying to bolster its reputation as a host and increase its influence in the process. In a month, Saudi Arabia will play host to their first FIFA competition since the 1997 Confederations Cup. This will be the seven-team <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/club-world-cup-tv-schedule-streaming-links/">Club World Cup</a>.</p>



<p>Opening on December 12 and running until December 22, it features treble winners, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City</a>, and hosts Al-Ittihad in Jeddah. Meanwhile, in addition to Riyadh hosting the 2034 Asian Games, they have also won the right to host the 2027 Asian Cup final.</p>



<h2>New and improved format and prize money</h2>



<p>After competing with the Iraq Football Association, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that the Saudi Arabian Football Federation will be hosting the new competition. “After evaluating the infrastructure and accommodation requirements”, the decision-makers reached their conclusion.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231202_WST_474449_imago0309919043h-1200x800.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=800" alt="" class="wp-image-474514" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/imago0309919043h-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/imago0309919043h-300x200.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/imago0309919043h-768x512.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/imago0309919043h-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/imago0309919043h-2048x1366.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure><figcaption>Saudi Arabia continue to pump money into sporting endeavors</figcaption></figure>



<p>In September of next year, the redesigned tournament will go off, replacing the current Asian Champions League. The 2024-25 season will mark the start of the restructured league. The dates set for the Final Stage are April 25-May 4, 2025.</p>



<p>The best 24 teams from the continent will split into two 12-team divisions. One for the East and one for the West. Eight teams will therefore make it to a centralized final phase in Saudi Arabia. </p>



<p>This comes after competing both at home and away for a chance to play in the round of 16. The quarterfinals, semi-finals, and final, all played over the course of one leg, will take place throughout the kingdom.</p>



<p>In an effort to up the ante, the primary prize has risen from $4 million to $12 million. Saudi Arabia will host the final rounds. These are the most significant changes to a championship that needs progress.</p>



<h2>What did AFC say?</h2>



<p>After the South Asian Football Federation was invited to submit their interest in hosting the tournament for a minimum of two seasons beginning in 2024/25, it was announced that they had been selected as the host. </p>



<p>Thus, after considering the venue, lodging, and other logistical considerations, the decision on the host the continent’s elite club championship came.</p>



<p>The AFC made the <a href="https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league/news/xx_1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following announcement</a> about the hosting rights on Friday: “The [Saudi Arabian Football Federation] was selected as the eventual host after evaluating the infrastructure and accommodation requirements, as well as all other key operational aspects needed to stage a tournament befitting the prestige and stature of the continent’s newly revamped premier club competition.”</p>



<p>Photo credits: IMAGO / AFLOSPORT : IMAGO / Xinhua</p>


Saudi Arabia to host reformatted AFC Champions League finals

Saudi Arabia will host the final stage of the AFC Champions League, which adds to their roster of soccer events


<p>The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced a revamping of its club competitions. This takes effect starting in the 2024/25 campaign.</p>



<p>The current two-competition structure with the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup will be transformed into a three-tier system. The number of teams participating in the three competitions, 76, does not change. Yet, the competition format is a complete overhaul. Eventually, the total number of games increases from 274 to 287.</p>



<h2>AFC club competitions see change from top to bottom</h2>



<p>The still-unnamed <a href="https:\/\/www.the-afc.com/en/more/afc_news/news/afc%E2%80%99s_club_competitions_set_for_strategic_reforms.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">replacement to the current Champions League</a> sees 24 teams split into two “leagues” – East &amp; West. The 12 teams in each league play a total of eight matches. Four are at home, and four are away, against eight different opponents. The top eight teams from each league advance to the Round of 16. </p>



<p>Following the Round of 16, the Quarterfinals, Semifinals &amp; Final follow a traditional tournament style in a single country. The elimination of the common ‘Group Stage’ borrows from the UEFA Champions League which will go to a single-league format during the same 2024/25 season.</p>



<h5>SECOnd/THIRd Tier Competitions and Other Changes</h5>



<p>The second&nbsp;tier of the competition saves the traditional ‘Group Stage’ format. Thirty-two teams compete in eight groups of four. Similar to the World Cup or modern UEFA Champions League, the top two teams advance from each group to a knockout stage of 16 teams. All knockout round ties will be played in a home/away format. Then, the final is a single event. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The AFC Competitions Committee has recommended game-changing reforms to herald a new era of success and unrivalled progress.</p>— AFC (@theafcdotcom) <a href="https:\/\/twitter.com/theafcdotcom/status/1606214227873927168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2022</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https:\/\/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>The third&nbsp;tier has 20 teams divided into 5 Groups. There will be no home/away matches in the Group Stage. Rather, there are single matches in a centralized location. The top eight teams from the five groups punch a ticket to the quarterfinals. The last eight and last four of the competition have traditional home and away ties. The final is just one game. </p>



<h2>More changes to the AFC club competitions</h2>



<p>A major change for the AFC club competitions is the relegation between leagues. Teams losing in the preliminary and playoff rounds move down a tier to remain active in other competitions. It is similar to when a team loses in the UEFA Champions League playoff round, only to bump into the <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/europa-league-tv-schedule/">Europa League</a> group stage. </p>



<p>The final change anticipated for the 2024/25 is the lifting of foreign players rules. Currently, clubs must adhere to a ‘5+1’ rule on foreign players. Essentially, there are five foreign players from any confederation plus one from another AFC country. The ‘5+1’ rule was only introduced this year which replaced a long-standing ‘3+1’ rule. Starting in 2024, any limits on foreign players will be determined by each nations domestic regulations. In many cases, this will mean no limits on foreign players.</p>



<h5>US TV RightS TO AFC club competitions</h5>



<p>The current rightholders to AFC competitions is <a href="https:\/\/paramountplus.qflm.net/c/330866/1007330/3065" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CBS/Paramount+</a>. The current rights expire at the end of the 2023/24 season. Therefore, the major changes to the competitions begin with whoever owns the rights <em>after </em>the current CBS/Paramount+ deal expires. Time zone differences with the United States tend to negatively affect the value of said rights. Still, CBS and other other bidders could find themselves in a battle to grab the rights. </p>



<p>The <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/category/world-cup-2022/">Qatar World Cup</a> has raised the profile of many players that feature in these competitions. Whenever the rights hit the market (expected in the second half of 2023), look for CBS to have some competition from Apple, Amazon and perhaps even ESPN.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Arnulf Hettrich</em></p>


AFC club competitions are undergoing severe overhaul in a few seasons, as they resemble a more modern take on continental club action.

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Saudi Arabia to host reformatted AFC Champions League finals

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Asian Football Confederation to overhaul AFC club competitions