
<p>Gareth Bale has announced that he will compete in the famous AT&amp;T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament next month. The 33-year-old recently retired soccer player revealed the news on his Instagram. “Delighted to announce I will be playing in the AT&amp;T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the start of next month! Let’s go,” proclaimed Bale.</p>



<h5>Historic venue for a fan-favorite tournament</h5>



<p>The tournament launched in in 1937. It features a mixture of professional golfers alongside amateur celebrities. Tom Brady, Bill Murray, Kevin Costner, Justin Timberlake and Ray Romero have all regularly featured at the pro-am in recent years. The purse for the tournament is $9 million.</p>



<p>Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world, Pebble Beach has significant history in the sport. Opened over 100 years ago, the course has also hosted major tournaments such as the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. The upcoming pro-am is set to start on February 2nd.</p>



<h2>Gareth Bale now able to focus on hobbies, golf tournament</h2>



<p>Bale has been famously linked with golf for years. The Welshman made headlines after helping his nation qualify for the 2020 Euro tournament. Following qualification, Bale celebrated while holding a banner that read “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2019/nov/20/gareth-bale-and-that-wales-golf-madrid-flag-real-are-not-amused" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.</a>” Celebrations with the banner didn’t go down well with the Spanish club or their fans.</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">Gareth Bale announces that he will be participating in the AT&amp;T Pebble Beach Pro-Am next month. 🏌️‍♂️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 <a href="https://t.co/GW6vXKYcFK">pic.twitter.com/GW6vXKYcFK</a></p>— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1617654721640292353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Later, Bale defended the lighthearted banner saying that golf is simply a hobby. “Football is my number one sport. I’m paid to do it and I always give my best. Golf is a hobby like anyone else would have a hobby,” <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/golf/gareth-bale-golf-tournament-pga-29032815" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> Bale. “There is nothing wrong with having a round. People make a lot of it, but a lot of footballers play and it’s one thing I really enjoy.”</p>



<p>The Welshman will have plenty of time for golf in retirement. Bale managed to score 186 total goals for Southampton, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/tottenham-tv-schedule/">Tottenham Hotspur</a>, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/real-madrid-tv-schedule/">Real Madrid</a>, and Los Angeles FC during his illustrious playing career. He also made 111 appearances for the senior <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/wales-national-team-tv-schedule/">Wales</a> national team as well.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire</em></p>


Gareth Bale will featured in the upcoming AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament in February, taking up a long-term hobby.

Gareth Bale to compete in popular US golf tournament - World Soccer Talk

Gareth Bale to compete in popular US golf tournament


<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>



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<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>
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<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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Gareth Bale to compete in popular US golf tournament

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Asian Football Confederation to overhaul AFC club competitions