Group stage matches in the Asian Champions League could be held as late as the end of July, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Monday.
The development came as the coronavirus outbreak continues to impact the schedule of the continent’s leading club competition.
The confederation said after an emergency meeting at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur that provisions would be made to extend the group phase beyond its scheduled finish.
The competition was earlier scheduled to end in late May, but it may now extend until the end of June.
However, if local league and cup matches continue to be postponed in Japan, South Korea and China, provisions have been put in place to play the Asia Champions League matches as late as July.
This is to ensure the competition can be completed this year.
The confederation said it expects to have a newly updated fixture list for the group phase of the competition in place by March 16 after a meeting to be held next weekend.
The AFC announced the first leg matches in the round of 16 will now be played on Aug. 11 and Aug. 12 with the return meetings two weeks later.
The first leg of the quarter-finals will be held on September 15 and 16, while the second leg games will be played on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30.
Semi-final matches will be played on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 with the return clashes a week later.
The dates of the two-legged final remain unchanged on Nov. 22 and Nov. 28.
The fate of a raft of World Cup qualifying matches due to be played later this month will be discussed during a meeting on March 7 and March 8.(Reuters/NAN)
