The Asian Football Confederation announced on Wednesday that the new Asian Champions League Elite winners will receive a minimum of US$$ 12 million, a significant boost to regional league football.
The opposition, which kicks off with a preliminary round in August, is at the center of a major overhaul of team sports across the globe and involves 27 leagues from 12 countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
The second prize is a three-fold increase over Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates ‘ winnings in the Asian Champions League’s earlier style in May.
Two of the 22 clubs that have already qualified for the group stage will be among the five that will play in the Asian Champions League Elite’s preliminary rounds starting on August 6 through August 13.
In the eastern Chinas Shandong Taishan will face Bangkok United from Thailand, while Qatar’s Al- Gharafa will get on the winner of a tie between Shabab Al- Ahli from the UAE and an as-yet-unknown Egyptian qualifier.
The pick for the division cycle, which may divide leagues into the western and eastern regions, will take place on August 16 and will have matches scheduled from Sep 16 to Feb 19.
The top eight groups from each of the two confederations may advance to the last 16, which will be played at home and away, with the victors advancing to a finals set that will be held in a centralized hub.
Saudi Arabia will host those suits from April 25 through May 4 as single-legged quarter-final, semi-final, and last.
The union even announced that winners of the Asian Champions League Two, the country’s second tier team competition featuring 36 teams, will gather a minimum of US$ 3.28 million.