AFC Champions League 2018 set for captivating season

skjadun
Jan 15, 2018
2 min read

The quest to land the biggest purse prize in Asian club football history will begin on Tuesday as the AFC Champions League – the Continent’s premier club competition – returns to action.

The AFC Champions League 2018 kicks off with four clubs gearing up to advance past the Preliminary Stage 1 qualifiers. Myanmar National League champions Shan United FC will play host to Ceres Negros FC from the Philippines at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon at 4pm local time.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Liga 1 2017 runners-up Bali United will kick start their maiden appearance in the AFC club competitions when they face Singapore’s Tampines Rovers at the Capt. I Wayan Dipta Stadium at 7.30pm local time.

The winners of this year’s AFC Champions League – which is already one of the richest continental club competitions in world football and is second only to Europe – will receive the competition’s largest-ever reward of US$4m, up from US$3m.

The 2018 runners-up will also get an extra US$500,000 taking the total purse to US$2m, while the AFC Cup winners will also bag a record US$1.5m this year.

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said the latest enhancements reinforced the AFC’s ambitions to continuously improve its competitions.

“The AFC Champions League continues to set new records and grows in stature each year and we can expect the 2018 season to be better and bigger than ever before.

“The bigger prize purse at every stage in the AFC Champions League this year underlines our commitment to create the ultimate stage for our players and teams to shine, under the AFC’s Vision and Mission.”

The winners of the Preliminary Stage 1 will join six clubs from the East and ASEAN Zones in the second stage of the qualifiers on January 23, which will feature Eastern SC from Hong Kong, Vietnam’s FLC Thanh Hoa, Thailand’s Muangthong United and Chiangrai United as well as Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta'zim and Brisbane Roar from Australia.

The four winners from the Preliminary Stage 2 phase will then have to battle some of the Continent’s biggest clubs, including two-time AFC Champions League winners Suwon Samsung Bluewings and last year’s semi-finalists Shanghai SIPG FC in the Play-off Stage on January 30, before the eagerly anticipated Group Stage commences on February 12.

Preliminary stage fixtures (match times are reflected as the local venue time):

Preliminary Stage 1

January 16, 2018

Bali United FC (IDN) vs Tampines Rovers (SIN)

Venue: Capt. I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Bali