The AFC is heading to the elimination rounds of one match in the “Elite”

The Asian Football Confederation is moving to approve holding the round of 16 matches of the AFC Champions League for the elite in the group system in the city of Jeddah, a few days before the start of the final rounds scheduled for next April, with the aim of providing the best organizational and technical conditions for the tournament, as the teams – who qualify from West Asia to the quarter-finals – will be determined by holding one match, instead of the home-and-away system.

The Saudi Al Jazeera newspaper reported that this trend comes after the AFC announced the postponement of all home and away matches in the Round of 16 in the West Asia region, due to the current regional conditions that affected the possibility of holding the matches on their original dates, while rearranging the schedule to ensure the safety of the teams and players.

The postponed matches in the Al-Gharb region included the confrontation between Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia and Al-Sadd of Qatar, Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia with Al-Duhail of Qatar, Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia with Al-Wahda, and Traktor of Iran against Shabab Al-Ahly, which were postponed until the security and logistical situation in the region became clear.

After the end of the Round of 16 and its reprogramming, the quarter-final stage is scheduled to begin in Jeddah, with a single match system from the quarter-finals until the final, with the draw for the quarter-finals being conducted in an open system, which means the possibility of any team from West Asia facing its counterpart from the East directly to raise the level of the challenge.

The quarter-final matches of the tournament are scheduled to be held between April 16 and 25, with a system of one match for each confrontation, within the gathering in Jeddah, where it was previously announced that the semi-finals will be held immediately after the end of the quarter-finals, with the tournament concluding with the final match at the end of the same month.

• Shabab Al-Ahly will face Traktor, and Al-Wahda will face Al-Ittihad in the 16th final.