KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — Reigning Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will continue their hunt for glory in Group G of the Asian Champions League (ACL) football competition in October.
Based on the latest calendar issued by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in their website today, the Southern Tigers squad will play two-time ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande of China on October 17, before taking on South Korean side Suwon Samsung Bluewings six days later.
JDT will play Japanese side Vissel Kobe on October 29, before completing their preliminary fixtures against Guangzhou Evergrande on November 1.
AFC said all matches will be held in a centralised venue which will be announced later, while the knock-out stage will feature single-match ties rather than home-and-away matches.
JDT are currently in second place of Group G with three points after two matches, three points behind the unbeaten Vissel Kobe.
The Asian top-tier football club competition and the second-tier AFC Cup have been put on hold since March by the AFC following the Covid-19 pandemic.
AFC have also confirmed dates for five other competitions after holding continuous discussions with their affiliates.
The AFC U-19 Football Championship in Uzbekistan will take place from Oct 14-31, AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan (Nov 4-15), AFC U-16 Championship in Bahrain (Nov 25 to Dec 12), while the 2020 AFC Futsal Club Championship in the United Arab Emirates is slated to run from Dec 2 to 13.
“During those discussions which began in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Dubai and Delhi in February and March, and have continued online ever since, we have looked to agree with a calendar of matches that will allow us to complete both the club competitions and centralised tournaments in 2020,” according to AFC secretary-general Datuk Windsor Paul John.
Prior to this, AFC had rescheduled the second round qualifying matches of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup in March, June and September to October and November this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. — Bernama
