FIFPRO Writes To Asian Football Confederation Over Asian Champions League

The global footballers’ union FIFPRO has described the Asian Champions League as unsustainable over the treatment of players and clubs via a letter.

FIFPRO’s letter is coming following the Asian Football Confederation’s decision to kickstart the Asian Champions League round of 16 three days after the 2024 Asian Cup, which was hosted and won by Qatar.

These competitions, which cover a wide geographic region from Australia to the Middle East and Central Asia, are managed by the Asian Football Confederation.

Currently, there are two zones in the Champions League: “West” and “East”, and it features a two-leg, home-and-away final.

The tournament will be geographically divided, starting with the next campaign, with Saudi Arabia hosting the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final games.

According to FIFPRO, this revised version was also unfeasible, though the winner would earn a larger check of $12 million.

FIFPRO’s chairman for Oceania-Asia, Takuya Yamazaki, said the union decided to write to the Asian Confederation to ignite “meaningful discussions with governing bodies, leagues, clubs and fans” about the Champions League.

He said, “The results indicate that, as anticipated, the merits do not outweigh the drawbacks for most players and clubs, making it an unsustainable system.”

FIFPRO claimed that the AFC is adopting “a top-down approach that excludes the voices of players and clubs from decision-making”.

Hence, he urged the AFC to forge “a genuine partnership with players, clubs, and leagues to ensure that the competition delivers for all parties”.

Note that the Asian Champions League have gained unprecedented attention across the world after the arrival of top players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Karim Benzema to the Saudi Pro League.