AFC moves Champions League Elite West knockouts to Jeddah in single-leg format

The Asian Football Confederation has confirmed that all remaining knockout matches in its West Region club competitions will be decided as single-leg ties at centralised venues, with the AFC Champions League Elite’s delayed round of 16 now set to be played in Jeddah next month.The decision resets planning for clubs, broadcasters and commercial partners after the AFC postponed fixtures in early March, and it reinforces Jeddah’s status as the host city for the competition’s final stages.  In an update issued on March 24, the AFC said: “All remaining knockout matches of the AFC’s club competitions in the West Region will now be decided in single-leg ties at centralised venues.”The AFC said the AFC Champions League Elite 2025-26 West Region round of 16 matches will take place on April 13 and 14 at King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium, immediately before the AFC Champions League Elite Finals in Jeddah, scheduled for April 16 to 25.The revised format affects four unplayed West Region round-of-16 ties, which had originally been scheduled as two-leg match-ups across March. The change also compresses recovery time for teams expected to progress into the quarter-finals, which start on April 16, with the tournament now operating as a straight knockout in a single host market.From a commercial and operational standpoint, the move reduces travel complexity, streamlines security and venue delivery, and provides a more stable broadcast product amid volatile regional logistics. It also shifts competitive and matchday economics away from home venues in West Asia, with clubs losing the upside of hosting a high-demand knockout leg and its associated hospitality, ticketing and local sponsorship activation.The decision comes against a backdrop of growing reliance on Saudi Arabia as a staging ground for major AFC fixtures, a trend that has drawn criticism within parts of the regional game over centralisation and competitive balance. Jeddah has been positioned as the competition’s showcase location from the quarter-finals onwards, concentrating premium inventory, fan-facing events and sponsor programmes in one city.The disruption has also had spillover effects across the wider football calendar in the region, with national-team preparations, friendlies and privately promoted tournaments facing postponements or relocation, further tightening schedules for clubs and players already operating in congested domestic and international windows.For the AFC and rights holders, the priority now is execution certainty ahead of the Finals window, with the West Region round of 16 effectively serving as the gateway into the Jeddah-based climax of the revamped competition format.