KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Thursday announced the AFC Champions League 2021 Group Stage for the East Asia region will be postponed to June due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
In announcing the centralized venues for the group stage, the AFC said it had decided to postpone the Group Stage matches for East Asia region originally planned for April 21 - May 7 to June and July, "taking into consideration the existing travel restrictions and quarantine challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic."
Thailand will host matches in the East Region Groups F, G and J, with the venues for Groups H and I as well as the exact dates for all Groups to be decided later, said AFC.
The Preliminary and Playoff matches of the East Region are also postponed and will be played in centralized venues of their respective Group Stage matches, it added.
The West Region matches, which are scheduled to take place between April 14-30, will see Saudi Arabia host Groups A and D in Riyadh as well as Group C in Jeddah, with the matches in Group B to be staged in the United Arab Emirates city of Sharjah, while India, whose representative FC Goa is poised to mark the nation's debut in Asia's premier club competition, will host Group E. Enditem