The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed that Korea Republic will host the inaugural AFC Women’s Club Championship, which is set to take place between November 26 and 30. Defending W-League Premiers Melbourne Victory, Korea Republic’s Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, Japanese side Nippon TV Beleza, and Chinese outfit Jiangsu Suning Ladies are the four participants for this historic tournament.
This championship is to be decided using a single round robin format, with matchdays on November 26, 28 and 30. Following the conclusion of the third matchday, the group winners will be crowned AFC Club Champions.
A conveniently-scheduled bye in Round 3 of the W-League means Melbourne Victory can take part without having to rearrange any fixtures. Jeff Hopkins’s side open the tournament against Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, winners of the WK League in each of the last six seasons. The other Matchday 1 fixture sees 15-time Japanese Champions Nippon TV Beleza face Jiangsu Suning Ladies, winners of the 2019 Chinese Women’s Super League by an eight-point margin.
The inaugural AFC Women's Club Championship will be in Korea Republic from November 26 to 30, 2019!https://t.co/kuB41ONjQR
— AFC (@theafcdotcom) November 1, 2019
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa is delighted that AFC, FIFA and the Korea Football Association have been able work together to ensure this tournament goes ahead.
“Women’s football has always been an integral area of development for the AFC and the remarkable success of our teams underlines the incredible strides Asia continues to make in women’s football globally,” he said.
“Competitions is one of the major drivers of development and the Women’s Club Championship reinforces our commitment to further strengthen the foundations for the women’s game in Asia to scale even greater heights.”
“On behalf of the AFC, I would like to thank FIFA and the Korea Football Association for sharing our vision to grow women’s football in Asia. Our ambition is to see more teams and more Member Associations build on our strong momentum as we strive to ensure our women’s teams and players continue to be world-class.”
