FOOTBALL – Bahrain champions Al Khaldiya kick off their round-of-16 clash with Tractor FC of Iran tomorrow in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League (ACL) Two.
The Bahrainis are at home for the first-leg against the Iranians.
Tomorrow’s tie will be played at the National Stadium in Riffa and it is scheduled for a 5pm kick-off. The second leg is then scheduled for February 18 at Yadegar-E-Imam Stadium in the Iranian city of Tabriz.
As part of the pre-match formalities, the official technical meeting and coaches’ and players’ Press conferences will take place today.
Khaldiya are set for a tough challenge against Tractor, who won three of their four matches in the preliminary round to finish as winners of Group A. Khaldiya booked their place in the knockouts as runners-up in Group B.
Other round-of-16 match-ups in West Asia of ACL Two are Al Wakrah SC of Qatar versus Al Taawoun FC of Saudi Arabia, Al Wehdat of Jordan versus Shabab Al Ahli of the UAE, and Al Hussein of Jordan versus Sharjah FC of the UAE.
In East Asia, Nam Dinh FC of Vietnam take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima of Japan, Muangthong United of Thailand take on Lion City Sailors FC of Singapore, Port FC of Thailand play Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC of South Korea, and Sydney FC of Australia take on Bangkok United of Thailand.
The victors in the round of 16 will move on to the quarter-finals scheduled for March, and then the semi-finals will be held in April, before the tournament culminates in a single-leg final on May 17.
The ACL Two is the second-tier club competition of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Rebranded from the AFC Cup, it is one level below the AFC Champions League Elite and one above the AFC Challenge League.
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