The
current Asian Champions League is “unsustainable”, the global footballers’
union FIFPRO said in a report Monday, accusing the regional governing body of
failing to listen to players and clubs.
The
continent’s top club competition is in the spotlight like never before after
Saudi teams shelled out on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim
Benzema.
The
round of 16 began on Tuesday last week, three days after the final of the Asian
Cup, which was won by hosts Qatar.
The
Asian Football Confederation is responsible for both competitions, which span a
vast area from Australia to the Middle East and Central Asia.
The
current Champions League is split into two zones, “West” and “East”, until a
two-legged final home and away.
Starting
in the next campaign, there will also be a geographical split at the start of
the tournament, but the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be held in
Saudi Arabia.
FIFPRO
said this remodelled version, which will see the winner take home an increased
cheque of $12 million, was also unsustainable.
Takuya Yamazaki,
FIFPRO’s chairman for Oceania-Asia, hopes its report will “spark meaningful
discussions with governing bodies, leagues, clubs and fans” about the Champions
League.
“The
results indicate that, as anticipated, the merits do not outweigh the drawbacks
for most players and clubs, making it an unsustainable system,” he said in the
report.
FIFPRO
accused the AFC of adopting “a top-down approach that excludes the voices of
players and clubs from decision-making”.
It
called on the AFC to forge “a genuine partnership with players, clubs and
leagues to ensure that the competition delivers for all parties”.
Among
its conclusions, the 49-page report said that the average quality of teams in
the Champions League was inferior to the top domestic divisions in Japan, South
Korea and Saudi Arabia.
It
said the average quality of the competition was also going down.
FIFPRO
also voiced concern about the economic cost for teams, given the long travel
sometimes involved, and the effect of travel and match scheduling on the
workload of players.
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