JEDDAH, 25 October 2005 — The second leg of the AFC Champions League final between Al-Ittihad, of Saudi Arabia, and Al-Ain, of the United Arab Emirates, will now be played in Jeddah, but five days later than originally scheduled by tournament organizers.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decided yesterday to reverse a decision made at the weekend to move the game to a neutral venue following emergency discussions with both clubs, and other relevant parties, including FIFA President Sepp Blatter, head of the game’s world governing body.
The game will now take place on Nov. 5 at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. Kickoff is at 19.45hrs. The second leg of the final of Asia’s premier club competition was originally scheduled to be played on Oct. 31. However, with Jeddah-based Ittihad making it to the final and due to host the second leg, organizers realized that the game now fell on a particularly significant day in the holy month of Ramadan at a time when millions of visitors would be making their way to Saudi Arabia, which in itself had caused a number of logistical problems for the high-profile event. Given these factors, the AFC initially opted to move the game to Jordan and to conclude the tournament as planned by the end of October. This was in line with a schedule drawn up earlier in the year by the AFC and FIFA to ensure the club competition did not clash with November’s FIFA World Cup 2006 AFC-CONCACAF playoff dates.
But, following a series of meetings yesterday, the AFC has decided, in the best interests of the competition, to give the green light to postpone the game by five days, so allowing Ittihad fans the chance to see their team try and hold onto the trophy they won in 2004.
“We have found a solution which has the unequivocal backing of all the parties concerned,” said AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam. “The two clubs, the national associations and everyone involved have been very cooperative and accommodating in understanding this unique situation, and I would like to thank all parties for playing their part in making sure Asia’s premier club competition gets the exciting culmination it deserves.”
