Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA's first vice president, lauded the performance of the AFC Champions League group stage matches for West Asian teams, which ended on Friday.

He was pleased with the logistical and technological organization that had resulted in the fruitful presentation of the five parties. He emphasized that Asian national federations are an essential part of Asian football, and the remarkable victories seen by all AFC championships represent the continent's solidarity, zeal for perfection, the precision of teamwork, and depth of partnership with all.

He said that doing this contrasted with the competence in coping with global health policies of the COVID-19 crisis, which concluded in considerable progress in the safe operation of tournaments, requiring pride in the position of the medical and logistical support personnel.

“I express my gratitude and appreciation to the Saudi Football Association, which conducted the first, third, and fourth groups in a magnificent manner that confirms the power and work ethics of its cadres headed by Yasser bin Hassan Al-Mishal,” Sheikh Al-Khalifa said.

“I would like to thank the UAE Football Association, which organized the second group with total results under the governance of Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamid Al-Nuaimi, and the Indian Football Association, which housed the fifth group successfully under the leadership of Praful Patel.”

The AFC President said that the technical standards and the thrilling rivalry to compete for the quarterfinals from the beginning to the end represented the strength of Asian football, the generosity of its clubs, and the popularity of the tournament hosted like this in an extraordinary global circumstance for the second time.

He emphasized that Asia lacks the elements of global crisis management due to the unity that reflects its football job paths and its high-performance human proficiencies, as shown by the exceptional performance in the proper operation of the COVID-19 crisis and the rapid response to every emergency.

"We are fortunate that we have endured the most aggressive global health crisis," he said, "since we joined hands, prepared well, and managed to press ahead with tournaments at the level of clubs and teams, with discipline and precision that reflects the essence of the Asian continent and the scope and stability of its unification."

Twenty teams competed in group stage matches of the AFC Champions League competition for West Asian clubs, with Saudi Arabia hosting three groups and the UAE and India hosting one of each, and saw the qualification of Al-Nasr (KSA), Persepolis (Iran), Sharjah FC (UAE), Al-Hilal (KSA), Al-Wehda (UAE), Tractor (Iran), Esteghlal Tehran (Iran), and Istiklol (Uzbekistan) to the quarterfinals, which will commence on Sept. 13-14.

After considering existing travel constraints and the difficulties imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest date for the commencement of the group stage for East Asian clubs will be in June and July 2021.