Group stage of AFC Cup may take place in Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek, June 11, 2020. /Kabar/. Kyrgyzstan is ready to host the group stage of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Cup, the press service of the Kyrgyz Football Union said Thursday. An online meeting of representatives of the National Associations, professional football leagues of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and AFC representatives was held. The main topic of discussion was the timing and format of the tournament matches. "A centralized format - holding all group matches in one country was adopted as the most acceptable. The desire to host the group stage was expressed by representatives of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The matches of the group stage will not take place until September 2020. The exact dates and venue will be announced by the AFC later," the report says. Kyrgyzstan’s champion - Dordoi FC will play in one group (D) with Turkmen football club Altyn Asyr and Istiklol and Khujand Tajik teams. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is one of the six continental confederations within FIFA and is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia. It has 47 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent, but excludes the transcontinental countries with territory in both Europe and Asia – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey – which are instead members of UEFA. The AFC was officially formed on May 8, 1954 in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of the second Asian Games.