Asian final venue relocated again

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 | Source: REUTERS

TOKYO: The second leg of this year's Asian Champions League final has been switched back to Saudi Arabia from neutral Jordan, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Tuesday.

The game between Saudi holders Al Ittihad and UAE side Al Ain has also been delayed from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5 to avoid clashing with the end of the holy month of Ramadhan.

AFC officials had taken the unusual step of moving the game from Jeddah to Amman only 48 hours earlier.

The timing of that decision raised eyebrows as both teams had booked their places in Asia's showpiece final two weeks ago.

The first leg will go ahead as scheduled in Al Ain on Wednesday.

The winner will qualify for the revamped FIFA world club championship, which takes place in Japan from Dec. 11-Dec. 18. -- Reuters

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