June 7 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has rebranded its top two club competitions – the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup – with a redesign.
“Glory, strength and quality woven into a brand new look capture the identity of Asia’s top two continental club competitions,” said the AFC in a press release.
The new logo and redesign was unveiled at the knock-out stage draw of the AFC Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday.
The AFC Cup is played between domestic clubs from countries that fall into the AFC’s ‘developing nations’ category as laid out in their ‘Vision Asia’ document. The developing nations are the 14 next-best countries that lie outside the top-14 ranked countries in the AFC region who send their clubs to the AFC Champions League.
The AFC has placed increasing focus on the AFC Cup which it says “captures a passion for the game that is so unique to Asia. Having crowned a new, first-time champion for three consecutive years, the AFC Cup showcases the growth of our clubs and development across Asia, as the competition expands its reach out to new Member Associations and audiences.”
The logo essentially stays the same but both competitions get their own visual look. “The AFC Cup’s maroon red background colour signifies the courage and passion of the battle for the trophy, which is also given more prominence in the new look,” said the AFC.
The 2017 AFC Cup has now reached the Knockout Stage that will see the AFC Zonal Champions crowned.
AFC Cup Knock-out draw
Zonal Final – WEST
September 12, First leg: Al Wahda (SYR) v Air Force Club (IRQ)
September 26, Second leg: Air Force Club v Al Wahda
Zonal Final – ASEAN
August 2, First leg: Home United (SIN) v Ceres Negros (PHI)
August 9, Second leg: Ceres Negros v Home United
Inter-Zone Play-off
August 22, SF1 First leg: FC Istiklol (TJK) v ASEAN Zonal Champion
September 12, SF1 Second leg: ASEAN Zonal Champion v FC Istiklol
August 23, SF2 First leg: JSW Bengaluru (IND) v 4.25 SC (PRK)
September 13, SF2 Second leg: 4.25 SC v JSW Bengaluru
Inter-Zone Final
September 27, First leg: SF1 v SF2
October 18, Second leg: SF2 v SF1
2017 AFC Cup final
November 4
Host: Inter-Zone Final Winner
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