Prominent Saudi journalist Waleed Al-Faraj stated that the likelihood of the 2025-26 AFC Champions League being canceled is increasing due to the ongoing war in the Arabian Gulf region over the past two weeks.
The Round of 16 matches for the West Zone were scheduled to take place in the last two weeks, but the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decided to postpone them indefinitely until the situation in the region stabilizes.
The AFC remains confident in its ability to hold these matches, noting that they will be single-leg ties played at neutral venues, as will be the case from the quarterfinals onwards.
However, the tight schedule is one of the main reasons that could ultimately lead to the cancellation of the tournament. Local federations cannot postpone matches from various leagues because they must finish their competitions before May 25th to prepare for the 2026 World Cup.
Therefore, if the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) does not act quickly and find a solution, it may ultimately be forced to cancel this edition of the tournament entirely, or complete it with the East Zone teams that have already played in the Round of 16, with cancellation only affecting the West Zone.
It is worth noting that the Round of 16 matches for the West Zone were: Shabab Al-Ahli vs. Tractor, Al-Duhail vs. Al-Ahli, Al-Wahda vs. Al-Ittihad, and Al-Sadd vs. Al-Hilal.
