Saudi media reports have revealed that the "Asian Football Confederation is considering a surprising proposal that could disrupt the arrangements for the draw of the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League." The draw is scheduled to take place on December 28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Eight clubs from the West region have qualified for the Round of 16 and are set to compete in four knockout matches. Clubs such as Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Ain, and Nasaf of Uzbekistan topped their respective groups, while Al Fayha, Sepahan of Isfahan, and Navbahor of Uzbekistan qualified as the best second-placed teams.
According to the current system, the first seed includes Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, and Al Ain, as they are the group winners. Nasaf is placed in the second seed along with the three clubs that finished second in their groups, as it is the lowest-scoring group winner with 11 points.
The draw is supposed to see first-seed clubs face second-seed clubs, provided that the two teams have not met in the group stage, while matches between teams from the same country are allowed. However, the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" pointed out that the AFC is considering conducting a separate draw to select the team that topped its group and would enter the second seed, instead of Nasaf being placed directly.
The newspaper highlighted that federation officials are seriously studying this proposal as it "ensures the greatest level of fairness among the group winners." Based on this proposal, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, Al Nassr, or Al Ain could end up being in the second seed, opening the door for exciting matchups, either between Saudi and Emirati teams or purely Saudi clashes.
It is worth noting that the first-leg matches of the Round of 16 will take place on February 12 and 13 at the stadiums of the second-seed clubs, while the return matches are scheduled for February 19 and 20 at the stadiums of the first-seed clubs.
