All to play for in Asia as Club League Championships set to start

29 May. 2021

All to play for in Asia as Club League Championships set to start

Earlier this month, the draw was made for the 23rd edition of the AHF Men’s Asian Club League Championship which will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 12 to 21 June 2021.

Eleven teams from seven nations will participate: Al Wehda and Mudhar from Saudi Arabia, Al Kuwait and Al Salmiya from Kuwait, Qatar’s Al Arabi and Al Duhail, Iran’s Mes Kerman and Shahid Kazeroon, Bahrain’s Al Najma, Uzbekistan’s Uzbek and Al Qaten from Yemen.

The draw for the preliminary group stage was conducted live on Saudi TV station KSA 2 with Group A featuring Al Arabi, Shahid Kazeroon, Al Salmiya, Mudhar and Al Najma, while Group B sees Al Wehda, Uzbek, Al Qaten, Mes Kerman, Al Duhail and Al Kuwait go head-to-head for continental glory.

The preliminary groups will be played in a round-robin, league basis from 12 to 17 June with a rest day on 15 June. The top two from each group will go straight into the semi-finals which take place on Saturday 19 June, along with the 5-10 placement matches and following a rest day on the previous day. Sunday 20 June is the third and final rest day ahead of the bronze and gold-medal matches on Monday 21 June.

The winner of the championship will qualify directly for the 2021 IHF Men’s Super Globe, also set to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Al Najma, who face title-holders Al Arabi in their opening game, have signed HC Eurofarm Pelister’s right back Neven Stjepanvoic for the championship, with the Bosnian player scoring seven in the Men’s EHF European League this season.

Inspection tours featuring representatives of the Asian Handball Federation, Saudi Arabia Handball Federation and others recently determined the readiness of facilities in preparation the championship.

The women’s edition – the 2021 AHF Women’s Asian Club League Championship – follows less than a week later in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The fifth edition will be played from 27 June to 4 July 2021.

18th AHF Women’s Asian Championship

In other AHF news, the Continental Confederation has confirmed the 18th AHF Women’s Asian Championship will take place in the Republic of Korea from 15 to 25 September, with the top six teams qualifying directly for the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship, which will be played in Spain at the end of the year.

For more information, visit the Asian Handball Federation website.

Photo: Asian handball Federation