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Malaysia has been named the Asian Champions League's centralized hub in East Asia with matches in the region due to restart in October, the continent's soccer governing body said on Monday. Asia's elite club competition was suspended in early March because of the COVID-19 pandemic and will resume in West Asia hub Qatar on Sept. 14. Malaysia will host Group G and Group H matches from Oct. 17-Nov. 1 and a semi-final on Nov. 28. It will also host last-16 games from the two groups on Nov. 4 and two quarter-finals on Nov. 25. Teams from China, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia will play in the East Asia regional hub, while teams from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Uzbekistan will play in the West Asia hub. The centralized venue for Groups E and F and the remaining knockout stage matches have not yet been confirmed. The AFC said this month that group games would be played in full in a round-robin format while knockouts rounds would be reduced to single games from the usual two-legged tie format. The final pitting the best teams from each region will be held on Dec. 5 in the Western hub.
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