AFC Champions League 2009
The 2009 AFC Champions League was the 28th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 7th under the current AFC Champions League title. The final took place at National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on November 7. The winners, the K-League club Pohang Steelers, qualified for the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in UAE.
The champions league was expanded to 35 clubs this year, with 5 teams starting from a knockout qualifying stage. An extra stage in the knockout phase was added so that the runners up as well as the winners from the group stage would progress. The previous season winner no longer got a bye through to the knockout round. Each team was allowed to field a maximum of four foreign players this season, one of whom had to be from an AFC Member Association country. On 5 November 2008 it was announced that Qatar's leading telecom company Qtel will sponsor the AFC Champions League from 2009-2012.
Read more about AFC Champions League 2009: Qualified Teams, Schedule, Qualifying Play-off, Group Stage, Top Scorers, Fair Play Award, See Also
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