The Executive Committee decided at their meeting in November 2017 in Bangkok to follow the home and away format as per regulations and an AFC delegation led by Senior Vice President Praful Patel, accompanied by AFC Executive Committee members Mariano Araneta Junior and Dr Tran Quoc Tuan, visited Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in early January to explain the decision.
At the same time a specialist international risk agency was asked to provide an independent and impartial assessment on the safety and security of the countries involved and the impact on the AFC competitions – particularly the home and away format.
The AFC Executive Committee has decided that the home and away format – as per AFC Regulations and in line with their November 2017 decision – should be followed.