The decision to bring the matches forward was taken to accommodate additional rest and travelling time for players in view of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup – Qatar and 2023 AFC Asian Cup – China, which are scheduled to take place in centralised venues from May 31 to June 15, 2021.
All other conditions related to the 2021 AFC Cup (West) remain unaffected with Group A to be hosted in Bahrain while Groups B and C will be played in Jordan.