AFC Champions League 2017 Final sets new attendance record

Published on: 23 November 2017

Saitama: When Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds host Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal in the second leg of AFC Champions League 2017 final at the Saitama World Cup Stadium on Saturday, the competition record for the total attendance in a two-leg final is set to be broken.

The first leg ended in a 1-1 stalemate at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh last Saturday, which makes the return fixture poised for an exciting finish in Saitama.

The total attendance at the first leg match was 59,136 spectators and more than 95 per cent of the tickets for the 58,000-seater Saitama World Cup Stadium have already been sold.

The numbers also promise a new record in terms of total attendance in the AFC Champions League history and the AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said that this demonstrated the enduring appeal of Asia’s top club competition.

The AFC President said: “The record attendance for the AFC Champions League final demonstrates the interest that this competition generates on both sides of the Continent. Close on 120,000 people will watch this fascinating clash.

“The engagement with the competition – whether through the almost 2 million who watch in the stadiums, the millions who tune into the television broadcast or the tens of millions connecting through traditional and social media – grows year on year and this reflects the appeal of the AFC Champions League.

“The AFC is determined to build on this success in the coming years to fulfil our ambition of providing world class competitions that help raise the standard of football in Asia.”

The previous combined record attendance for the AFC Champions League final stage was 111,348 in the 2013 final between Guangzhou Evergrande from China PR and FC Seoul of Korea Republic. The highest single match attendance during the finals was in 2014 when 63,763 attended the game between Al Hilal and Western Sydney Wanderers.

This year in the ACL, 1,907,9151 spectators have attended 140 matches so far, with an average of 13,628 spectators for each match. This is extraordinary considering that several matches in West Asia had to be played at neutral venues.

In Saitama, the enthusiasm is growing in the media area as well, with more than 350 journalists and photographers from around the world already registered to cover the match, while millions will tune in through the AFC’s broadcast partners.

The AFC Champions League is among the richest continental club competitions, with the winners’ purse of 3 USD million on offer for Al Hilal or Urawa Red Diamonds on Saturday evening.

Photos: Lagardère Sports

Source: the-afc.com

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