Seven COVID-19 positives ahead of AFC Champions League resumption

REUTERS: COVID-19 tests conducted on all participating teams in the AFC Champions League's West Asian hub of Qatar have returned seven positive results, Asian soccer's governing body said on Saturday.

The AFC said in a statement that five players and one member of staff from Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal and one player from Qatar's Al Duhail had tested positive.

"All the appropriate medical care and support is being given to the two teams and those who tested positive are under medical supervision in a quarantined environment as required by the safety measures and COVID-19 protocols put in place for the tournament," the AFC said.

The AFC Champions League, Asia's elite club competition, was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will resume first in the West Asia hub of Qatar on Monday and the East Asia hub of Malaysia on Oct. 16.

The final will be played in the West Zone on Dec. 19.

This year's edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier club competition, has been cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)