Asian soccer’s AFC governing body has bolstered its commercial partnership slate by adding sports-focused hospital Aspetar as its official medical partner and global supporter through June 2029.
The new agreement covers all major AFC club competitions, as well as several unnamed national team competitions, and will see Qatar-based Aspetar provide care to professional athletes under the AFC’s umbrella.
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The deal builds on Aspetar’s recent string of partnerships with AFC, having secured accreditation as an AFC Medical Centre of Excellence and serving as the medical service provider for the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.
Most recently, the hospital was named as the premier partner of the AFC Medical Conference held in Kuala Lumpur last July.
The new deal comes days after the AFC announced the expansion of its top-tier Champions League Elite club competition to 32 teams from the 2026-27 season.
Under the plans, the league stage of the competition will be expanded from 24 to 32, equally divided into two groups geographically between east and west.
The qualification and knockout stages will also be revamped, with the clubs ranked first through sixth in each region during the league stage earning direct entry to the round-of-16, while the following seven through 10 in each group will compete in a play-off round to make up the remaining places.
While the League Phase expansion will take place immediately, the addition of the knockout phase will not take place until at least one season after, with the AFC citing the “current congested global competitions calendar” as the reason for the delay.
