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Sources: New Allocation Gives Saudi Arabia, Japan Six slots in AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League 2

توزيع مرتقب للمقاعد الآسيوية يوم الجمعة المقبل (الاتحاد الآسيوي)
توزيع مرتقب للمقاعد الآسيوية يوم الجمعة المقبل (الاتحاد الآسيوي)
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Sources: New Allocation Gives Saudi Arabia, Japan Six slots in AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League 2

توزيع مرتقب للمقاعد الآسيوية يوم الجمعة المقبل (الاتحاد الآسيوي)
توزيع مرتقب للمقاعد الآسيوية يوم الجمعة المقبل (الاتحاد الآسيوي)

Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Professional Football Committee at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is moving to adopt a new slot allocation for the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League 2, in a decision expected to reshape the continent’s club representation. Saudi Arabia and Japan would lead with six slots each across the two competitions.

Under a proposal circulated within the AFC, Saudi Arabia and Japan would each receive three direct berths in the Elite competition, along with two additional slots through the playoffs, in addition to one direct berth in AFC Champions League 2. The distribution underscores the strength of domestic competitions in both countries and their growing influence at the continental level.

The United Arab Emirates and South Korea would follow with five slots each, divided into three direct berths in the Elite competition, one playoff slot, and one direct berth in AFC Champions League 2, reflecting sustained competitive stability in both football landscapes in recent years.

Qatar and Thailand would each be allocated four slots, comprising three direct berths in the Elite competition and one direct berth in AFC Champions League 2. Iran and China would receive three slots each, including two direct berths in the Elite competition and one direct berth in the second-tier competition.

In the next tier, Uzbekistan and Australia would each be granted three slots, distributed as one direct berth in the Elite competition, one playoff slot, and one direct berth in AFC Champions League 2. Iraq and Malaysia would each receive two slots, one direct berth in the Elite competition and one direct berth in the second-tier competition.

The allocation also includes Jordan and Vietnam, with each set to receive two slots: one through the playoffs for the Elite competition and one direct berth in AFC Champions League 2, offering their clubs an additional pathway to continental participation under the new structure.

The same sources said the allocation is expected to be formally approved next Friday, in a pivotal regulatory step that will shape Asian club participation in the coming seasons and establish new criteria for slot distribution based on cumulative performance and continental results, amid sweeping changes to AFC club competitions.

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Sports

Roger Federer Heads to the Tennis Hall of Fame and Says He ‘Had the Best Time’ During His Career

Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)
Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)
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Roger Federer Heads to the Tennis Hall of Fame and Says He ‘Had the Best Time’ During His Career

Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)
Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)

Roger Federer loved to win, of course, and at the peak of his career almost always did.

All those victories and trophies he piled up alone would have made Federer remembered forever in tennis, but they were only part of the reason he enjoyed playing. He liked traveling to tournaments, meeting people and making new friends, whether they were on the other side of the net or sitting in the stands.

Only after he finished competing did Federer realize how much that impacted his legacy in the sport.

“I think when you retire, I think I said it before, that there was a lot of talk also about maybe my personality and what I brought to the game overall when I wasn’t on court, which I was a little surprised,” Federer said. "I thought it was about, in the moment, forehands and backhands and saving break points and victories and all that stuff.

"But actually it becomes a little bit, not irrelevant eventually, but it’s about what were you remembered for, how did you behave in the locker rooms or in the corridors or maybe with the media, or with the tournament directors, the ball kids."

Federer will have a chance to reflect back on it all Saturday when he is enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

The 45-year-old from Switzerland, who will be honored along with broadcaster and former player Mary Carillo, said it would be his first trip to Newport. That seemed surprising, given how many places he's gone for his tennis.

Sure, there was regular stops such as New York and London and Paris for Grand Slam tournaments, but there were also cities like Cape Town, South Africa, for an exhibition match against Rafael Nadal that drew nearly 52,000 fans; or Mexico City, for one against Alexander Zverev that drew more than 42,000.

Those were near the end of his career, when Federer was forced to limit his schedule for health reasons. He hated having to do so, because he liked going too many places, even ones that didn't host the biggest events.

“For me, if I look back, that’s kind of what I’m very happy about, that I went through 25 years on tour, and actually felt like I made a lot of friends and a lot of people miss me,” Federer said. "Same with fans. They come up to me and say, ‘What a shame you’re not playing anymore.’

“Then I get a flashback saying it was an amazing time, and I say it every time. I loved it, and it’s a shame I can’t be on the tour anymore. But it was a great, great time and I miss it dearly.”

The fans clearly miss Federer. When he returned to the US Open this week for an exhibition, his first time playing in Flushing Meadows since 2019, the lines of fans waiting to get into Arthur Ashe Stadium resembled a night in the second week of the tournament, not well before it even began.

Federer won five straight US Open titles from 2004-08, during a stretch when he compiled a 247-15 record from 2004-06 and reached a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2005-07, winning eight. He went on to win 1,251 matches and 103 tournaments, including 20 Grand Slams.

“He’s the best I’ve ever played against,” Andre Agassi, Federer's opponent in the 2005 final, said in a video the US Open showed before Federer took the court Tuesday.

The way he won, with far more flair than some stuffy champions of the past but without the temper tantrums of others, earned him accolades that his skills alone couldn't. He won the ATP Tour's sportsmanship award every year from 2004-09, and again from 2011-17, and the fan favorite award every year from 2003-21. Those came while earning prize money of nearly $130.6 million.

Federer hits sometimes with his children — he and wife Mirka are parents of two sets of twins — and tries to attend a few events a year to keep him connected to the sport.

“I’m in a very comfortable place today, but I’m still happy to be out there and being in the tennis world from time to time, because it is the glue to everything that surrounds me still today,” Federer said.

“I had the best time, had a lot of friends on tour, from players to people who were organizers, et cetera. So I hope that a lot of the players who retire also feel the same way about the game, because I care dearly.”

Sports

Frankfurt Signs Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu from Freiburg as Bundesliga Season Starts

Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)
Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)
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Frankfurt Signs Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu from Freiburg as Bundesliga Season Starts

Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)
Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)

Eintracht Frankfurt signed the up-and-coming German goalkeeper Noah Atubolu from Freiburg on the day the new Bundesliga season gets underway.

Atubolu was key to Freiburg's run to the Europa League final last season — where it lost to Aston Villa — and had been linked with a potential move to Villa in the summer as he sought to leave.

Instead, he heads to Frankfurt on what is initially a season-long loan with “a purchase option, which will automatically trigger an obligation to buy under certain conditions,” Frankfurt said.

Atubolu had a year left on his old Freiburg contract and has signed an extension to make the loan-to-buy deal possible, Freiburg said. That prevents him from moving elsewhere as a free agent next summer instead of joining Frankfurt permanently.

It ends a long-running transfer saga which included Freiburg signing Germany Under-21 goalkeeper Mio Backhaus from Werder Bremen as its replacement for Atubolu, who was left out of the squad for Freiburg's opening three games of the season in the German Cup and Conference League qualifiers.

“We have very complicated weeks and months behind us,” Freiburg sporting director Jochen Saier said in a statement.

The Bundesliga gets underway with defending champion Bayern Munich playing Stuttgart on Friday. Frankfurt visits Union Berlin on Saturday before Freiburg takes on Backhaus' former club Bremen on Sunday.

Sports

In Shadow of Premier League, Serie A Flexes Financial Muscle

Football - Serie A - Torino v AC Milan - Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy - August 23, 2026 AC Milan's Goncalo Ramos before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Torino v AC Milan - Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy - August 23, 2026 AC Milan's Goncalo Ramos before the match. (Reuters)
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In Shadow of Premier League, Serie A Flexes Financial Muscle

Football - Serie A - Torino v AC Milan - Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy - August 23, 2026 AC Milan's Goncalo Ramos before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Torino v AC Milan - Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy - August 23, 2026 AC Milan's Goncalo Ramos before the match. (Reuters)

For Italian football this has been a chastening year, yet, ahead of a likely frenzy before their transfer window shuts on September 1, Serie A clubs have spent the summer asserting their place in Europe's financial pecking order.

In both overall outlay and net spend, Serie A is a clear second among the "Big Five" leagues.

While fee structures, conditional payments and financial sleights-of-hand can make the precise transfer values a little hazy, German site Transfermarkt on Thursday put Italy's total outgoings at more than one billion euros ($1.165 billion), far ahead of La Liga, at three-quarters-of-a-billion, and then the Bundesliga.

In all, the 20 Serie A clubs are almost 430 million euros in the red this summer, against just under 300 million euros in Spain. Both the Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 are in profit.

Of course, the "Big Five" is a misleading phrase. European club football has become the Premier League and everyone else. English clubs have, so far, spent 3.2 billion euros, more than the other four league put together.

The second round of the Serie A season opens Friday with AC Milan, for now restored to their role as Italy's biggest spenders, hosting smartly-dressed yoyo club Venezia.

When Milan spent a reported 74 million euros to acquire Goncalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain, he became the most expensive Serie A signing since Juventus bought Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina five years earlier.

With Diego Moreira, coming from Strasbourg for 50 million euros, Milan have spent a total of almost 160 million euros, a whisker more than Juventus, with plenty of moves to come.

Under new boss Ruben Amorim, Milan opened the season with a 2-1 win at Torino.

On Thursday, Amorim did not rule out further recruits.

"We have to wait five more days until the transfer window closes," the Portuguese coach, who started last season in the Premier League with Manchester United, told his pre-match press conference.

"If someone arrives, it will be because they can help us both now and in the future."

- 'Things will take time' -

He made clear that the transfer market was not simply about spending to bring players in.

"It's impossible to train during the week with 27 players. Nobody is going to be prepared, nobody is going to be satisfied, so there are some players that if they stay, they will not be part of the squad," he said, when asked about reports that the club was trying to unload Fikayo Tomori, Youssouf Fofana and Santiago Gimenez.

After a summer in which Italy missed the World Cup, sparking a debate on the lack of talent in the national team, Amorim said clubs need to develop from within.

"We need to take time and believe in our young players," he said. "We are going to have some problems with young players in some games, but big surprises happen.

"Everyone wants everything really fast and I'm a little bit old school. I think a lot of things will take time."

Yet on the opening weekend, five of the six biggest spenders, Milan, champions Inter Milan, Juventus, Roma and Napoli all won. The exception were Fiorentina, trying to spend their way into the top end of the table, who crashed to Roma.