Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: When Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds host Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal in the second leg of the 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.”
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