KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13: The Asian Football Confederation Tuesday launched the AFC Champions League with a US$500,000 cash prize for the winners, five times higher than previous Asian club competitions.

Fifty-one teams from 29 countries have entered for the tournament, which will replace the Asian Club Championship, Asian Cup Winners Cup and the Asian Super Cup, the AFC said in a statement.

“There are huge financial incentives for clubs competing in the AFC Champions League,” AFC general secretary Peter Velappan said at the launch ahead of the confederation’s annual congress in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday.

Velappan said that aside from the 500,000-dollar first prize, runners-up would receive 300,000 dollars while all other teams would be given subsidies ranging from 10,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars.

The attractive cash incentives were offered in a bid to woo greater participation in Asia-wide tournaments, and thus enhance club football in the region, the AFC said in a statement.

Velappan said the league was also created to build a new image for Asian football, and would help make the clubs stronger and more competitive.

“This competition is sure to be a winner. After the success of the World Cup ... everyone wants to invest in Asian football, everybody wants to be a part of Asian football.”

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who witnessed the launch here, said the tournament was a “great step forward for Asian football”.

“As we saw at the World Cup, Asian football at an international level is on the rise. This competition will help raise the standard of club, and international football, even further,” he said.

The league’s opening match was to kick off Tuesday in Amman between Jordan’s Al-Wihdat and Al-Nejmeh of Lebanon.

There will be four groups, two in West Asia and two in East Asia, with the winners going into the semifinals in April.

Meanwhile, India has withdrawn its candidate for vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, leaving the way clear for Kuwait, China, Sri Lanka and Malaysia to take the four posts unopposed.

In a letter to the Asian Football Confederation, P.R. Dasmunshi cited “the need for solidarity” as his reason for pulling out of the race, the organization said in a statement.

The AFC’s executive committee endorsed Dasmunshi’s withdrawal at a meeting Monday in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of its annual congress Wednesday.—AFP/AP