Kuala Lumpur: The eagerly-anticipated line-up for the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) latest club competition – the Women’s Club Championship – has been finalised after Korea Republic was confirmed as the host Member Association for the pilot FIFA/AFC tournament, which is scheduled to take place from November 26 to 30, 2019.

Australia’s Melbourne Victory, Nippon TV Beleza from Japan, China PR’s Jiangsu Suning Ladies Football Club and Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels from Korea Republic will go down in the history books as the first four Asian clubs aiming to clinch the first-ever title in a tournament organised for women’s clubs in Asia.

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AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “Women’s football has always been an integral area of development for the AFC and the remarkable success of our teams underlines the incredible strides Asia continues to make in women’s football globally.

“Competitions is one of the major drivers of development and the Women’s Club Championship reinforces our commitment to further strengthen the foundations for the women’s game in Asia to scale even greater heights.

“On behalf of the AFC, I would like to thank FIFA and the Korea Football Association for sharing our Vision to grow women’s football in Asia. Our ambition is to see more teams and more Member Associations build on our strong momentum as we strive to ensure our women’s teams and players continue to be world-class.”

Current W-League Premiers Melbourne Victory will face Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, who have clinched the WK League title for the last six consecutive seasons, in what is expected to be a classic opener.

Meanwhile, Nippon TV Beleza – one of Asia’s most successful club sides with 15 Nadeshiko League Division 1 championships – will face a stern test against Jiangsu Suning Ladies Football Club, who clinched their second Chinese Women's Super League title by an impressive eight-point margin over their closest rivals in August this year.

The four teams will compete in a round-robin format over three match days – November 26, 28 and 30 – with the eventual group winners lifting the crown of the tournament.