Semi-finals and grand final will be held in a centralised location like last season but the venue hasn't been announced yet.
Saudi arabia
Not sure but I do believe you guys will win. Absolute robbery last year.
Better not be Saudi Arabia. Not only is their track record on women's rights quite poor they have an atrocious record on LGBT rights with homosexuality punishable by death over there. Even if sportswashing means they don't get arrested as long as the government gets money I guarantee they won't feel safe, especially the lesbian players.
Grand final could possibly be a repeat of last season with Naegohyang playing Ho Chi Minh City and Wuhan Jiangda playing Suwon in the quarterfinals on the other side of the draw.
Melbourne City definitely capable of going all the way especially since they'll be more or less at full strength come the end of March with Shelby McMahon close to full fitness and set to return Tuesday, along with Caitlin Karic and Laura Hughes who should be back from their respective injuries by then.
Sooo why don't Melbourne go for hosting the final?
Hopefully they do (or Sydney or anywhere else in Australia) does.
As much as I'd like to see Australia host the AFC Women's Champions League semis and grand final I don't think they'll get hosting rights unfortunately because the Middle East will have too much money and also rugby league won't want the round ball game in Sydney three days out from game one of State of Origin.
Would the Middle East really go for it though? It (along with West Asia i.e Afghanistan and Iran) seems to be the region of the world that cares the least about women's football.
I think they'll go for it so they can continue with sportswashing and trying to improve their reputation on the world stage despite the human rights concerns, especially since Qatar are in talks with FIFA for the inaugural Women's Club World Cup.
I did see that. Women's football fans are furious though. Especially since Qatar haven't played any matches since 2021 and are unranked by FIFA. It's insulting to local players that Qatar won't invest in women's football unless it's a big money international event.
Why would they want it when Melbourne is playing?
Money? Plus Victoria have kinda fucked up their bids for sports lately, ditto the Commonwealth Games and being robbed of getting to host any Asian Cup games.
With all respect it's a bit silly having a Melbourne team playing finals in Sydney last time someone came up with that idea it didn't end well
Victoria has adequate infrastructure but Geelong would be unavailable in late May because of the AFL and I don't think any venues other than AAMI Park which meet the AFC regulations are going to be available especially since the semis and grand final are also midway through the NPL season.