TEHRAN - The General Managers of the four Iranian clubs representing Iran in 2020 AFC Champions League - Persepolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan, and Shahr Khodro – will meet senior officials of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Thursday.

Amir Mahdi Alavi, the spokesman for the Football Federation, says that the goal of the meeting is to negotiate about the hosting right of the Iranian teams in AFC Champions League matches.

Mohammad Hasan Ansarifard, General Manager of Persepolis, suggested the idea of meeting with the AFC top officials and it was welcomed by Masoud Soltanifar, Iran’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Football Federation of Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) sent the request to AFC and it was approved by the confederation.

Alavi added: " Ibrahim Shakouri, Acting Secretary-General of FFIRI, along with General Managers of the four clubs - Persepolis, Sepahan, Esteghlal, and Shahr Khodro - will leave Tehran on Wednesday night for Kuala Lumpur. The meeting will be held on Thursday at the AFC headquarters to discuss the issues with the Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation.”

AFC’s Competitions Committee has announced that Iranian teams in the 2020 ACL must host their rivals in a neutral venue because of security concerns.

The decision has angered the Iranian fans and officials in Iran.

Responding to the decision, the four Iranian teams signed and sent a letter to the AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa on Saturday, insisting that Iran is "safe" enough to host the international matches.