New Delhi [India], August 16 (ANI): The group stage draw of the AFC Champions League Two was conducted on Friday at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The reigning Indian Super League (ISL) Shield Winners, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, are the only side to represent the country in this newly-rebranded second-tier men’s AFC club competition.
Mohun Bagan SG have been drawn in Group A together with Al Wakrah SC of Qatar, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Tractor FC, and Tajikistan’s FC Ravshan. The Mariners finished third in the AFC Cup group stage last season before exiting twice from the inter-zone play-off semi-finals, as per the release by ISL.
Al-Wakrah SC qualified for the AFC Champions League Two by finishing fourth in the 2023-24 Qatar Stars League. This will mark their first appearance in Asia since the 2001-02 Asian Club Championship, as per the ISL.
The Iranian side Tractor FC also qualified with a fourth-place finish in the 2023-24 Persian Gulf Pro League. They have twice reached the Round of 16 of the erstwhile AFC Champions League in 2021 and 2016. FC Ravshan booked their spot in the tournament as the runners-up of the 2023 Tajikistan Higher League. The side from Kulob has made four appearances in the AFC Cup but has never managed to progress from the group stage.
The AFC Cup has now been renamed as the AFC Champions League Two, with a revised format that will feature 32 clubs divided into eight groups – four West, four East – of four teams each for the Group Stage, which will be played in a home-and-away round-robin format from September 17 to December 5, 2024.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 16, to be played in February 2025. This will be followed by the Quarter-finals in March 2025 and Semi-finals in April 2025, before the tournament culminates in a single-leg Final on May 17, 2025.
East Bengal FC, the other club representing India in the 2024-25 AFC club competitions by virtue of being the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup champions, lost their AFC Champions League Two qualifying round match to FC Altyn Asyr on Wednesday and will feature in the 2024-25 AFC Challenge League Group Stage, for which the draw will be conducted on August 22.
AFC Champions League Two Draw Results:
Group A: Al Wakrah SC (QAT), Tractor FC (IRN), Mohun Bagan Super Giant (IND), FC Ravshan (TJK)
Group B: Al Taawoun FC (KSA), Air Force SC (IRAQ), Al Khaldiya SC (BHR), Altyn Asyr FC (TKM)
Group C: Sepahan SC (IRN), Sharjah FC (UAE), FC Istiklol (TJK), Al Wehdat (JOR)
Group D: Shabab Al Ahli (UAE), PFC Nasaf (UZB), Al Hussein (JOR), Kuwait SC (KUW)
Group E: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN), Sydney FC (AUS), Kaya FC-Iloilo (PHI), Eastern (HKG)
Group F: Zhejiang FC (CHN), Port FC (THA), Lion City Sailors FC (SGP), Persib Bandung (IDN)
Group G: Bangkok United (THA), Nam Dinh FC (VIE), Lee Man (HKG), Tampines Rovers FC (SGP)
Group H: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC (KOR), Selangor FC (MAS), Muangthong United (THA), Dynamic Herb Cebu FC (PHI). (ANI)
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