AFC Challenge League: East Bengal to face Nejmeh, Bashundhara Kings & Paro in  Group stage

New Delhi: East Bengal FC have been drawn alongside Nejmeh SC (Lebanon), Bashundhara Kings (Bangladesh) and Paro FC (Bhutan) in Group A of the 2024-25 AFC Challenge League in the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.

There are five groups in the Group Stage – three comprising four teams from the West each and two involving three teams from the East each – that is set to be played over three matchdays between October 26 and November 2, with each group taking place in a centralised location in a single round-robin format. Group A will be hosted by Paro FC at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

East Bengal FC qualified for the third tier of men’s AFC club competitions by winning the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup. The Red and Gold Brigade contested the AFC Champions League Two qualifying round on August 14 but the 2-3 defeat to Altyn Asyr FC (Turkmenistan) meant that they will now feature in the AFC Challenge League.

East Bengal were placed in Pot 1 in the draw. This will be the first time East Bengal will play in a continental club competition group stage since the 2015 AFC Cup. Their best showing came at the 2013 AFC Cup, where they reached the semi-final.

Nejmeh SC, former runners-up of the AFC Cup in 2005, qualified for the AFC Challenge League by being the 2023-24 Lebanese Premier League champions. East Bengal have faced Nejmeh previously in the 2010 AFC Cup Group Stage, losing 0-3 away and 0-4 at home. Bashundhara Kings booked their slot in the tournament as the 2023-24 Bangladesh Premier League champions.

It will be their fifth consecutive group-stage appearance in an AFC club competition. Paro FC, the 2023 Bhutan Premier League champions, overcame Church Boys United (Nepal) in the qualifying round to make their debut in a continental club competition group stage.

Eight teams will progress from the Group Stage – the three group winners and best-ranked runners-up from the West, and the top two finishers of each Group from the East – to the double-legged Quarter-finals, which will take place between March 5 and 13, 2025. The semi-finals will unfold from April 9 to 17, 2025, and the winners will advance to the coveted final on May 10, 2025. IANS

Also Read: Durand Cup 2024: East Bengal bow out after loss to Shillong Lajong

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