East Bengal To Face Turkmenistan-Based Altyn Asyr In AFC Champions League Two Preliminary Stage

Kuala Lumpur: East Bengal are pitted against Turkmenistan-based club Altyn Asyr FC in the preliminary stage of the upcoming AFC Champions League Two on August 14, it was announced on Wednesday. The Red and Gold Brigade, which had finished ninth in the ISL last season, qualified for this event by winning the Super Cup this year, beating Odisha FC 3-2 in the final.

The August 14 fixture will be a home game. With four sides competing at the ACL Two preliminaries, the other match will feature Bahrain’s Al-Ahli and Al-Kuwait. Among 32 club sides, 27 teams from across 21 Member Associations (12 from the West region and 15 from the East) earning direct entry into the group stage.

Also, three teams — two from the West and one from the East — eliminated from the AFC Champions League Elite preliminary stage will take the remaining group stage spots of ACL Two. The other ISL club to compete in this competition is League Shield Winner — Mohun Bagan Super Giants — making it directly to the group stage.

The 32-team group stage will be divided into eight groups, with the matches being played in the round-robin home-and-away format between September 17-December 5. The group stage will be followed by the pre-quarterfinals, quarterfinals, semi-finals and final. The final will be conducted on May 17 next year.