AFC Cup Draw: Bengaluru FC may meet Mohun Bagan in Group League

East Bengal may qualify as stand by club if Bengaluru qualifies for ACL

AFC CUP
Bengaluru FC may meet Mohun Bagan in AFC Group League Stage | Image : XtraTime

Internet Desk: It will be quite interesting to see the forthcoming AFC Cup draw at Petaling Jaya in Malaysia on Tuesday. Previously there used to be just two groups – East Asia and West Asia. I League champions Bengaluru FC is pitted alongside Maziya S&R (Maldives), Abahani Dhaka Limited (Bangladesh) and a qualifier in South Asia Zone, Group E.

I League runners Mohun Bagan will play the qualifiers first leg of the playoff against Colombo FC on January 31. If they win their first leg matches the Mariners will play against the winner of Thimpu City FC (Bhutan) and Club Vakencia (Maldives).

Bengaluru FC has also qualified to play the qualifiers of Asian Champions League. The Blues start their campaign against Al Wehdat of Jordan in Jordan onJanuary 31 in Round 2. It is a one off match, and the winner next play Al Wahda of UAE in the playoff round on February 07.

Suppose the Blues qualify for the Asian Champions League, then East Bengal by virtue of standby will represent the country in AFC Cup.

Under the new format of Asian Football Confederation Cup, there are five zones – West Asia Zone, Asean Zone, Central Asia Zone, East Asia Zone and South Asia Zone. There are total 9 Groups divided amongst the 5 zones. West Asia and Asean Zones have the largest number of teams i.e., 3 teams each followed by Central Asia, East Asia and South Asia zones having one Group each.

Here are the break-ups of the Zones along with the Group

West Asia Zone – Group A, B & C
Asean Zone – Group F, G & H
Central Asia Zone – Group D
East Asia Zone – Group I
South Asia Zone – Group E