Kolkata (West Bengal): Indian football club Mohun Bagan Super Giant will compete against Al-Wakrah SC, Tractor FC, and FC Ravshan in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Two Group A. The draw was conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur.
Mohun Bagan Super Giants qualified for the newly rebranded second-tier men's AFC club competition after emerging triumphant in the 2023-24 Indian Super League Shield. The Mariners finished third in the 2023-24 AFC Cup Group Stage and failed to secure a place in the playoffs.
Al-Wakrah SC booked their berth in the AFC Champions League Two after finishing fourth in the 2023-24 Qatar Stars League. This will be the Qatari side's first appearance in Asia since the 2001-02 Asian Club Championship.
Tractor FC from Iran, the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League in 2021 and 2016, also qualified with a fourth-place finish in the 2023-24 Persian Gulf Pro League. FC Ravshan booked their spot in the tournament being the runners-up of the 2023 Tajikistan Higher League. The side from Kulob has made four appearances in the AFC Cup but has never progressed from the group stage.
The AFC Champions League Two will feature 32 clubs divided into eight groups – four West and four East – with four teams in each group during the Group Stage. It 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 qualify to the pre-quarterfinal round, which will be played in February 2025, followed by the quarterfinals in March 2025 and the semi-finals in April 2025, before the tournament culminates in a highly anticipated final on May 17, 2025.
East Bengal FC, the other club representing India in the 2024-25 AFC club competitions by being the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup champions, lost their AFC Champions League Two qualifying round match to FC Altyn Asyr on Wednesday. They will feature in the 2024-25 AFC Challenge League (third-tier) Group Stage, the draw for which will be conducted on August 22.
