East Bengal will compete against Nejmeh, Bashundhara Kings, and Paro in the AFC Challenge League Group Stage
Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], August 22 : East Bengal FC have been drawn into Group A of the 2024-25 AFC Challenge League, where they will face Nejmeh SC (Lebanon), Bashundhara Kings (Bangladesh), and Paro FC (Bhutan). The draw took place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.
The group stage features five groups: three with four teams from the West and two with three teams from the East. Matches will be played between October 26 and November 2 in a centralized 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 this tier of AFC men's club competitions by winning the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup. They had previously contested the AFC Champions League Two qualifying round on August 14 but were defeated 2-3 by Altyn Asyr FC (Turkmenistan), leading them to the AFC Challenge League. This will be East Bengal's first continental club competition group stage appearance since the 2015 AFC Cup. Their best performance was reaching the semi-finals of the 2013 AFC Cup.
Nejmeh SC, former AFC Cup runners-up in 2005, qualified by winning the 2023-24 Lebanese Premier League. East Bengal previously faced Nejmeh in the 2010 AFC Cup Group Stage, losing 0-3 away and 0-4 at home.
Bashundhara Kings, champions of the 2023-24 Bangladesh Premier League, will be making their fifth consecutive group-stage appearance in an AFC club competition.
Paro FC, the 2023 Bhutan Premier League champions, secured their spot by defeating Church Boys United (Nepal) in the qualifying round, marking their debut in a continental club competition group stage.
Eight teams will advance from the Group Stage: the three group winners and the best-ranked runners-up from the West, and the top two finishers from each group in the East. The quarter-finals will be played in a double-legged format between March 5 and 13, 2025, with the semi-finals from April 9 to 17, 2025, and the final scheduled for May 10, 2025.