India’s East Bengal FC have been drawn in Group E alongside Hong Kong China’s Kitchee SC and Cambodian football club Phnom Penh Crown FC for the preliminary stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League 2025-26.
The official draw was held at the AFC House, headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation, in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday
East Bengal earned a spot in the AWCL – the premier women’s club football competition in Asia – for the upcoming season by winning the 2024-25 Indian Women’s League (IWL) title.
The IWL is the top-tier domestic league for women’s football in India.
A total of 19 clubs from across Asia will compete in the preliminary phase of the women’s AFC Champions League, split into five groups – four groups of four teams each and one comprising three.
After single-headed round robin matches, the five group winners will advance to the group stage of the main draw of the 2025-26 AFC Women’s Champions League, where they will join seven automatic qualifiers from the top-ranked AFC Member Associations.
Melbourne City FC (Australia), Suwon FC Women (Republic of Korea), Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan), defending champions Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC (People’s Republic of China), Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC (Vietnam), Bam Khatoon FC (Islamic Republic of Iran) and one club from the United Arab Emirates, which is still to be confirmed, have already qualified for the main draw.