Uzbek "Pakhtakor", Saudi club "Al-Faiha" and "Al-Ain" from the UAE got to rival Turkmen "Ahal" following the results of the draw of the 42nd edition of the main club football tournament of the Asian Football Confederation and the 21st under the current AFC Champions League title, held today in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
The AFC Champions League group stage will feature 40 teams, divided geographically into 2 zones: Western and Eastern.
It is worth noting that before the draw for the new season of the AFC Champions League, "Ahal" was in the third basket along with the clubs "Al-Faisaly" (Jordan), "Istiqlol" (Tajikistan), "Mumbai City" (India) and "Air Force" (Iraq), which excluded the possibility of the current champion of Turkmenistan to play with these clubs in the group stage of the tournament. The teams that got into it were divided into five groups in the Western Zone. "Ahal" with its rivals ended up in group "A".
The compositions of the remaining groups in the "West" zone:
"B": "Al-Sadd" (Qatar), "Nasaf" (Uzbekistan), "Al-Faisaly" (Jordan), "Sharjah" (UAE);
"C": "Al-Ittihad" (Saudi Arabia), "Sepahan" (Iran), FC "Air Force" (Iraq), "AGMK" (Uzbekistan);
"D": "Al-Hilal" (Saudi Arabia), "Nassaji Mazandaran" (Iran), "Mumbai City" (India), "Navbahor" (Uzbekistan);
"E": "Persepolis" (Iran), "Al-Duhail" (Qatar), "Istiqlol" (Tajikistan), "Al-Nasr" (Saudi Arabia).
In the "East" zone, the current champion of Hong Kong "Kitchee", for which the midfielder of the national team of Turkmenistan Ruslan Mingazov plays, will play in group "F" together with the vice-champion and winner of the Cup of the Republic of Korea "Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors", silver medalist and winner of the Champions Cup of Thailand "Bangkok United" and vice-champion of Singapore
"Lion City Sailors".
The compositions of the remaining groups in the "East" zone:
"G": "Yokohama F. Marinos" (Japan), "Shandong Taishan" (China), "Kaya FC-Iloilo" (Philippines), "Incheon United" (Republic of Korea);
"H": "Buriram United" (Thailand), "Ventforet Kofu" (Japan), "Melbourne City" (Australia), "Zhejiang" (China);
"I": "Ulsan Hyundai" (Republic of Korea), "Kawasaki Frontale" (Japan),
"Johor Darul Tazim" (Malaysia), "BG Pathum United" (Thailand);
"J": "Wuhan Three Towns" (China), "Pohang Steelers" (Republic of Korea),
FC "Hanoi" (Vietnam), "Urawa Red Diamonds" (Japan).
The group round matches of Asia’s premier club tournament will be held from September 18 to December 13. All teams will play three matches home and away. The 1/8 finals, which will be held in February-April 2024, will feature the winners of the groups and the 3 best teams among the runners-up in both the Western and Eastern zones. The final will be held in a two-match format: on May 11 and 18, 2024.
The current AFC Champions League draw will be the first to be held under the autumn-spring system, and the last to be attended by 40 clubs. Starting next season, the tournament will be reduced to 24 teams.
The winner of the AFC Champions League 2023/24 will take part in the 2024 Club World Cup, and also will qualify for the next edition of the tournament.
Last season, the victory in the AFC Champions League was celebrated by the Japan’s "Urawa Red Diamonds", who defeated the "Al-Hilal" team from Saudi Arabia in the final – 2:1.
Turkmen clubs have played in the AFC Champions League with long breaks. In 2003, "Nisa" Ashgabat reached the quarterfinal group tournament and failed to make it to the top four teams in Asia.
Last year, after 19 years, "Ahal" represented Turkmenistan for the first time in the Asia’s premier club football tournament. At the two-round tournament held in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) with the participation of four clubs from Turkmenistan, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the team of the Main Directorate of Turkmennebitonumleri won the first ever victory in the AFC Champions League, beating Qatar's "Al–Gharafa" - 4:2. And in the debut match in this prestigious Asian club competition, the club took points from the finalist of the AFC Champions League 2015, the bronze medalist of the UAE "Shabab Al-Ahli" from Dubai, having drawn with him - 1:1. According to the results of six matches, "Ahal" took 4th place in group "C" with 4 points, passing ahead of "Al-Gharafa" (5 points), "Shabab Al-Ahli" (10 points) and Iran's "Foolad" (12 points).
This year, the reigning champion of Turkmenistan will attempt to compete for the main Asian club football trophy for the second time in a row.
