The 2024\/25 season is the first edition of the revamped third-tier men\u2019s club competition, which gives a chance to teams from the Continent\u2019s emerging leagues and their diverse range of talents.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
East Bengal FC have been included in the Group Stage after their campaign in the AFC Champions League Two Preliminary Stage came to an early end a few days back. The top Indian club went down to Turkmenistan\u2019s Altyn Asyr FC 2-3 at the floodlit Yuba Bharati Kriangan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They will not be included in one of the five groups in the Group Stage -\u2013 three comprising four teams from the West each and two involving three teams from the East each -\u2013 that is set to be played over three Matchdays between October 26 and November 2, with each group taking place at a centralised host as each side face their opponent once.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Of the 18 teams in the hat for the draw, three have qualified for an AFC club competition for the first time: Turkmenistan\u2019s FC Arkadag, Mongolia\u2019s SP Falcons and Bhutan\u2019s Paro FC.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Group Stage cast \u2013 comprising 16 teams that qualified directly and two Preliminary Stage winners \u2013 will be separated into pots within each region<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The country protection principle will be in force and a bespoke draw software will be utilised to prevent any deadlock situations from occurring, the AFC informed in a release on Monday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Group Stage cast \u2013 comprising 16 teams that qualified directly and two Preliminary Stage winners \u2013 will be separated into pots within each region<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Paris Olympics News<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n