FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN football clubs Muharraq and Al Khaldiya will compete in next year’s AFC Champions League (ACL) Two.
This was announced yesterday by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which confirmed the list of participating clubs for its 2025-26 competitions.
Formerly known as the AFC Cup, the ACL Two is the second-tier club competition of the AFC – one level below the AFC Champions League Elite and one above the AFC Challenge League.
Next season’s ACL Two will feature the largest cast across the AFC’s club competitions, with 29 sides – 14 from the West region and 15 from the East, including the clubs eliminated from the ACL Elite preliminary stage of each region – granted entry to the group stage.
Six more teams are to occupy the indirect slots and do battle in the preliminaries.
Muharraq and Khaldiya are part of the Western sides that also include Al Nassr Club of Saudi Arabia, Al Wasl FC of the UAE, Al Ahli SC of Qatar, Esteghlal FC of Iran, PFC Andijon of Uzbekistan, Al Hussein and Al Wehdat from Jordan, Mohun Bagan Super Giant and FC Goa from India, FC Istiklol and FC Regar-TadAZ from Tajikistan, FC Arkadah and Ahal FC from Turkmenistan, and Al Seeb Club from Oman.
Other slots are still to be filled by teams from Saudi, the UAE, Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Oman.
Muharraq earned their spot in the ACL Two as champions of the 2024-25 Nasser Bin Hamad Bahrain Premier League, while Khaldiya have their berth as winners of the 2024-25 His Majesty the King’s Cup.
Muharraq will be participating in the ACL Two for the first time, but are two-time former champions of the AFC Cup, while Khaldiya are set to return for a second straight season.
Khaldiya made it through to the knockout stages of this past campaign’s ACL Two edition, finishing second in Group B that also included Al Taawoun of Saudi Arabia, Air Force Club of Iraq, and Altyn Asyr of Turkmenistan. The Bahrainis could not advance past the round of 16, however, where they were ousted by Tractor FC of Iran.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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