A balanced Kuwaiti squad for the 2022 AFC Champions League Two

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – The group stage draw for the West region of the 2024-2025 AFC Champions League Two, held on Tuesday at the continental federation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, placed Kuwait FC in a balanced Group 1 alongside Al-Ittihad Kalba (UAE), Nasaf (Uzbekistan), and Al-Khaldiya (Bahrain).

The "White Team," which holds the record for the most titles in the competition under its former name, the AFC Cup, with three wins shared with Iraq’s Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, will begin its campaign away against Al-Ittihad Kalba before hosting Al-Khaldiya and Nasaf in Kuwait. In the return leg, Kuwait will travel to face Nasaf, then host Al-Ittihad Kalba, before concluding the group stage with a match against their hosts, Al-Khaldiya.

The 22nd edition of the second-tier continental competition kicks off on September 15, with the group stage concluding on December 9 before advancing to the Round of 16, scheduled between February 9 and 18, 2027.

Quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played between March 2-18 and April 6-14, respectively, while the final is set for May 15, 2027.

The draw resulted in Group 2 containing Al-Jazira (UAE), Gol Gohar Sirjan (Iran), Al-Muharraq (Bahrain), and Arkadag (Turkmenistan). Group 3 includes Al-Taawoun (Saudi Arabia), Al-Rayyan (Qatar), Al-Faisaly (Jordan), and Al-Nahda (Oman). Group 4 comprises Al-Hussein (Jordan), Al-Shorta (Iraq), Al-Seeb (Oman), and East Bengal (India).

In the AFC Champions League Elite, the West region draw produced heavy-weight Gulf clashes for Saudi clubs. Notable matchups include Al-Hilal facing Al-Ain (UAE), a rematch of last season’s semi-final, Al-Nassr against Al-Sadd (Qatar), and Al-Ahli against Al-Ahli Shabab (UAE).

Saudi representatives’ paths largely converged, facing similar clusters of Qatari, Emirati, and Uzbek clubs. The quartet of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli (defending champions in the last two editions), and Al-Ittihad will encounter Al-Ain, Al-Wahda, Al-Ahli Shabab, Al-Sadd, Al-Gharafa, Al-Shamal, Neftchi, and Bunyodkor in a decisive league phase for direct qualification.

Qatari club Al-Shamal and Japanese side Kyoto Sanga make their continental debuts, while Saudi Al-Qadsiah and Vietnamese Cong An Hanoi participate for the first time at the top tier of Asian club competitions.

The contours of the 2024-2025 edition, featuring 32 teams for the first time since its relaunch under the current name, are now complete.

The third edition of the restructured tournament expands participation to 32 clubs, an increase of eight teams from the previous format, with both the East and West regions gaining four additional slots.

Japan and Saudi Arabia each field five clubs, after Al-Ittihad and Gamba Osaka, former champions, successfully navigated their respective qualifying rounds.

Competition begins on September 14, with the league phase concluding in February 2027.

The top eight teams from both the West and East groups will advance to the Round of 16, scheduled between March 1 and 17, 2027. The finals will be held in a centralized format in Saudi Arabia, encompassing all matches from the quarter-finals onwards, between April 23 and May 1, 2027.