Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings have been placed in the same group as Indian Super League’s (ISL) ATK Mohun Bagan after the Group Stage draw of the AFC Cup took place today.
Group D, comprising South Zone teams, has ATK Mohun Bagan of India, Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings, Maziya S&RC of the Maldives and a play-off winner.
Bangladesh champions Bashundhara Kings’ journey in their debut AFC Cup campaign last year had ended after just a single match. Kings took pole position in Group E with a 5-1 thrashing of TC Sports of Maldives in their opening fixture on March 11, but the Bangladesh giants’ campaign stalled when coronavirus spread throughout the continent, forcing the AFC to reschedule the remaining group matches at centralised venues before cancellation.
Six teams from South Asia zone will battle for the single play-off place in Group D.
ISL side Bengaluru FC will be facing the winner of the qualifying play-off preliminary round one clash between Nepal Army Club and Sri Lanka Police in the preliminary round two. In the other preliminary round two clash, Abahani will face the winner of Maldives’ Club Eagles and Bhutan’s Thimphu City. Both matches will be played on April 14.
The 2021 Cup is scheduled to kick off with the preliminary round on April 6 with the group stage matches to be played in centralised venues beginning May 14.
