India to Host AFC Women’s Champions League Group Stage for the First Time

Indian women’s football will turn a new page after India has been named one of the hosts for the AFC Women’s Champions League 2026/27 group stage.

The group stage of the tournament will be held from November 1 to 7. East Bengal are one of the three clubs in the Hosts Pot, along with Uzbekistan’s PFC Nasaf and Myanmar’s Ayeyawady FC Women.

The occasion has a special significance for Kolkata. The city had hosted men’s continental football in the AFC Cup 2022 as ATK Mohun Bagan were one of the host clubs but this will be the first time the city will host the group stage of the AFC’s top-tier women’s club competition. According to the AFC standards, the VYBK is the most likely venue to be selected.

East Bengal scripted history by becoming the first Indian club to reach the AFC Women’s Champions League group stage back-to-back. The red-and-gold brigade secured their place after winning all three of their Preliminary Stage Group A matches at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

The group-stage draw will be held on September 3 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur. Six clubs have qualified directly, including defending champions Naegohyang Women’s FC and the top-ranked quintet of Melbourne City FC, Hwacheon KSPO WFC, INAC Kobe Leonessa, Beijing Jingtan Football Club and Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC who are joined by the six group winners from the Preliminary Stage.

East Bengal are in the Hosts Pot alongside Nasaf and Ayeyawady, setting the stage for another landmark campaign.

A knockout stage draw will be held in December 2026 prior to the commencement of the quarter-finals, which will be hosted by the top four clubs consisting the three group winners and the best-ranked runner-up. The knockouts will be played in March 2027 as single-leg ties.

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