KUALA LUMPUR, 30th June, 2025 (WAM) -- The road to glory in the AFC Women’s Champions League™ 2025/26 will be charted on Thursday when the draw for the Preliminary Stage takes place at 3 pm at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ahead of its second season, the groundbreaking tournament’s mission to elevate the level of women’s football on the Continent has been reaffirmed with the largest number of participating teams to date.
A total of 26 clubs from different Member Associations (MAs)—five more than last season—are set to be involved in the showpiece, with 19 of them to start from the Preliminary Stage. There are five MAs that will be represented in Continental club action for the first time: Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, Guam, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.
The draw will divide them into five groups—four groups of four and one group of three—to do battle in a centralised league format between 23rd to 31st August, with only the five group winners advancing to the Group Stage.
They will join the teams from the top seven MAs in the AFC Women’s Club Competition Ranking 2024/25, namely Melbourne City FC (Australia), Abu Dhabi sports team, Suwon FC Women (Korea), Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan), holders Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC (China), Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC (Vietnam), and Bam Khatoon FC (Iran) to form a 12-strong cast.
Of the 19 teams in the hat for the draw, 10 will be marking their maiden forays into an AFC competition: Kaohsiung Attackers FC, Stallion Laguna FC, East Bengal FC, Kelana United FC, Naegohyang Women’s FC, Master FC, Strykers FC, Phnom Penh Crown FC, Khovd Western FC and SDYUSHOR SI – Asiagoal.
The seeding for the draw is based on the AFC Women’s Club Competition Ranking 2024/25 that was released on 26th May, with the record cast to be split into four pots and an additional Hosts Pot, as follows:
Pot 1: Kaohsiung Attackers FC (TPE; Rank: 8), Stallion Laguna FC (PHI; 9), College of Asian Scholars (THA; 10), East Bengal FC (IND; 11).
Pot 2: Naegohyang Women’s FC (PRK; 13), Etihad Club (JOR; 16), Kitchee SC (HKG; 17).
Pot 3: APF FC (NEP; 19), Strykers FC (GUM; 22), Lion City Sailors FC (SGP; 23).
Pot 4: Khovd Western FC (MNG; 25), Al Nassr Club (KSA; 26), SDYUSHOR SI – Asiagoal (KGZ; 29), RTC FC (BHU; 33).
Hosts Pot: Kelana United FC (Malaysia), PFC Nasaf (Uzbekistan), ISPE WFC (Myanmar), Master FC (Laos), Phnom Penh Crown FC (Cambodia).
Following the conclusion of the Preliminary Stage, a draw to determine the Group Stage fate of the 12 qualified teams will be conducted in September, with the thrilling top-class women’s club football action to continue in November.