East Bengal is set to battle it out with the defending champions Wuhan Jiangda FC, Bam Khatoon FC of Iran and Uzbekistan league winners PFC Nasaf in Group B of the main competition in the AFC Women's Champions League 2025-26, as the draw on 11th September 2025 revealed. The Red and Gold qualified for the maiden competition after a historic IWL triumph led by none other than Anthony Andrews, who also managed his former employees, Gokulam Kerala, in three straight AFC competitions. It is on him that the Kolkata-based side will be relying again to create a fairytale on the Asian stage this time.
However, they would not have wanted such a tough pairing in the group stages, although no challenge is easy at this level. East Bengal must either finish in the top two of their group or as one of the best third-ranked teams to qualify for the knockouts of the Women's Champions League, making it an uphill task for them. The team’s group stage journey will begin on 17 November 2025 against Bam Khatoon FC and conclude with facing PFC Nasaf on the 23rd of the same month. All of their group games will be played in China. The centralised Semi-finals and Final are scheduled for May 20 to 23, 2026.
East Bengal’s Qualification for the AFC Women's Champions League Group Stage
It was a dream campaign for East Bengal as they secured the 2024-25 IWL crown, their first title in the competition, with an eight-point difference at the top and losing just one game all season. This was a remarkable turnaround for the side that finished second-bottom the season before, accumulating just four points. A major squad overhaul with significant investments through prominent signings, which added title-winning experience to the team, managed by two-time league-winning coach Anthony Andrews, made success imminent and changed the club's discourse. The achievement allowed the Torch Bearers to taste continental football for the first time as they qualified for the second edition of the AFC Women's Champions League.
The IWL winners don’t receive an automatic berth to the group stages of the Women's Champions League, so East Bengal had to navigate their way through the preliminary rounds of the competition. The Red and Golds had to battle the Cambodian side, Phnom Penh Crown FC and Kitchee FC of Hong Kong in the group stage of the preliminary round, with only the winners ṁaking it to the main tournament. Seizing the opportunity, Anthony Andrews’s girls edged out Crown FC 1-0 with a 70th-minute winner from Fazila Ikwaput before playing out a 1-1 draw with Kitchee to secure four points enough to see them through.
East Bengal’s opponents in the AFC Women's Champions League Group Stage
Group B
Wuhan Jiangda FC (China PR)
The strongest opponent for East Bengal in their group is undoubtedly the competition holders, Wuhan Jiangda FC. The dominant team from China, with five domestic titles to their name, won the inaugural edition of the AFC Women's Champions League emphatically. Despite qualifying only as one of the two best third-place teams, the side turned up the gear in the knockouts, where they caused a stunner by eliminating Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan on penalties before picking up another huge result in defeating Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City FC in the semifinal. They ultimately clinched the title with a shootout victory over Melbourne City and creating history. Wuhan Jiangda will now strive to keep hold of the trophy, securing a direct qualification to the group stage of the present edition as defending champions. The team also has the advantage of hosting the games of this group, making them intimidating to face.
Bam Khatoon FC (IR Iran)
Also fighting for the top spot is Bam Khatoon FC of Iran, who are also juggernauts of their regional league. Winning the top flight 10 times, including three since 2021's rebranding, highlights the team's quality, which has also ensured a direct spot in the group stage of the competition. Bam Khatoon also has plenty of experience at the continental stage, with this being their fourth appearance in AFC competitions, having not missed a single edition on the Asian stage since their first qualification in 2022. The first Iranian women's club to receive the AFC Club License also made an encouraging run to the quarterfinal stage of the inaugural Women’s Champions League with the hope of progressing further this time.
PFC Nasaf (Uzbekistan)
Uzbekistan outfit PFC Nasaf will be another stellar name to face for the Red and Gold, another side posing a big challenge in the battle for the top two in the group. Like East Bengal, Nasaf is making a debut in the competition and went through the preliminary round to reach the group stage. However, the side with a record 16-time champions of their domestic league and belonging to a higher nation will be a tough nut to crack, just like others, despite being a newbie to the contest. They have already proven the point after dismantling Nepal’s Armed Police Force 3-0, edging Al Nassr by 1-0 and a decisive 2-1 triumph against the College of Asian Scholars from Thailand in the final game of the preliminary round to get to this stage. If not the top two, they will surely compete with the IWL champions to be among the third-best sides to qualify for the knockouts.
East Bengal’s fixtures in the AFC Women's Champions League Group Stage
17 November 2025
Bam Khatoon FC vs East Bengal FC
20 November 2025
East Bengal FC vs Wuhan Jiangda WFC
23 November 2025
East Bengal FC vs PFC Nasaf
Prediction
East Bengal has been paired with a tough group where they have minimal room for error and any points dropped could signal the end of their stay in the competition. Wuhan Jiangda is the top favourite to win Group B, but getting the other places will be equally difficult for the Red and Gold, with Bam Khatoon and PFC Nasaf both being league champions of high-ranked nations and regulars to the Asian stage. Even though Anthony Andrews has led to some historic wins for Gokulam Kerala FC at the AFC stage, each time they have suffered a group stage exit. Whether he can manage East Bengal to be the first Indian women’s club to make it to the knockout rounds of the continental tournament depends on how aggressively the side fights to be one of the best third-place teams, a realistic goal for the side. With Indian women’s football making gigantic strides internationally in recent months, East Bengal’s success will count as progress and miraculous to beat the bottom place in the group, as competition is severe.
