Five-time Bangladesh Football League champions Bashundhara Kings left home for Kuwait on Tuesday to take part in the Group B phase of the AFC Challenge League, scheduled to be held at the Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Stadium from October 25 to 31.聽
Kings begin their campaign against Oman鈥檚 Al Seeb Club on October 25 before facing Lebanon鈥檚 Al Ansar FC and Kuwait Sports Club on October 28 and 31, respectively.
The matches against Al Seeb Club and Al Ansar FC will begin at 7:00pm Bangladesh Standard Time, while the match against Kuwait is scheduled to begin at 10:00pm.
Kings defeated Syria鈥檚 Al-Karamah SC 1-0 in their preliminary round match of the competition in Qatar on August 12 to advance to the group stage from the West Zone.
聽鈥榃e have worked hard for the last few months for this tournament. I believe something great will happen if we can give our best,鈥� said Kings Argentine coach Mario Gomez in the pre-tour press conference at the Kings Arena on Tuesday.聽
Kings captain Topu Barman vowed to win all the games.
鈥業t does not matter how strong the opponents are. All of us will play to win.鈥�
A total of 20 teams split into five groups - two in the East Zone and three in the West Zone 鈥� will compete in the single round-robin league format in the group stage.聽聽
All three group winners from the group stage, along with the best runners-up from the West Zone, will advance to the quarter-finals.聽
Additionally, the two top finishers from each group in the East Zone will join the knockout stage as the other four teams.
The double-leg format quarter-finals and semi-finals are scheduled for March and April 2026 respectively, with the final on May 9.
