FC Goa have been drawn with Iranian champions Persepolis and Qatari runners-up Al-Rayyan in Group E (West Region) of the AFC Champions League 2021. The winner of the playoff between UAE's Al Wahda and Iraq's Al-Zawraa will make up the fourth team in the group.
Persepolis were the runners up of the 2020 Champions League. Al Rayyan are managed by Laurent Blanc this season.
�� #ACL2021 group stage draw results��
The toughest group is _______ pic.twitter.com/iCUxI4AbRA
- #ACL2021 (@TheAFCCL) January 27, 2021
The competition will be held in a centralized venue, with the West Region scheduled to be played between April 14-30 and the East Region for April 21-May 7.
Goa will be the first Indian club to participate in the Champions League group stage proper. They qualified by virtue of winning the group stage of the 2019-20 Indian Super League.
Meanwhile, ATK Mohun Bagan will play Bangladesh's Basundhara Kings, Maldives' Maziya R&C in group D (South Zone) of the AFC Cup 2021. Joining them will be the winner of the playoff round - and that could be Bengaluru FC. BFC are set to face the winners of the match between Nepal's Tribhuvan Army Club and Sri Lanka Police SC.
The AFC Cup South Zone group stages will commence on May 14.
The hosting rights for the AFC competitions is set to be decided via bids by AFC.
