The rebranded Asia's second-tier club football tournament, AFC Champions League 2 will kick off on 17th September 2024 with Mohun Bagan Super Giant the sole representation from India after their rivals East Bengal failed to make it to the main tournament by losing in the qualifiers. The AFC Champions League 2 is the continuation of the former AFC Cup, now with a new name. The Mariners directly qualified for the group stage having won the ISL League Shield for the first time last season. After a neck-in-neck fight with previous winners Mumbai City, the Kolkata giants claimed the honour by defeating the Islanders on the final day under the guidance of Antonio Lopez Habas. Since assuming the role in January, the Spaniard's experience in winning trophies turned the club's fortunes around in his second term.
The AFC Champions League 2 has a completely different format and quality of opponents for Indian clubs than its predecessor, the AFC Cup. Back then, the ISL or I-League teams faced clubs from the same region South Asia. Following the rebranding of the competition, the champion clubs from Maldives and Bangladesh will not be drawn with Indian clubs in the same group each time as they will now compete in the third-tier, AFC Challenge League. Additionally, teams from the same league will not face each other. Despite Indian clubs losing their spot in the top tier for AFC rankings, now the AFC Champions League elite, Mohun Bagan will still face sizeable challenges in the second tier.
The ACL 2 draw was conducted on 16 August 2024 which clubbed the side with Al-Wakrah of Qatar, Tractor FC of Iran and Tajikistan’s FC Ravshan in the East Zone. Knowing the magnitude of the competition, the team has made some significant additions this summer. 2016 ISL-winning coach Jose Molina has been roped in with the sensational purchase of A-League’s leading goalscorer Jamie Maclaren. Additionally, ISL-proven stars and AFC Champions League experienced players like Greg Stewart have joined the ranks to make the attack one of the best in the division. Hence, the Green and Maroons look set for their continental test.
AFC Champions League 2 Format
The competition will feature 32 clubs divided into two zones with eight groups, four in the West Zone and the rest four in the East. The games will be played in a home-and-away round-robin format from September 17 to December 5, 2024. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout round beginning with the Round of 16 in February next year. The final will take place on 17 May 2025.
Opponents
Al-Wakrah (Qatar)
The most difficult opponent Mohun Bagan Super Giant are about to face in the ACL 2 group stage is against Al-Wakrah of Qatar. The side managed by Miguel Ángel Ramírez finished fourth in the Qatar Stars League securing a group stage berth in the continental tournament for the first time. The two-time domestic league winners boast several players for the Qatar national team like Lucas Mendes, Ali Mukhtar and Abdelkarim Hassan while possessing quality foreigners like Egypt’s Hamdy Fathy and Aïssa Laïdouni of Tunisia. The team is certainly the favourite to secure the top spot in the group. Bagan needs to be defensively savvy while facing them with some of the Indian national team players' experience playing against the Qataris on foreign soil in the squad will be useful.
Tractor FC (IR Iran)
No less threat will be posed by Tractor FC of Iran who are also making their debut in the newly branded competition. The Red Wolves finished behind champions Persepolis, Esteghlal and Sepahan in fourth to qualify for the group stage and will be gunning for a place in the knockouts. Tractor also includes several members belonging to the Iranian national team. The club has previously played in the top tier of Asian club football so they are not unaware of the pressure competing at this level brings. They have reached the last-16 stage of the erstwhile AFC Champions League twice with the latest coming in 2021. Another tough opposition Mohun Bagan has to deal with.
FC Ravshan (Tajikistan)
In contrast, FC Ravshan Kulob has never made it to the knockout stage in their four appearances in the AFC Cup. The team booked their spot in the AFC Champions League 2 by finishing as runners-up in the 2023 Tajikistan Higher League. This could be one opponent that Mohun Bagan could think about beating but the side being higher ranked will force them to do something incredible to draw out a positive result. Ravshan will also be a worry for the ISL Shield winners with several Tajikistan national team players making the group.
Mohun Bagan Fixtures for 2024/25 AFC Champions League 2
18 September 2024
Mohun Bagan vs FC Ravshan - Salt Lake Stadium (19:30)
2 October 2024
Tractor FC vs Mohun Bagan - Yadgar Stadium (21:30)
23 October 2024
Mohun Bagan vs Al-Wakrah - Salt Lake Stadium (19:30)
6 November 2024
Al-Wakrah vs Mohun Bagan - Al Janoub Stadium (21:30)
27 November 2024
FC Ravshan vs Mohun Bagan (TBD)
4 December 2024
Mohun Bagan vs Tractor FC - Salt Lake Stadium (21:30)
Mohun Bagan will start their AFC Champions League 2 campaign, their eighth participation following the AFC Cup record, against the Tajikistan side Ravshan at Salt Lake Stadium on 18 September 2024. The Mariners will then travel to Iran in October for the first away match in the tournament against Tractor FC before two crucial games against Al Wakrah, the first one at home, take centre stage. Jose Molina’s side's faith will be sealed in those matches as a positive start is the need of the hour. Only two teams will qualify from each group to the knockout round so Mohun Bagan has to pull off something remarkable.
