«Al Shabab» from Oman, «Paro» from Bhutan and «Abdysh-Ata» from Kyrgyzstan were drawn against «Altyn Asyr» from Turkmenistan in the 2025/26 AFC Challenge League draw held today at the Asian Football Confederation House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The new season will be the second for the third-largest men's club tournament in Asia, which was updated last year and will feature 20 teams divided geographically into two zones - West and East. The AFC Challenge League, in which all teams will receive US$100,000 for participating in the group stage, is aimed at promoting clubs from the continent's developing leagues and showcasing their talents.
It is worth noting that before the draw, «Altyn Asyr» was in the first basket together with the clubs «Al-Seeb» (Oman) and «Regar-TadAZ» (Tajikistan), which excluded the possibility of the bronze medalist of the 2024 Turkmenistan Championship playing with these teams in the group stage of the tournament.
A few words about the upcoming opponents of «Altyn Asyr».
Founded in 2003, the sports club «Al-Shabab», based in Barka, is an old-timer in the Oman Professional League - the top football division of the country. Last season, this club took 6th place in the national league and won the Sultan Qaboos Cup, known as His Majesty's Cup - one of the main tournaments in Oman among men's teams, earning the right to debut in the AFC Challenge League.
Professional football club «Paro» was formed in 2018. The team became the champion of Bhutan five times (in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), started in the AFC Cup three times (in the 2020, 2022 and 2023-24 seasons), but could not get past the preliminary round in the second most important club tournament in Asia.
In August 2024, «Paro» made headlines by signing Japanese international Keisuke Honda, who joined the club on a one-match deal to play in the AFC Challenge League playoffs against Nepalese side «Church Boys United».
«Paro» will be playing in the AFC Challenge League group stage for the second year in a row this season, having qualified for the group stage by beating afghanian «Abu Muslim» 1-0 in the preliminary round.
«Abdysh-Ata» Football Club from Kant, Kyrgyzstan was founded in 2000. Since the 2003 season, they have been a regular in the Kyrgyz Premier League. «Abdysh-Ata» has won the Kyrgyzstan Cup five times (in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2022) and the national championship three times (in 2022, 2023 and 2024). In 2023, «Abdysh-Ata» debuted in the AFC Cup and was quite successful, becoming the first club from Kyrgyzstan to not only advance from the group of the second most important Asian club tournament, but also reach the semi-finals.
In the 2024/2025 season, «Abdysh-Ata» took part in a new tournament held under the auspices of the AFC - the Challenge League, but failed to get past the group stage. In December 2024, the team's head coach Islom Ahmedov resigned. In 2025, «Abdysh-Ata» was taken over by Montenegrin specialist Vladimir Vuyovich, who, however, left the club before the start of the season. He was replaced by Serbian Ivan Kurtushich, and the team was also replenished with 10 legionnaires. But already in April, Kurtushich terminated his contract with «Abdysh-Ata» and took over the Slovenian club «Mura». Mirlan Eshenov became the new head coach, under whose leadership the team played 5 matches, 5 of which they won with a large score. However, in June, M. Eshenov also resigned and took over first «Alga», then «Bars». Khurshet Lutfullaev was appointed head coach of «Abdysh-Ata».
«Altyn Asyr» and its rivals formed Group «A» in the West zone, the matches in which will be held in a centralized format in Bhutan.
Compositions of the remaining groups:
«West» Zone
Group «B»: «Al Seeb» (Oman), «Al Ansar» (Lebanon), SC «Kuwait» (Kuwait, group owner), «Bashundhara Kings» (Bangladesh).
Group «C»: «Regar-TadAZ» (Tajikistan), SC «Safa» (Lebanon), SC «Al-Arabi» (Kuwait), «Muras United» (Kyrgyzstan, group owner).
«East» Zone
Group «D»: «Manila Digger» (Philippines), «Preah Khan Rich Svay Rieng» (Cambodia, group owner), «SP Falcons» (Mongolia), «Ezra» (Laos).
Group «E»: «Dewa United» (Indonesia, group owner), «Shan United» (Myanmar), «Tainan City» (Chinese Taipei), Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodia).
The group matches will be played over three match days from 25th of October to 1st of November in a centralised format, with each team playing their opponents once.
Eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals based on the results of the group stage: the three group winners and the best runner-up in the «West» Zone, as well as the top two from each group in the «East» Zone.
The playoff matches will be held on the road. The quarterfinals will be held in March, the semi-finals in April 2026, and the final is scheduled for 9th of May 2025.
turkmenistan.gov.tm
