Winning the Indian Super League was step one. Now comes the harder part. East Bengal FC has been drawn into Group D of the AFC Champions League Two 2026-27, alongside Al Hussein SC (Jordan), Al Shorta SC (Iraq), and Al Seeb Club (Oman) — a group stacked with national champions and continental experience.
How East Bengal Got Here?
The draw, conducted in Kuala Lumpur on August 18, 2026, comes on the back of East Bengal’s 4-1 preliminary-stage win over Kuwait’s Al Arabi SC last week. It marks the Red and Golds’ ninth group-stage appearance in Asia’s second-tier club competition — and their first since 2015, back when the tournament was still known as the AFC Cup.
Who’s Standing in the Way
| Group D Opponent | Country | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Al Hussein SC | Jordan | 2025-26 Jordanian Pro League champions |
| Al Shorta SC | Iraq | 2025-26 Iraq Stars League runners-up |
| Al Seeb Club | Oman | 2025-26 Oman Professional League champions |
| East Bengal FC | India | 2025-26 Indian Super League champions |
Each side brings genuine domestic pedigree, meaning East Bengal won’t have an easy game on the schedule. The format is double round-robin — home and away against all three — with only the top two teams from each of the tournament’s eight groups advancing to the Round of 16.
The Road Ahead
The group stage kicks off September 15 and wraps December 9. From there, the Round of 16 runs February 9-18, 2027, followed by quarter-finals (March 2-18) and semi-finals (April 6-14), with the final pencilled in for May 15, 2027 — a long continental campaign for a club that’s still riding high off domestic silverware.
Thirty-two clubs across the West and East Zones have been split into eight groups of four, giving East Bengal company from across South and Southeast Asia, the Gulf, and beyond. For more on how East Bengal reached this stage, revisit our coverage of their preliminary qualifier win over Al-Arabi. For background on the club’s history and continental record, Wikipedia’s East Bengal FC page has the full rundown of their matches against foreign opposition.
