AFC Cup 2023-24 Draw: Live Updates

11:30 AM: Hello everyone and welcome to Khel Now’s LIVE COVERAGE of AFC Cup 2023-24 Draw. The event is just moments away! I am your host Aishwarya Chakraborty and will keep you company through what promises a fascinating afternoon of footballing drama. Please wait for 30 Seconds for the Live blog to load.

AFC Cup 2023-24 Draw: Build-up

The route to glory at the AFC Cup 2023-24 will be laid out in the official draw for the Group Stage on Thursday, August 24, 2023 at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 2pm.

The 19th edition of the AFC Cup – the first to adhere to an autumn-spring schedule – will feature 36 clubs from the five AFC Zones across nine groups and is set to take place between September 2023 and May 2024.

Joint-record three-time champions Kuwait SC – the first Kuwaiti club to ever win an Asian title – have the opportunity to add to their triumphs from 2009, 2012 and 2013; Lebanon’s first ever Asian club champion, Al Ahed FC, triumphed in 2019 and could be joined in the draw by 2010 winner Al Ittihad Al-Ahli of Aleppo of Syria, if the latter prevails in their Playoff (West). Two previous finalists – Nejmeh SC of Lebanon (2005) and Altyn Asyr FC of Turkmenistan (2018) – are in the hunt to go one better. 

This edition will feature 13 debutants if Al Khaldiya SC of Bahrain navigate their Playoff (West) tie successfully – the most since the 2010 edition, which had 14. Australian clubs will be involved for the first time in the history of the AFC Cup™, represented by the duo of Macarthur FC and Central Coast Mariners.

Following the slot allocations that were determined in June, 29 clubs earned direct qualification to the Group Stage based on the AFC Club Competitions Ranking 2021. They will be joined by seven clubs from the Preliminary and Playoff Stages, which will conclude on August 23.

For groups in the West and ASEAN Zones, clubs from the same Member Association (MA) will not be drawn into the same group due to the Country Protection principle. The clubs involved in these two Zones will also be seeded into four pots for the draw in accordance with the AFC Club Competitions Ranking and the seeding within their MA; no draw is necessary for the groups in the other three Zones, where the clubs will be allocated in accordance with the AFC Club Competitions Ranking of their MA.

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