Key AFC competitions dates for Indian football in 2026-27 season ft AFC U20 Asian Cup

East Bengal Women’s side will participate in the AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27

With half of 2026 already finished, there is still a lot of football to be played when it comes to the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) competitions. After the end of the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, the different competitions across different age groups and genders organised by the AFC will start kicking off, and fans will be able to watch some entertaining continental football.

Fortunately for the Indian football scene, many teams representing India are also poised to play in multiple AFC competitions in the 2026-27 season. This not only includes the international competitions that India’s youth teams of multiple genders will play in, but also the AFC club competitions that can possibly involve some of India’s most prominent clubs.

With that being said, here we will be having a look at the key dates for AFC competitions for Indian football for the upcoming 2026-27 campaign.

2 July (2026)

The draw for the AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27 will take place on 2 July. East Bengal women are going to represent India in that competition, but for that, they must go past the preliminary stage first. East Bengal will discover who they face in the preliminary stages groups on 2 July, as they start preparations for the big event.

16 July (2026)

The draw for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2027 will take place on 16 July. It will be on this day that the India U17 women’s team also realises who they will face in the qualifiers, as they aspire to qualify for the major tournament in China.

12 August (2026)

As the AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 preliminary stages match is scheduled to happen on this day, it will also be a big game for East Bengal. The Torchbearers are poised to face Kuwaiti side Al Qadsia SC at the Salt Lake Stadium on 12 August, needing to win that match to qualify for the 2026-27 ACL Two.

17-23 August (2026)

The fixtures for the AFC Women’s Champions League preliminary stages are poised to happen from 17 to 23 August (2026). East Bengal women will play multiple games in this period, which they must get maximum points off to qualify for the ACL Two.

18 August (2026)

If East Bengal are able to defeat Al Qadsia SC in their preliminary stages match, then they’ll be in reckoning for the group stage draws for the AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 season. If not then, they’ll have to keep an eye on the AFC Challenge League Group Stage draw that will happen two days later.

31 August-6 September (2026)

The qualifiers for the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 will take place from this period. India is, of course, poised to play in the qualifiers, and they’ll need to be at their clinical best in the matches. Indeed, the Blue Colts have to produce their best performances to win their group in the qualifiers and qualify for the tournament.

15-17 September (2026)

If East Bengal are able to win their preliminary qualifier and qualify for the group stages of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two, then their group campaign will begin from 15 September. They will play their first group game on 15 September, 16 September, or 17 September – as they hope to make Indian football proud by strongly performing in the tournament.

5 October-11 October (2026)

The Indian U17 women’s side are poised to face a major challenge in early October (2026) when they participate in the qualifiers for the 2027 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup. They will need to excel in their group, needing to gain as many points as possible to be able to secure their place in the main competition in China.

1 November-7 November (2026)

If East Bengal women are able to qualify for it, then they will play in the group stages of the 2026-27 AFC Women’s Champions League in early November. They will be forced to play in three group games and need to get maximum points from those matches to be able to qualify for the knockout stages.

8 November-20 November (2026)

While the women will try to qualify for their U17 Women’s Asian Cup campaign in October, it’ll be time for the male side to try their own in November. The qualifiers for the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2027 will happen in mid-November, with India U17 needing to win their matches to be able to earn qualification for the tournament after having a disappointing campaign in 2026, where they lost all their group games.

March 2027

March 2027 could be one of the biggest months for Indian football. The AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2027 Finals, scheduled from 24 March to 10 April, will bring together the continent’s top young teams, and the Blue Colts will hope to be part of the competition after coming through the qualifiers. It would provide India’s emerging stars with a valuable platform to test themselves against Asia’s elite and gain crucial international experience.

Meanwhile, 25 March could see the Indian senior men’s team begin their FIFA World Cup 2030 and AFC Asian Cup 2031 Joint Qualification Round 1 campaign with their opening match

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