How much did East Bengal earn after maiden AFC Women's Champions League campaign?

East Bengal finished third in their group.

East Bengal missed out on qualifying for the knockouts in their maiden AFC Women’s Champions League campaign, but they have made their mark by securing a place in the group stage.

Anthony Andrews and his girls had an excellent run in the qualifiers. In the main round of the league, they were placed in a tough group with clubs such as Wuhan Jiangda FC, the current AFC Women’s Champions, Bam Khatoun FC (Iran’s domestic champions), and FC Nassaf.

Encouraging start but deflating end

East Bengal came out of the blocks and won against Bam Khatoon FC with immense dominance, 3-1. This win made the whole team and their fan base believe that they could create history as the first Indian women’s team to reach the quarter finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League.

A draw in any of their next two matches would take them to the next round, but East Bengal were defeated in their last two group games against Wuhan Jiangda FC (2-0) and FC Nasaf(3-0). With these defeats, East Bengal’s campaign came to an end.

Big bucks for IWL champions

Now let’s see how much they earned from their maiden AFC Women’s Champions League campaign.

The guaranteed participation cost for the AFC Women’s Champions League group stage was USD $100,000 for East Bengal FC Women. They also received a $50,000 travel grant and a $20,000 performance incentive for the win against Bam Khatoon FC, increasing their total to $170,000.

East Bengal were far behind in skills, game awareness, and also failed to handle pressure compared to other teams in their group. But if the team management invests more in their women’s team as they do in their men’s team, these girls will surely bring more laurels.

They need to resolve some issues, such as recruiting more talented foreigners, young Indian players, proper infrastructure, and practice grounds.

East Bengal women’s team has already created miracles and made their fans proud by qualifying for the AFC Women’s Champions League group stage. Now they need a little support from their management so that next time, if they qualify for the Asian stage, they can qualify for the knockouts.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.