Which Indian clubs are playing in AFC competitions in 2026-27?

Three Indian clubs to feature in the Asian competitions

Indian football will be represented in Asian competitions in a pretty diverse fashion, as multiple clubs from the country are currently poised to take part in AFC (Asian Football Confederation) competitions in the 2026-27 season. This not only involves teams playing in the Indian Super League (ISL), but also the Indian women’s football scene being represented pretty strongly in Asia as well.

Going forward in the 2026-27 campaign, there will be three Indian clubs that will be participating in the AFC competitions. Out of that, the men’s football scene will be represented by reigning ISL champions East Bengal as well as FC Goa, who won the 2025-26 Super Cup tournament. On the women’s scene, it’ll be East Bengal women to play in the AFC Women’s Champions League for the second straight season.

With three Indian football clubs set to perform in Asia in this campaign, here we look at the details of which team is playing in which competition and the kind of challenges they can be expected to face.

East Bengal – AFC Champions League Two

East Bengal were able to earn the prestige of playing Asian football representing India for the first time in nearly a decade when they won the 2025-26 ISL title. However, the Red & Gold Brigade had to qualify for the group stages of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two as they were paired up to face Kuwaiti heavyweights Al-Arabi SC in the preliminary qualifier clash.

However, Antonio Habas’ side showed no fear in getting a thrilling 4-1 win over Al-Arabi, which saw Jay Gupta force the game to extra time with a 90th-minute winner and the Kolkata giants scoring three times to earn a place in the ACL Two Group stages. East Bengal have been placed in Group D of the  West Region of the AFC Champions League Two group stages, and will be playing six matches – three at the Salt Lake Stadium and the other three away from home.

The ISL giants have been placed in a tricky group that consists of Al-Hussein (Jordan), Al-Shorta (Iraq) and Al-Seeb (Oman). Their toughest opposition in this group is probably going to be Jordan giants Al-Hussein, who are the reigning champions of the Jordan Premier League for the last three successive seasons.

Al-Hussein have also impressed in AFC competitions in the past, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2025-26 AFC Champions League Two! Al-Shorta will also be a challenging task for East Bengal, as they have won the Iraq Stars League eight times – including the last time in the 2024-25 season. Oman club Al-Seeb actually won the 2022 AFC Cup and will pose a big challenge to win Group D as well.

The group stages of the ACL Two will start on 16 September (2026) – when East Bengal face Al-Hussein. The matches will go on until early December, with the final group games to be played on 8 December (2026).

FC Goa – AFC Challenge League

FC Goa failed to defeat FK Arkadag in their qualifier for the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two group stages, after having earned it following their Super Cup win last season. That means the Gaurs will play in the AFC Challenge League, which is the third tier of the Asian club football competitions.

The ISL side has been placed in the same group as Al-Qadsia (Kuwait), Fortis (Bangladesh) and Regas-TadAZ in the Challenge League group stages. In Al-Qadsia and Regas-TadAZ, the Gaurs will be facing two intimidating challenges as both teams have a decent amount of experience in Asian football.

Al-Qadsia will be playing in the Asian football scene for the first time since 2019, but they won the AFC Cup in 2014 and were runners-up in the tournament in 2010 and 2013. Regar-TadAZ, meanwhile, are three-time winners of the AFC President’s Cup – which was equal to the AFC Challenge League before all the remodelling. Fortis FC, meanwhile, will play in the Asian competition for the first time in their history.

For FC Goa, the month of October (2026) will be a challenging one as they travel to Kuwait to take part in the AFC Challenge League group stages. They’ll play all three matches of the group stages in the space of a week from 17 October to 23 October, and need to win the majority of it to be able to move into the knockout rounds of the AFC Challenge League.

East Bengal Women – AFC Women’s Champions League

After playing in the 2025-26 edition, East Bengal women will also play in the group stages of the 2026-27 AFC Women’s Champions League as well. They were able to earn their place in the competition after excelling in the preliminary stages and group stages, winning all three of their group games to top their group and progress to the main stages of the AFC Women’s Champions League.

East Bengal women are yet to discover their opponents in the group stages of the 2026-27 AFC Women’s Champions League, as the draw will take place on 3 September (2026). The group stages will see every team play three matches, one against each opponent in the group, and the group stage matches will take place in the span of a week from 1 November to 7 November (2026).

For East Bengal women, the ideal objective will be to finish in the top-2 in their group to reach the quarterfinals of the AFC Women’s Champions League. If they’re also able to finish strongly in third place, they can progress to the quarterfinals as one of the two best-ranked third-place teams as well.

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