Panaji: FC Goa have been drawn to play their AFC Champions League Two playoff away in Turkmenistan while Indian Super League (ISL) champions East Bengal will face their opponents at home in Kolkata.India has lost its direct spot in ACL Two, Asian football’s second-tier club competition, due to a truncated league that saw each team play 13 games in a single-leg home and away format. Champions East Bengal have been drawn to play the second-placed team from Kuwait Premier League – to be confirmed on Saturday – and Goa, who qualified after winning the Super Cup, will take on the might of Turkmenistan champions FK Arkadag at Arkadag Stadium in southern Turkmenistan.The playoff games will be played on August 12. The East zone qualifier will see Persib Bandung (Indonesia) up against Manila Digger FC (Philippines).“Arkadag are a formidable opponent in their own right and now the challenge got doubly harder as we have to play in their backyard,” said FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur.Founded in 2023, Arkadag have won every league title since inception and emerged champions in the inaugural AFC Challenge League in 2025. They featured in the ACL Two last season and qualified to the knockout stage, where they were defeated by Al-Nassr, led by Cristiano Ronaldo.Last season, Goa made it to the group stage after a gritty win against Oman champions Al Seeb at Fatorda. This time around, qualification will be tough, given that the club starts afresh. The Super Cup champions have only seven first-team players on existing contracts, none of them foreigners.AFC has confirmed that a total of 25 sides — 12 from the West region and 13 from East — have been granted direct entry to the group stage of ACL Two, which is slated to begin its first matchday on Sept 15. They will be joined by the four losing clubs from ACL Elite Preliminary Stage as well as the three clubs that progress from ACL Two playoffs.
