AFC Champions League Draw: Defending Hero ISL champions Mumbai City FC drawn in Group B
The reigning Hero Indian Super League (ISL) Champions and League Winners Mumbai City FC will go up against the likes of Al Jazira, Al Shabab, and Air Force Club in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League as a part of Group B.
The reigning Hero Indian Super League (ISL) Champions and League Winners Mumbai City FC will go up against the likes of Al Jazira, Al Shabab, and Air Force Club in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League as a part of Group B, announced on 17 January, Monday.
Al Jazira are the current champions of the UAE Pro League, their second title in the last six years. Meanwhile, Al Shabab ended as the runners-up of the Saudi Premier League in the 2020-21 season. Their best finish in the AFC Champions League was way back in 2010 when they reached the semi-finals.
The group also features Air Force Club who have lifted the AFC Cup thrice, completing a hat-trick from 2016 to 2018 after defeating Bengaluru FC in the 2016 AFC Cup final.
Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham said they are excited to represent Mumbai at the Asian Stage and compete with the best.
"We are very excited. As a coach and as players, we always want to compete with the best, and participating in the AFC Champions League allows us to do so. Now that we know our opponents, our objective will be to get to the AFC Champions League off the back of a successful Indian Super League. So our focus will be to do well with the task we have at hand right now and when we get to the AFC Champions League, we want to make sure we represent Mumbai well and give a good showing of Indian football on the Asian stage."
As per the revised schedule released by the AFC earlier this week, the 2022 AFC Champions League Group Stages of the West Region will begin from April 7, 2022 to April 27, 2022 with double round-robin matches to be played at one centralized venue, keeping in mind health and safety restrictions.
Confirmed fixture dates and the venue for Mumbai City’s 2022 AFC Champions League Group Stage games will be announced in due course.
The Islanders will be making their debut in the AFC Champions League making them only the second Indian Football club after FC Goa. Mumbai City FC currently stands fourth in the Hero ISL league table with 17 points and are in need of three points to not let their top-four spot slip up.
