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Preparing to kick off their AFC Champions League Two campaigns
Jordanian football representatives Al-Hussein and Al-Faisaly are preparing to kick off their AFC Champions League Two campaigns by appearing in the group stage matches.
Al-Hussein is set to host India's East Bengal at 7:00 PM the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, at the Amman International Stadium, in a match taking place in Group Four, which also includes Iraq's Al-Shorta and Oman's Al-Seeb.
After dropping from the AFC Champions League Elite preliminary round for their third consecutive appearance and fourth overall, Al-Hussein enters the competition with high morale following the 2025-2026 season, which saw them claim the league title for the third time, alongside winning the Jordan FA Cup for the first time in their history.
The team faces India's East Bengal at home, who ended a 22-year wait to claim the league title after winning it for the fourth time in the 2025-2026 season, confirming their ninth appearance and first since 2015.
Iraq's Al-Shorta, participating for the third time and the first since 2015, will play a home match against Oman's Al-Seeb at 9:15 PM at Al-Zawraa Stadium in Baghdad.
Al-Shorta finished second in the Iraqi League for the 2025-2026 season, while the visiting team claimed the league title for the third consecutive time and the fifth overall in the 2025-2026 season, participating for the first time since winning the title in their debut appearance in 2022.
On the other hand, Al-Faisaly departed yesterday for the Qatari capital, Doha, to face Qatar's Al-Rayyan in Group Three, which also features Oman's Al-Nahda and Saudi Arabia's Al-Taawoun.
Al-Rayyan, returning to the competition for the first time since their debut appearance in 2010, will host Al-Faisaly, a two-time tournament champion (2005 and 2006), at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan the day after tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9:15 PM.
Al-Faisaly is Jordan's most decorated club in the league with 35 titles, and is making its 11th appearance.
The Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Stadium in Muscat will host the match at 8:00 PM between hosts Al-Nahda and Al-Taawoun, who are both participating for the fifth time and the second consecutively.
After reaching the semi-finals in 2008, the Omani team reached this tournament after claiming their second Sultan's Cup title during the 2025-2026 season, while the visiting team will aim to surpass their semi-final appearance in the 2024-2025 season.
Overall, the competing clubs in the AFC Champions League Two 2026-2027 are eyeing the most prestigious prize, targeting a triumphant start on matchday one.
The competition, formerly known as the AFC Cup, which is Asia's second-tier men's club championship, underwent restructuring and took its current name starting from the 2024-2025 season, and is being held for the 22nd time.
The upcoming group stage edition features 32 clubs, including five former champions, alongside 11 clubs participating in the tournament for the first time: Adelaide United, Al-Jazira, Al-Wahda, Machida Zelvia, Seoul, Gangwon, Melbourne Victory, Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng, Shanghai Shenhua, Gol Gohar Sirjan, and Kuching City, with the latter two making their first-ever continental appearances.
The top two teams from each of the eight groups, evenly split between the West and East regions, will qualify for the Round of 16. The matches will be played in a home-and-away double round-robin format, concluding on December 9.
The Round of 16 matches will take place from February 9 to 18, 2027, while the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be held from March 2 to 18 and April 6 to 14 respectively, with the final match scheduled for May 15.
As a reminder, the draw:
Group A: Al-Wahda (UAE), Nasaf (Uzbekistan), Al-Kuwait (Kuwait), Al-Khaldiya (Bahrain).
Group B: Al-Jazira (UAE), Gol Gohar Sirjan (Iran), Al-Muharraq (Bahrain), Arkadag (Turkmenistan).
Group C: Al-Taawoun (Saudi Arabia), Al-Rayyan (Qatar), Al-Faisaly (Jordan), Al-Nahda (Oman).
Group D: Al-Hussein (Jordan), Al-Shorta (Iraq), Al-Seeb (Oman), East Bengal (India).
Group E: Seoul (Korea Republic), Melbourne Victory (Australia), The Cong-Viettel (Vietnam), Persib Bandung (Indonesia)/Dynamic Herb Cebu (Philippines).
Group F: Adelaide United (Australia), Pathum United (Thailand), Lion City Sailors (Singapore), Tai Po (Hong Kong, China).
Group G: Machida Zelvia (Japan), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng (Cambodia), Tampines Rovers (Singapore).
Group H: Gangwon (Korea Republic), Kuching City (Malaysia), Kitchee (Hong Kong, China), Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodia).
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