East Bengal Begin AFC Women’s Champions League Campaign with Successive Group-Stage Qualification in Sight

East Bengal FC begin their bid for a second successive appearance in the AFC Women’s Champions League group stage on Monday, when the Indian Women’s League champions take on Bangladesh’s Rajshahi Stars FC in their opening preliminary-round fixture in Malaysia.

The Kolkata club enters the continental campaign with valuable experience from last season, when East Bengal became the first Indian club to win a match in the AFC Women’s Champions League group stage. Having already crossed the preliminary-stage barrier once, the Moshal Girls now have an opportunity to repeat that achievement and establish themselves as a regular presence in Asia’s premier women’s club competition.

East Bengal, Rajshahi Stars, Malaysia’s Sabah FA and Guam’s Rovers FC have been drawn in Group A, with all matches being played at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu in a centralized round-robin format.

Only the group winner will advance to the main draw.

East Bengal enter as favourites, but preparation has been complicated

On paper, East Bengal are the strongest team in the group. Their domestic campaign last season underlined their superiority, with the club winning the Indian Women’s League title and finishing 14 points clear of Sethu FC. However, head coach Anthony Andrews has had to prepare his squad around several significant absences.

The biggest blow is the unavailability of Uganda international Fazila Ikwaput, who was one of the most influential players in East Bengal's title-winning campaign. Ikwaput scored 18 goals in 13 IWL matches, and her contribution was instrumental in the club's dominant domestic season.

Her importance was also evident in last year's continental campaign. Ikwaput scored once and provided an assist as East Bengal defeated Phnom Penh Crown and Kitchee FC in the preliminary stage before progressing to the main round. She will be joined on the sidelines by fellow Ugandan attacker Resty Nanziri, with travel restrictions following the outbreak of the Ebola virus preventing both players from making the trip.

The absences leave Andrews with difficult decisions in attack.

India forwards Rimpa Haldar and Priyanka Naorem could operate as false nines, while Ghanaian signing Olivia Anokye, an attacking midfielder, is another option in the front third.

"We need to be smart," Andrews said while discussing how East Bengal will compensate for Ikwaput's absence.

Foreign contingent adds depth

East Bengal's foreign contingent also includes Ghanaian players Adama Alhassan, Abigail Antwi and Abena Opoku, giving Andrews options across defence and attack. But even that group has not had an uninterrupted preparation.

Opoku was involved with Ghana during the Women's Africa Cup of Nations and missed East Bengal's pre-season. Andrews had to coordinate with Ghana's staff in Casablanca to ensure the defender could join the club in time for the opening match against Rajshahi Stars. The other foreign recruits also completed less than half of East Bengal's preseason program.

Meanwhile, India internationals Karthika Angamuthu and Sandhiya Ranganathan have been unavailable because of employer commitments, while Sweety Devi remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury. Andrews admitted that East Bengal's preparation was better in 2025, but the club has attempted to compensate through an intensive training program in Kalyani.

The squad spent a month training nearly 55 kilometers from Kolkata and played practice matches against local Under-18 boys' teams, providing the players with physically demanding preparation ahead of the continental challenge.

East Bengal's opening opponents, Rajshahi Stars, should not be underestimated despite the differences in FIFA rankings between the countries. Andrews acknowledged that Bangladesh women's football has made significant progress, while several members of the national team are part of the Rajshahi squad.

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The Bangladeshi side could also field as many as six foreign players, adding further experience to their lineup. "The first game is a big challenge," Andrews said, despite East Bengal entering the contest as favorites. The coach has also resisted the idea that qualification is guaranteed.

"I love it when people talk about us being favorites, but I don't know if we are," he said. That caution reflects the nature of a competition where only one team from the four-team group will progress.

East Bengal's previous AWCL campaign demonstrated that Indian clubs can compete effectively at the continental level. Their preliminary-stage success last season was historic, and their run into the main round gave the players valuable exposure against stronger opposition. They were ultimately just minutes away from progressing further, making this year's campaign an opportunity to go one step beyond that achievement.

The road begins against Rajshahi Stars on Monday before East Bengal face Rovers FC on August 20 and Sabah FA on August 23. The matches will be available for live streaming in India on FanCode, with no television broadcast scheduled.

If East Bengal finishes top of Group A, they will qualify for the 2026-27 group stage, where they will join six clubs that have already secured direct entry. The 12-team main draw will then be divided into three groups of four, with matches scheduled to begin in November. For a club that has already broken new ground for Indian women's football, the objective is now clear.

East Bengal wants to prove that last season's continental breakthrough was not an isolated achievement.

Despite missing key players and entering the tournament with a disrupted pre-season, the Indian champions have retained the core that delivered domestic success.

As Andrews put it, "The time to test ourselves has come."

For East Bengal, that test begins in Kota Kinabalu with another AFC Women’s Champions League group-stage appearance within reach.