East Bengal drawn in tough Group D alongside Al Hussein, Al Shorta and Al Seeb

KUALA LUMPUR: (Aug 18) Indian Super League champions East Bengal were on Tuesday handed a challenging draw in Group D of the AFC Champions League Two with the Kolkata giants set to face Jordanian champions Al Hussein SC, Iraqi powerhouse Al Shorta SC and Oman’s Al Seeb Club.

The group-stage campaign will begin on September 15 and will be played in a home-and-away round-robin format, with each team facing the other three twice. The schedule is yet to be announced.

East Bengal, who are the only representative from the country in the group stage, will be making their ninth appearance in the group phase of Asia’s second-tier club competition and their first since 2015, when the tournament was known as the AFC Cup.