FC Goa, India set for AFC Champions League group stage debut

The AFC Champions League will be played in India for the first time here from Wednesday with FC Goa becoming the only team from the country to feature in the group stage of the continent’s top-tier competition in club football.

The Gaurs will take the field against Qatar’s Al-Rayyan SC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and head coach Juan Ferrando will hope that his team can fully utilise the advantage of playing at home.

   

The ISL 2019-20 League champions will compete alongside Persepolis, Al-Rayyan and Al-Wahda in Group E in the most prestigious club competition in the continent.

The Indian club will have its task cut out as it will be up against a side coached by former Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc.

The home team will also have to contend with the likes of former FC Porto star Yacine Brahimi and prolific Ivorian striker Yohan Boli.

Besides Al Rayyan, the Gaurs will also have to contend with other well-known Asian clubs in the form of Persepolis FC (Iran) and Al Wahda (UAE).

Ahead of their debut in the league, FC Goa head coach Ferrando described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity for the players to compete against some of the biggest names in Asia. Having won the ISL League Winners’ Shield in the 2019-20 season, FC Goa qualified for the 2021 AFC Champions League Group Stage — the first time that a team from India will be playing at this stage of the competition.

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