East Bengal will look to make history by becoming the first Indian club to reach the quarter-finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League when they begin their Group B campaign against Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday. India will host the continental competition’s Group Stage for the first time, with Kolkata’s Kishore Bharati Krirangan staging all three of East Bengal’s matches. The other two opponents are South Korea’s Hwacheon KSPO WFC (November 4) and North Korea’s 4.25 SC (November 7).
Indian internationals Rimpa Haldar and Thoibisana Chanu have joined the side, along with Japanese player Hitomi Tanaka and Ghanaian trio Olivia Anokye, Adama Alhassan and Abigail Antwi. Olivia was East Bengal’s leading scorer in the AWCL Preliminary Stage with five goals. The ‘Moshal Girls’ defeated Bangladesh’s Rajshahi Stars 4-0, Guam’s Rovers FC 12-0 and hosts Sabah FA 2-0 to finish with a perfect record. The team, coached by Anthony Andrews, have also maintained an eight-match unbeaten run in international football, scoring 34 goals without conceding. The tournament’s 12 teams will compete for eight quarter-final places, with the three group winners, three runners-up and the two best third-placed teams advancing. East Bengal head into the competition after a successful 2025-26 season in which they became the first Indian club to win the treble in women’s football, claiming the SAFF Women’s Club Championship, Indian Women’s League and Calcutta Women’s Football League titles.
The run includes their triumph in the inaugural SAFF Women’s Club Championship in Kathmandu last year.
