Odisha FC have been drawn alongside Etihad Club (Jordan) and Lion City Sailors FC (Singapore) in Group-B for the Preliminary Stage of the 1st AFC Womens Champions League 2024-25. The Group-B preliminary stage will be held in Jordan from 25 to 31 August 2024.
As per the draw conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today, Bhubaneswar-based Odisha FC will face Lion City Sailors FC (Singapore) in their opening match on August 25 and the second and last game against Etihad Club August 31.
Odisha FC qualified for AFC Womens Champions League by winning the title in the 7th edition of the Indian Womens League (IWL), the top tier of womens club football competition in India at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on 24 March 2024.
Thirteen sides will contest the Preliminary Stage, which features four groups – one group of four teams and three groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the 12-team Group Stage, joining the other eight clubs that have qualified directly.
Should Odisha FC top their preliminary stage group and qualify for the group stage, they will be placed in Group C, consisting of Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (Japan), Taichung Blue Whale Womens Football Team (Chinese Taipei), and hosts Ho Chi Minh City Womens FC (Vietnam). The Group Stage comprises three groups of four teams and will also be contested in a centralised league format from October 6 to 12.
Clubs were seeded and placed in pots for the draw according to their respective Member Association rankings, based on the FIFA Womens World Ranking (as of March 15, 2024).
The top two finishers of each group and the two best third-placed sides will progress to the Quarter-finals, to be played on March 22 and 23, 2025. A Knockout Stage draw will be conducted prior to the Quarter-finals to determine the four pairings, which will be contested in a single-leg format, with the higher-ranked team of each tie to serve as the home side.
This will be followed by a centralised Finals, which will see the Semi-finals and Final – all single-leg ties – being played out from May 21 to 24, 2025, to determine the first ever champions of the AFC Womens Champions League.