Sudeep Pakrashi:

East Bengal women’s team have been placed alongside China’s Wuhan Jiangda FC, Bam Khatoon FC of Iran, and PFC Nasaf of Uzbekistan in Group B of the AFC Women’s Champions League Group Stage. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 17th to 23rd November in China.

East Bengal coach Anthony Andrews, when asked about his team’s ordeal, admitted that the team will have to face all the superior teams, especially against the defending champion, China’s Wuhan Jiangda. But at the same time, he promised that East Bengal would not give up. “Yes, all the teams are tough, competitive, and strong, especially the defending champion Wuhan Jiangda. But at the same time, I can say we also are competitive and our girls will not give up,” said Anthony while speaking from his residence in Mumbai.

Although the club initially aimed to schedule preparatory matches with top domestic teams, these plans have stalled due to team availability and budget constraints.

The club now intends to organize preparatory matches against strong youth boys’ teams as part of its preparation for the AFC Women’s Championship. Women’s football heads are seeking opportunities to arrange games with under-19 or under-16 teams participating in the AIFF youth leagues.

Simultaneously, due to their AFC Champions League assignment, the club, although has not taken a final decision yet, does not seem keen on releasing footballers for the national preparatory camp for the senior women’s team’s forthcoming participation in the Asian Cup final phase and the under-20 women’s team’s qualification to the Under-20 Asian Cup final phase. Both tournaments are scheduled to be held in April and May next year, respectively.

East Bengal women are likely to resume their training for the AFC Women’s Championship from 15th October.