Mumbai City FC drawn in Group B of the AFC Champions League

Reigning Indian Super League champions Mumbai City FC have been placed in Group B of the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage in the draw held in Kuala Lumpur on January 17.

Along with the Islanders in the group, there's Al Jazira of the UAE, Saudi Arabia's Al- Shabab and Air Force Club of Iraq.

Mumbai City FC gained qualification to the continental tournament courtesy of their ISL win in the 2020-21 season.

"40 teams were drawn in 10 groups of four teams each at the draws, with five groups (A-E) in the west region and five groups (F-J) in the east region," a statement issued by the club said.

As per the revised scheduled released by the AFC, the 2022 AFC Champions League Group Stages of the West Region will kick-off on April 7, 2022 and run until April 27, 2022. The format of the games will be double round-robin matches that will be played at one centralised venue.

Speaking on the draw, Mumbai City FC coach Des Buckingham said, "We are very excited. As a coach and as players, we always want to compete with the best and participating in the AFC Champions League allows us to do so. Now that we know our opponents, our objective will be to get to the AFC Champions League off the back of a successful Indian Super League. So our focus will be to do well with the task we have at hand right now and when we get to the AFC Champions League, we want to make sure we represent Mumbai well and give a good showing of Indian football on the Asian stage."

Kandarp Chandra, CEO – Mumbai City FC added, “It is a matter of great pride for the Club to participate in Asia’s premier club football competition, and we eagerly await the 2022 AFC Champions League. We hope to fulfil the expectations that fans have from us, and believe that we can give a good account of ourselves against some of Asia’s best clubs.”