Indian Super League side Mumbai City FC have been drawn in Group B of 2022 AFC Champions League along with Al Jazira (United Arab Emirates), Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia), and Air Force Club (Iraq).
The draw took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday. A total of 40 clubs were drawn in 10 groups of four teams each, with five groups (A-E) in the West Region and five groups (F-J) in the East Region.
As per Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) revised scheduled, the group stages of the West Region will take place from April 7 to 27, with double round-robin matches to be played at one centralised venue.
The dates and venue of Mumbai City's group stage matches will be announced in due course.
"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," Mumbai City FC head coach Des Buckingham said.
"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," he added.
The team qualified for the AFC Champions League after winning the Indian Super League 2020/21 League Winners' Shield. They also defeated ATK Mohun Bagan in the final to become league champions for the first time.
Spoken like a true Malabarian! ⚡️@AnneseCoach 🗣#AFCCup2022 #Malabarians #GKFC pic.twitter.com/p5wax7vGJm
- Gokulam Kerala FC (@GokulamKeralaFC) January 17, 2022
In the AFC Cup, Gokulam Kerala, the I-League champions, will face Bangladesh's Bashundhara Kings, Maziya Sports and Recreation Club of Maldives and the playoff winner from South Asian Zone.
ATK Mohun Bagan, who finished runners-up in the last edition of the ISL, can enter the same group -- Group D -- if they win the playoff.