«Ahal» will play against «Paro» of Bhutan, «Al-Ittihad» of Syria, and «Al-Ansar» of Lebanon in the AFC challenge League group stage. Following the draw, these teams formed Group «A», the matches of which will be held from the 17th to 23rd of October in a centralised format at the «Changlimithang» Stadium in the capital of Bhutan, Thimphu.
The teams will play each other in a single round robin. «Ahal» will begin the tournament on the 17th of October with a match against «Paro», face «Al-Ittihad» on the 20th of October, and conclude the group stage with a match against «Al-Ansar» on the 23rd of October.
«Ahal» will debut in the AFC challenge League as vice-champion of Turkmenistan. All of his opponents in the group stage of the tournament are the current champions of their countries.
«Paro» Football club, a professional football club, was founded in 2018 and has already won six Bhutanese championship titles (in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025). The team had previously tried its hand at the AFC Cup three times, but was unable to overcome the qualification barrier. This season, «Paro» reached the group stage of the AFC challenge League for the third time in a row, beating Afghan side «Abu Muslim» 2-0 in the preliminary round. The club has a knack for attracting the attention of the global press: in August 2024, «Paro» signed a one-match contract with renowned Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda specifically for the playoff match against «Church Boys United» of Nepal.
The second opponent of «Ahal» is Syrian «Al-Ittihad», one of the most decorated and oldest clubs in its country. Founded in 1949 and licensed in 1953, they are the only founding club of the Syrian Premier League to have never been relegated from the top flight since their debut in 1966. The team has won 8 national championships and 10 Syrian Cups, and its main international triumph came in 2010, when the Syrian team won the AFC Cup.
The third opponent, «Al-Ansar» from Tariq el-Jdideh district, was founded in 1951. Having won the Lebanese Championship for the first time in 1988, the club then made history by setting a world record of 11 consecutive national championship victories.
The AFC challenge League is the third-largest club competition in the Asian Football Confederation, behind the Elite Champions League and the AFC Champions League II. The competition is designed for clubs from developing football associations, including Turkmenistan. The tournament was restarted in the 2024/25 season, and its predecessor was the Cup of AFC President (2005–2014), in which Turkmen clubs achieved great success: Balkan won the trophy in 2013, and MTTU in 2014.
20 clubs are participating in the main stage of the updated tournament. Holding group tournaments in a single city significantly reduces financial costs for flights, while each participant in the group stage is guaranteed to receive 100 thousand USA dollars.
Based on the results of the group stage, eight teams will advance to the quarter-finals: from the Western Zone – three group winners and the best team among the runners-up, and from the Eastern Zone – the two best teams from each group. The quarter-finals will be held in March, the semi-finals in April, and the final match of the tournament is scheduled for the 8th of May, 2027.
