Players from the Turkmen club «Ahal» drew 2–2 with the «Paro» of Bhutan in their opening match of the 2026/27 AFC Challenge League group stage. During the match, the runners-up of the Turkmenistan championship held a comfortable two-goal lead, but ultimately let the win slip away, conceding a decisive goal in the 90th minute.
The meeting took place in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. It is here that the matches for Group «A» of the West Zone are being held in a centralised format, with the «Al-Ittihad» of Syria and the «Al-Ansar» of Lebanon also competing for a spot in the quarterfinals.
All matches in this group are hosted at «Changlimithang» Stadium, which is situated at an altitude of 2,300 metres above sea level and features an artificial surface. The arena is one of the highest-altitude arenas in the world. At the time, its construction sparked considerable debate within the football community: the thin air at such an altitude makes it harder for the body to absorb oxygen, which provides a tangible physical advantage to the home team, who are adapted to these conditions.
The match between «Ahal» and «Paro», officiated by a refereeing team led by FIFA referee Hussain Sinan from the Maldives, was watched by 3,100 spectators in the stands.
Professional football club «Paro» was founded in 2018 and, shortly before competing in an international tournament, secured its seventh Bhutan Premier League title, having won the championship in the 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons. The team had previously attempted to compete in the AFC Cup three times but failed to get past the qualifying stage. This season, however, «Paro» has reached the group stage of the AFC Challenge League for the third consecutive time, having defeated «Abu Muslim» of Afghanistan 2–0 in the preliminary round.
The history of encounters between the Bhutanese club and representatives from Turkmenistan already spans two matches. Last year, at this same stage of the tournament, «Paro» hosted «Altyn Asyr» of Ashgabat and lost 1–3.
The start of the match in question also unfolded in favor of the Turkmen side. «Ahal» seized the initiative from the opening minutes and easily advanced toward penalty areaof the hosts; as early as the 9th minute, Magtymberdi Berenov struck a powerful shot that rattled the crossbar of the «Paro» goal.
After the initial onslaught, the Bhutanese players began to find their footing. In the 18th minute, Japanese player Yuta Mishima missed a great opportunity to put «Paro» ahead, firing over the bar from a promising position, and a minute later, Ghanaian forward Evans Asante sent a shot narrowly wide of the left post.
Nevertheless, in the 26th minute, pressure of the hosts was interrupted by an effective attack from «Ahal». Suleyman Mirzoyev made a swift solo run down the right flank, broke into the penalty area, and delivered a precise pass to the onrushing Ashyr Jumadurdyyev, who got ahead of the defender and slotted the ball into an empty net.
In the 38th minute, Yakupmuhammet Govshudov extended lead of «Ahal» by sending the ball into the far top corner with a magnificent curling left-footed strike from the right «flank».
The «Paro» players made a more energetic start to the second half. In the 54th minute, Ghanaian player Sidiki Jawara narrowed the deficit: following his powerful free-kick from about 23 metres out, the ball struck the right post and went into the net.
The hosts continued to apply pressure near the goal of Muhammet Ovezov. In the 61st minute, substitute «Abayomi Fakunle» of Nigeria finished off a quick counterattack following a pass from Abduli Balde on the left flank, but the ball struck the goalpost.
The decisive moment arrived in the 90th minute, when the partnership between Ghanaian foreign players of the Bhutanese club paid off. Abdulie Balde delivered a precise cross from the right flank to Mustapha Jallow, who rose high to head the ball into the back of the net, securing a second goal for his side against «Ahal» and setting the final score at 2-2.
In the second round, «Ahal» will face «Al-Ittihad» of Syria, who were defeated 0-2 by «Al-Ansar» of Lebanon in their opening match. For the Lebanese side, goals were scored by Khalil Abdel Salam Bader in the first minute of first-half stoppage time and by Nader Charbel Matar in the 54th minute.
Following the first day of play, «Al-Ansar» has emerged as the sole leader of Group «A» with 3 points to their name. «Ahal» and «Paro» have each earned 1 point and share second place, while «Al-Ittihad» has yet to pick up any points.
The AFC Challenge League is the third-tier club competition of the Asian Football Confederation, designed for ambitious teams that do not qualify for the elite AFC Champions League or the AFC Champions League 2.
In the 2026/27 season, 19 clubs, divided geographically into Western and Eastern zones, are competing for the AFC Challenge League trophy. All participants in the group stage, which takes place in five centralised quartets in a single round, are guaranteed to receive 100 thousand USA dollars.
Results of the first-round matches in other groups.
«West» Zone
Group «C» (matches held in Tajikistan): «Al-Arabi» (Kuwait) – Homs «Al-Fidaa» (Syria) – 0:1, «Nejmeh» (Lebanon) – «stiklol» (Tajikistan) – 1:0.
Group «C» (matches held in Kuwait): «Goa» (India) – «Regar-TadAZ» (Tajikistan) – 1:2, «Al-Qadsia»(Kuwait) – «Fortis» (Bangladesh) – 3:0.
«East» Zone
Group «D» (matches taking place in Indonesia, featuring 3 clubs): «Borneo» (Indonesia) – «Yangon United» (Myanmar) – 2:0. «Tainan City» (Chinese Taipei) had a bye in the first round.
Group «E» (matches held in Myanmar): «Shan United» (Myanmar) – «Hang Yuen» (Chinese Taipei) – 1:1, «Manila Digger» (Philippines) – «Kasuka» (Brunei) – 5:0.
Eight teams will advance from the group stage to the quarterfinals. From the Western Zone, the three group winners and the best runner-up will advance. From the Eastern Zone, the top two clubs from each group will advance to the playoffs.
The playoff matches will be held using a home-and-away format. The quarter-finals will take place in March 2027, the semi-final series are scheduled for April, and the final match of the tournament will be held on the 8th of May, 2027.
It is worth reminding that the inaugural edition of the AFC Challenge League in the 2024/25 season was won by the «Arkadag» of Turkmenistan, while the 2025/26 season saw the trophy go to the reigning Kuwaiti champions, «Al-Kuwait».
