Tough draw for Dempo in Champions League

According to the draw held in Kuala Lumpur, Syrian powerhouse and reigning AFC Cup champions Al Ittihad will lock horns with Qatar’s Al Saad in the first round West Zone play-off on February 12 and the winner will take on Dempo for a berth in the AFC Champions League.

If Dempo qualify for AFC Champions League, they will be clubbed in Group B along with ACL regulars Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan, Iran’s top side Esteghlal and debutants Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia.

If Armando Colaco’s men fail to qualify for AFC Champion League, they will play in the AFC Cup where they will be clubbed in a relatively easy Group F along with TSW Pegasus of Hong Kong, Song Lam Nghe An of Vietnam and VB of Maldives.

Last year, Dempo lost to United Arab Emirates side Al Sharjah 0-3 in the AFC Champions League play-off.

Federation Cup winners East Bengal have been clubbed alongside Hong Kong’s South China and Thailand’s Chonburi. Indonesian Super League runners-up side Persipura Jayapura are the fourth team in Group H.

East Bengal, who finished last in their group in the 2010 AFC Cup, play their first match against Chonburi at Yuba Bharati Krirangan stadium in Kolkata on March 2 next year.

The red-and-gold brigade will travel to Jakarta on March 16 to play their next group match at Gelora Bung Karno stadium against Persipura Jayapura of Indonesia.

South China, the reigning Hong Kong first division league champions, were semifinalists in the 2009 edition of the AFC Cup, and had recently beaten a visiting team of English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

Chonburi, on the other hand, played in AFC Champions League in 2008 and reached AFC Cup quarterfinals in 2009. They did not qualify for the 2010 AFC Cup.

Top two teams from each group will qualify for the knock-out round of 16.