AFC Women's Champions League 2026/27 Group Stage Draw Set
The draw for the AFC Women's Champions League 2026/27 group stage will be held on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, setting the stage for the 12 qualified clubs.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will conduct the group stage draw for the 2026/27 AFC Women's Champions League on Thursday. The event is scheduled for 15:00 (UTC+8) at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Twelve clubs have qualified for the tournament's main group phase. Six teams advanced from the preliminary stage, joining six sides that qualified directly.
The directly qualified clubs are defending champions Naegohyang Women's FC of North Korea and the top five ranked teams: Australia's Melbourne City FC, South Korea's Hwacheon KSPO WFC, Japan's INAC Kobe Leonessa, China's Beijing Jingtan Football Club, and Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City Women's FC.
Qualified Teams and Seeding
For the draw, teams have been seeded into pots based on the AFC Women's Club Competitions Ranking from the 2024/25 season. A special Hosts Pot has also been created.
| Pot | Club | Country (AFC Code) | Ranking/Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naegohyang Women's FC | PRK | Titleholders |
| 1 | Melbourne City FC | AUS | Rank: 1 |
| 1 | Hwacheon KSPO WFC | KOR | Rank: 2 |
| 2 | INAC Kobe Leonessa | JPN | Rank: 3 |
| 2 | Beijing Jingtan Football Club | CHN | Rank: 4 |
| 2 | Ho Chi Minh City Women's FC | VIE | Rank: 5 |
| 3 | Bam Khatoon FC | IRN | Rank: 7 |
| 3 | Kaya FC-Iloilo | PHI | Rank: 9 |
| 4 | 4.25 Sports Club | PRK | Rank: 13 |
| Hosts | East Bengal FC | IND | Rank: 11 |
| Hosts | PFC Nasaf | UZB | Rank: 14 |
| Hosts | Ayeyawady FC - Women | MYA | Rank: 15 |
Draw Procedure and Format
The twelve teams will be split into three groups of four. They will compete in a single round-robin league at a centralised venue in November. Eight teams will progress to the knockout stage.
Advancement spots are allocated to the three group winners, the three group runners-up, and the two best-ranked third-placed teams overall.
Knockout Stage Schedule
A separate draw for the knockout stage will be held in December 2026, before the quarter-finals begin. The quarter-finals are scheduled for March 2027.
These matches will be single-leg ties hosted by the top four clubs from the group stage. The top four clubs are defined as the three group winners and the best-ranked runner-up.
The semi-finals and the final are planned for May 2027. According to the AFC, these decisive matches will be played at a single, centralised venue.
The live draw marks the next formal step for the continent's premier women's club competition. Teams now await their opponents for the centralised group stage in November.
