Football club FC Goa will become the first Indian club to participate in the AFC Champions League (ACL) to be held in 2021-22. All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das called it a great opportunity and said that he hoped that in the future an Indian club would reach the final four of this tournament.
Kushal Das said, “It is a great opportunity to play for the first time in the AFC Champions League. All Indian clubs should focus on this and try to play in the ACL. ”
He said, “We have done well in the rest of the AFC Cup seasons, except last year. But our effort in ACL will be to cross the group stage and in about two-three years after that I think an Indian club will reach its semi-finals. ”
FC Goa defeated Jamshedpur FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) match to become the first Indian club to qualify for the group stage of the AFC Champions League. FC Goa beat Jamshedpur 5–0 in a brilliant performance.
Indian clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have played in the Asian Club Championships, but none of the teams in the country have a chance to play in the AFC Champions League which was started in 2002. Until the current season, the Ileague champions continue to play in the AFC Champions League preliminary-playoff round, but so far no team has qualified for the group stage.
