The current champion of Turkmenistan, FC "Arkadag", found itself in the second pot before the upcoming draw for the group stage of the AFC Challenge League for the 2024/25 season. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has published the team pots ahead of the draw on August 22.
According to published information, three groups of four teams will be formed in the western zone of the tournament. "Arkadag" fell into the second basket along with the Lebanese club "Nijme" and the Syrian "Al-Fotuwa". The first pot included the Indian "East Bengal", "Al-Ahly" from Bahrain and the Kuwaiti "Al-Arabi".
The eastern zone of the tournament will be represented by two groups of three teams. A total of 24 clubs will take part in the draw: 12 in the western zone and 6 in the eastern zone.
The group stage of the AFC Challenge League will be held in a centralized format. Western zone matches will take place from October 26 to November 1, and eastern zone matches will take place from October 27 to November 2.
The system for qualifying for the playoffs is different for the two zones. In the eastern zone, the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. In the western zone, the group winners, as well as the best team among the runners-up, will qualify for the quarterfinals.
The draw on August 22 will determine the final composition of the groups and opponents of "Arkadag" in the upcoming tournament.