Fortis of Bangladesh land in tough group in AFC Challenge League

Fortis FC, Bangladesh's first-ever club to reach the main round of an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition, has been drawn into a group with India's FC Goa.

Fortis have been placed in Group C in the group-stage draw of the AFC Challenge League held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. The other two teams in this group are India's FC Goa and Tajikistan's Regar-TadAZ, while Kuwait's Kadsia SC will be the hosts of the group.

Fortis secured their spot in the AFC Challenge League main round by defeating Kyrgyzstan's Muras United in the play-off, and they now face India's well-known club FC Goa in the main round.

Bangladesh's clubs are playing in the West Zone of the AFC Challenge League, which has three groups. The host teams of the three groups were determined before the draw, with Bhutan's Paro hosting Group A, Tajikistan's Istiklol hosting Group B, and Kuwait's Kadsia hosting Group C.

Fortis were in Pot 3, in which Syria's Al-Ittihad were also placed. However, since another Syrian team was already in Group B, Al-Ittihad were placed in Group A instead, which meant Fortis ended up in Group C.

The group-stage matches will be held from October 17 to 24. The champions and the best runners-up of the three West Zone groups will advance to the next round, while the champions and runners-up of two groups from the East Zone will progress to the next round.