NHT
Panaji, Feb 13: Churchill Brothers, who failed to qualify for AFC Champions League after losing the play-off on Saturday, will take on holders Kuwait Sports Club in their opening AFC Cup group match at home on March 16.
The I-League champions play Yemeni side Al Hilal in their second AFC Cup match in the three-team Group B on March 24 in Sanaa.
Churchill, who lost 2-5 to UAE giants Al Wahda in the ACL play-off in Abu Dhabi, are playing in their maiden AFC Cup.
Federation Cup champions East Bengal open their AFC Cup campaign against Al Ittihad of Syria on March 10 at Salt Lake Stadium in a Group D match. The other two teams in their group are Al Qadsia of Kuwait and Al Nejmeh of Lebanon.
Each team in a group will play in a two-leg - home and away - league format. Two teams will qualify from each of the eight groups for the one-leg knock-out Round of 16