Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League champions Church Boys United will face Paro FC of Bhutan in the playoff of the AFC Challenge League – Asia’s third-tier continental football competition – from the West region in August.
Abdysh-Ata Kant of Kyrgyzstan will meet Afghan league champion Attack Energy in the second playoff of the West region.
According to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), Church Boys will host Paro FC in Kathmandu in a single-leg knockout format on August 13. The winner of the match will qualify for the group stage of the competition, which will be played in a home-and-away format between October 26 and November 2.
The winners of the playoffs will receive $100,000 from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for preparation.
The group stage will feature 18 clubs playing in a centralized league format. The West region will have three groups of four teams each, while the East region will have two groups of three teams each.
While clubs from Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Lebanon, Syria, Bangladesh, Oman, the Maldives, and Palestine have qualified directly to the group stage of the West region, league champions of two of Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan will qualify for the group stage via playoffs.
Similarly, teams from Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Laos, and Mongolia have qualified directly for the group stage of the East region.
The draw for the group stage will be conducted on August 22. Teams in each group will play their opponents once om the Group Stage. The three group winners and the best-ranked runners-up from the West, and the top two finishers of each group from the East will qualify for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will be played in home and away format between March 5 and 13, 2025. Similarly, the double-legged semifinals will be played between April 9 and April 16, while the final will be played on May 10.
