Abahani rely on old guard for AFC Challenge League

With only a month left for the preliminary stage of the AFC Challenge League, Bangladesh Premier League runners-up Abahani are planning to vie for Asia's third-tier club competition with a squad that helped them earn this opportunity after a one-season gap.

The Sky Blues, who are scheduled to host Kyrgyzstan's FC Muras United on August 12 at the National Stadium in Dhaka, are also planning to start their preparation in between July 14 and 16 under coach Maruful Haque.

"We want to retain the services of most of the players, except for seven or eight who were not up to mark in terms of performance and regarding commitment to the club," Abahani manager Satyajit Das Rupu told The Daily Star. "We are also trying to rope in a few players from other clubs to strengthen the squad as we don't want to take part in the continental competition just for the sake of it."

Abahani are the only club from the country to have emerged as zonal champions and played in the inter-zonal semifinals in the now-defunct AFC Cup in 2019. However, since that feat under Mario Lemos, the club have struggled to get into the group stage of AFC club competitions following the emergence of Bashundhara Kings, who played last five editions as Bangladesh Premier League champions.

Abahani last played in AFC competitions in 2023-24 season, getting eliminated from the second play-off round with a 3-1 defeat against Mohun Bagan.

Asked about the inclusion of foreign players, Rupu said, "The inclusion of a number of foreign players depend on how much budget we get from the directors. If the budget is a small one, we are likely to play without foreign players like we did in domestic circuit last season."

"We have watched some video clips of Muras United and they looked like a good side," Rupu said. "However, it won't be easy for them in Dhaka because Abahani's aim is to qualify for the group stage."