The Turkmen football club “Ahal” will face Bhutanese club “Paro”, Syrian club “Al-Ittihad” and Lebanese club “Al-Ansar” in the group stage of the AFC Challenge League. Group A matches will take place from October 17–23 in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu, at Changlimithang Stadium. This was reported by the news agency “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”.

“Ahal” will begin its campaign on October 17 with a match against “Paro”, play “Al-Ittihad” on October 20, and face “Al-Ansar” on October 23. All three opponents are the reigning champions of their respective countries, while the Turkmen team is participating in the tournament as the runner-up of Turkmenistan.

The Bhutanese «Paro», founded in 2018, has become national champion six times, including in 2025. This season, the team reached the group stage of the AFC Challenge League by defeating Afghanistan's «Abu Muslim» 2:0. In August 2024, the club attracted the attention of the football community by inviting Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda for a single playoff match.

The Syrian «Al-Ittihad» was founded in 1949. The team has won the national championship eight times, lifted the Syrian Cup ten times and became the AFC Cup winner in 2010.

Lebanese club Al-Ansar from Beirut was founded in 1951. The club has won 16 league titles, 16 Lebanese Cups, six Super Cups and two Football Association Cups. The team also set a record by winning 11 consecutive matches in the national championship.

The AFC Challenge League is the third most prestigious club tournament of the Asian Football Confederation. The updated competition format has been in effect since the 2024/25 season. Twenty teams take part in the main stage, and the group-stage matches are played in a centralized format. Each participant is guaranteed to receive 100 thousand US dollars.

Eight teams will advance to the quarter-finals — four each from the West and East zones. The matches at this stage are scheduled for March 2027, the semi-finals — for April, and the final — for May 8.

Turkmen clubs won the AFC President's Cup, the predecessor of the tournament, twice: Balkan in 2013, MTTU in 2014.