The Lion City Sailors Women’s Team will face opposition from Jordan and India in the inaugural Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Champions League (AWCL).
At the official draw ceremonies for both the 2024/25 AWCL Preliminary Stage and Group Stage, which took place at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur earlier this afternoon (18 July), the Sailors Women were placed in Group B of the Preliminary Stage, along with hosts Etihad Club and Odisha FC.
The matches for the Preliminary Stage are scheduled to be played in Jordan between August 25 and 31.
The group winner will progress into Group C of the tournament’s Group Stage, along with Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC, Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies and Chinese Taipei’s Taichung Blue Whale Women’s Football Team – with matches to be played between October 6 and 12.
While the Sailors Women have been dominant domestically, winning the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) twice in a row without losing a game in 2022 and 2023, they will likely face a significant challenge in progressing from the Preliminary Stage.
Nonetheless, Sailors Women Head Coach Daniel Ong has backed his team to rise to the challenge and proudly represent Singapore at the regional level.
“To play in the AWCL has been our target for a long time, so it’s a dream come true for many of our players. Instead of being afraid or wary of the challenge, our girls are extremely excited at the prospect of facing the top teams in the region,” said the 35-year-old.
“While we aspire to reach the Group Stage, what’s more crucial is the development of our players and their ability to play our style of football against higher-level opponents. I’m confident that the team will perform well, and we’ll work very hard in the coming weeks to ensure we enter the competition in peak condition.”
