Credit: Twitter
Indian Super League 2022-23 shield winners Mumbai City FC is slated to face Saudi Arabian champions Al Hilal in the upcoming AFC Champions League 2023-24. Through this draw, Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr., who recently joined Al Hilal, will travel to India for the club's away fixture.
Mumbai City FC and Al Hilal are drawn in Group D with FC Nassaji from Iran and Uzbekistan's PFC Navbahor Namangan. The tournament will be held from September 2023 to May 2024 as the AFC, for the first time, shifted the schedule to an Autumn-Spring calendar.
Unfortunately for the Islanders, these matches won't be played in the City of Dreams as Mumbai City FC has announced that they will be playing its ‘home’ games at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune. The reason behind the decision is the present infrastructural setup at the Mumbai Football Arena that makes the stadium, ineligible to host AFC Champions League games.
Addressing the change, Club CEO Kandarp Chandra said, “While all of us at Mumbai City are excited about a huge season ahead of us, we are very disappointed at not being able to bring AFC Champions League football to Mumbai. Unfortunately, the current infrastructure in Andheri does not allow us to host Champions League games.”
