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The Asian Football Confederation has revised the fixtures for the 2013 AFC Cup groups with Indian and Myanmar clubs due to their national teams’ participation in Group A of the qualifiers for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. This has resulted in East Bengal Club and Churchill Brothers SC’s matches being pushed forward by a week by the AFC. Indian clubs East Bengal Club (Federation Cup champions) and Churchill Brothers SC (3rd place I-League, replacement for Dempo SC) had complained to the All India Football Federation that their players would be unavailable for their first AFC Cup group fixtures due to the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Group A in early-March 2013.
East Bengal had even gone to the extent of asking the AIFF to leave out its six/seven players from the Team India squad for the red-and-gold to play the AFC Cup in full strength and achieve better results than in recent years.
Churchill Brothers SC have been drawn in Group E alongside Kitchee (HONGKONG), Singapore Armed Forces FC (SINGAPORE) and Semen Padang (INDONESIA), while East Bengal Club face Tampines Rovers (SINGAPORE), Selangor (MALAYSIA) and Saigon Xuan Thanh (VIETNAM).
The 2013 AFC Cup opening match day is on March 5/6, clashing with the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. Therefore, the AFC Competitions Committee decided to bring forward the kick-off dates for the opening fixtures of Indian clubs Churchill Brothers and East Bengal, and Myanmar representatives Yangon United and Ayeyawady United.
Churchill Brothers’ Group E opener against Kitchee FC in Hong Kong and Yangon’s home tie against Persibo of Indonesia in Group F will now take place on Tuesday, February 26.
Meanwhile, East Bengal kick-off their fifth AFC Cup campaign at home to Group H rivals Selangor from Malaysia and Ayeyawady face SHB Da Nang in Group G action in Vietnam on Wednesday, February 27.
