Earlier this month, the second edition of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Women’s Champions League kicked off in earnest with the start of the Group Stage. Like continental tournaments in other confederations, the AFC Women’s Champions League brings the various league champions from around the continent and pits them against each other to establish a continental champion.

The AFC Women’s Champions League pits the champions of the top divisions of women’s soccer around the Asian continent. The tournament is broken into three stages. The first stage, called the preliminary round, determines the teams that make the main competition.

This main portion of the competition is comprised of a group stage and knockout rounds. The Group Stage, which kicked off in early November, involves three groups of four teams that play each other once in a round-robin format. All matches are held in a host location.

The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed teams advance to the knockout rounds, where the play out a single elimination bracket to determine the tournament’s champion.

Last year’s 2024/25 edition was the first for the tournament. Wuhan Jiangda FC defeated Melbourne City FC on penalties to win the inaugural title. Both teams return for the 2025/26 edition and are among the favorites to win the title this year.

The 2025-2026 edition of the tournament began in August, when a preliminary round was played across five nations to determine the teams that would join those that automatically qualified for the Group Stage.

The champions of the top 6 leagues in Asia, by coefficient, were awarded automatic berths into the Group Stage. That being said, the 6th ranked nation, United Arab Emirates, did not participate in the tournament, so the automatic berth went to the champions of Iran, who are 7th in the coefficient ranking. The 6 teams to automatically qualify were:

Melbourne City FC (Australia)
Suwon FC (South Korea)
Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan)
Wuhan Jiangda FC (China)
Ho Chi Minh City FC (Vietnam)
Bam Khatoon FC (Iran)

The remaining 19 participants were split into 5 groups. Groups A through D featured four teams. Group E featured only three. Each group played a round-robin tournament with the winners qualifying for the Group Stage. Along with the group winners, the best performing second place team would also qualify for the Group Stage.

The six teams to advance from the Preliminary Round were:

Group A Winner: Institute of Sports & Physical Education FC (Myanmar)
Group B Winner: FC Nasaf (Uzbekistan)
Group C Winner: Lion City Sailors FC (Singapore)
Group D Winner: Naegohyang FC (North Korea)
Group E Winner: East Bengal FC (India)
Best Second Place: Stallion Laguna FC (Philippines)

The 12 teams that qualified for the Group Stage were drawn into three groups of 4 teams. The draw for the Group Stage took place on September 11, in Kuala Lumpur. The teams were put into 4 pots, based on rankings, and the three groups were drawn.

Ho Chi Minh City FC (Vietnam)
Lion City Sailors FC (Singapore)
Melbourne City FC (Australia)
Stallion Laguna FC (Philippines)

Bam Khatoon FC (Iran)
East Bengal FC (India)
FC Nasaf (Uzbekistan)
Wuhan Jiangda FC (China)

ISPE FC (Myanmar)
Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Japan)
Naegohyang FC (North Korea)
Suwon FC (South Korea)

ISPE FC have been one of the two dominant forces in the Myanmar Women’s League. The league launched in 2016 but took a two-year hiatus during the Covid 19 pandemic. Of the 6 seasons ISPE FC and Myawady FC both have three titles to their name.

In the preliminary round, ISPE FC played some attractive, flowing soccer. They had very good shape, made smart runs, and were very comfortable on the ball. They’re the underdogs of this group (which is probably the group of death), but I’m excited to see how the handle higher quality competition.

The DPRK side have was founded in 2012 and takes part in the DPRK Women’s Premier League. The league dates back to 2001, so Naegohyang FC (which roughly translates to ‘my homeland’) have only been completing in the league for little over a decade. They’ve been the dominant side since the league’s return from the Covid 19 pandemic, winning three of the 5 seasons. The first in the 2021/22 season and then the last two seasons in 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Suwon FC was borne out of an effort from the local city government to help revitalize participation in soccer among women and girls in the country. Founded in 2008, Suwon FC has participated in all season WK League that was launched at the same time.

Suwon FC have two titles to their name. The first came in 2010, and the second over a decade later in 2024. The title in 2024 ended a streak of 11 straight titles for Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels. The 2025 season has been a difficult one for Suwon FC, however. They finished second bottom of the table, so expectations are low for the Korean side in this tournament.

Tokyo Verdy Beleza place in the WE League, a fully professional league launched in Japan in 2021. Prior to the launch of the WE league, Tokyo Verdy played in the Nadeshiko League, which is a semiprofessional league that still runs, but many of their biggest clubs now play in the WE League.

The 2024/25 season was the first time Tokyo Verdy won the WE League, but they were the dominant side of the Nadeshiko League, winning the title 17 times between 1989 and 2020. Tokyo Verdy will be one of the favorites to lift the Champions League this year.

Unlike many other tournaments, the three groups are not all playing on the same dates. The teams within a group do, but the groups, themselves, do not. Group C was the first group to begin play. All of the groups matches took place at Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.

Full match here

The match between the two Korean sides opened with a battle for the midfield. Naegohyang were having the better of the action, but neither team created much danger, and the first shot didn’t come until the 16th minute. On the whole, the first half was relatively quiet, through Naegohyang did hit the post and force a good save from Jeon Ha-Neul in Suwon’s net.

Half Time: Naegohyang FC 0-0 Suwon FC

68’ The second half opened much like the first, with both teams trading attacking opportunities. Naegohyang found the breakthrough about a quarter hour into the half. A corner is cleared by the Suwon defense, but only to the top of the box, where Pak Ye-Gyong (#34) rockets a shot through the defense and past the diving keeper to the DPRK side the lead.

73’ Minutes later, Naegohyang would double their lead. A quick counter sends Kim Kyong-Yong (#17) sprinting up the middle. She plays the ball to her left to Choe Kum-Ok (#14) who moves down the left flank and crosses into the box for Ri Su-Jong (#19) to poke home the goal. Naegohyang had been the slightly better of the two teams, but the game suddenly shifted to their favor with the two goals in quick succession.

76’ Suwon nearly had an immediate reply but for the heroics of Kim Kyong-Rim in net, first making a diving save on a shot from Kwon Eun-Som (#7) then stopping Mileninha’s (#10) point blank follow up to preserve the clean sheet.

90’+6 Ri Su-Jong would record her brace and Naegohyang’s third deep into stoppage time when a long ball forward wasn’t fully cleared and her rocket of a shot is touched but not saved by Jeon Ha-Neul.

Full Time Naegohyang FC 3-0 Suwon FC

Full match here

Tokyo Verdy got out on the front foot and took an early lead with a goal in the 5’. With the early goal, Verdy attempted to settle into dominating possession, but after a quarter hour, Naegohyang found their feet and turned the match into a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the first half. Verdy always looked the more dominant side, but both teams created chances. Naegohyang came out aggressive in the second half, attacking through the wings and pressing Verdy stronger than they did in the first half. This unsettled Verdy for a time, but Naegohyang couldn’t capitalize with a goal. Eventually Tokyo Verdy adapted to Naegohyang’s tactics and they would find three more goals in the second half.

Highlight of the Match: Miharu Shinjo used excellent control to open a little space for herself and placed her shot into the far post, doubling her side’s lead and all but ending Naegohyang’s attempted comeback.

Full match here

Overall, ISPE FC began the match with a very defensive approach. They kept a tight block of 9 defenders when Suwon had the ball and looked to quickly counter when they took possession. For their part, Suwon were willing to be patient in their attack, but they struggled to break through ISPE’s defensive lines, often settling to balls over the top that were collected by the keeper or shots from distance that were blocked by defenders.

Despite the bulk of possession, Suwon FC had little to show for their efforts, but they were able to get the breakthrough in first half stoppage time on a goal from Suwon’s Brazilian attacker, Mileninha. ISPE FC opened up a bit to start the second, and Suwon FC were able to exploit the space. By the 60’ Suwon FC were up 3-0 and well on their way to victory.

Highlight of the Match: Mileninha scores from a very tight angle to finally breach ISPE FC’s defense.

Full match here

ISPE FC once again came out in tight, defensive lines looking to counter when they turned over possession. Verdy were comfortable possessing the ball and working it around trying to open gaps in the Myanmar side’s defensive lines. Tokyo Verdy found the only goal of the match in the 13’. Verdy would continue to attack, but unlike in the first match, ISPE FC didn’t change from their defensive shape. It kept the score closer, but ISPE FC never came close to Tokyo Verdy’s goal. It was a fairly straightforward win for the Japanese side.

Highlight of the Match: Danelle Tan deftly volleyed home to score the only goal of the match.

Full match here

Tokyo Verdy dominated the opening minutes of the match, and had the better of the play throughout. Suwon would eventually grow into the game and create some chances of their own, but they would have stolen the match if they’d won it. In the end, neither side could find the net and the match ended tied 0-0.

Highlight of the Match: The match was not exactly noteworthy for its highlights, but both teams had decent chances late and their respective keepers made good saves.

Full match here

Needing a win to even have a chance of progressing, ISPE FC started the match more aggressively than they did the first two. However, they still found themselves on the defensive more often than not, and Naegohyang made an early chance count. The DPRK side would continue to dominate the match. Throughout the group stage, ISPE FC would prove difficult to breakdown, but they often struggled on set pieces, which Naegohyang would exploit through two goals in the second half to close out the match.

Highlight of the Match: Naegohyang’s opener was important in upending any hope ISPE FC had of an upset, and Kim Hye-Yong’s goal is the picture of late runner perfection.

The results of Group C see Tokyo Verdy and Naegohyang qualifying for the Quarterfinals. Suwon FC have a chance to progress as a best 3rd Place team, but that will depend on the results from the other groups.

1. Tokyo Verdy Beleza - 7pts (Qualify for the Quarterfinals)
2. Naegohyang FC - 6pts (Qualify for the Quarterfinals)
3. Suwon FC - 4pts (possible qualification for the Quaterfinals)
4. ISPE FC - 0pts (eliminated from tournament)

I’ll continue wrapping up the Group Stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League in the next newsletter. In upcoming newsletters, I hope to also cover the CAF Campions League in Africa and look at action in Europe. Thank you for reading.