Paro FC will host Afghanistan’s Abu Muslim Farah FC at Changlimithang Stadium tomorrow, with a place in the AFC Challenge League group stage at stake. During this afternoon’s pre-match press conference, the captains and head coaches of both teams said their players are confident after months of preparation and ready for the crucial encounter.
Both teams held their official training sessions at Changlimithang Stadium today, making their final preparations ahead of tomorrow’s AFC Challenge League 2026/27 Preliminary Stage clash. The game will kick off at 6 PM.
The six-time consecutive Bhutan Premier League champions will face the Afghan side in a one-leg preliminary stage match. They defeated Abu Muslim Farah FC 1-nil in last season’s preliminary stage.
Paro FC’s head coach, Pushpalal Sharma, said the team has analysed the Afghan champions closely, including their individual players, playing style and recruitment, and prepared accordingly.
“The Afghan League got over in December, a huge distance from there as well. Due to the situation in Iran, some players would not have been able to train properly. Nevertheless, as my captain says, what is going to happen is completely different from what it was before. We are prepared for a new set of games. All the players are ready and prepared for the game tomorrow,” said Pushpalal Sharma, Head Coach, Paro FC.
“The team, the players, everything is different. This is a new challenge, a new game. It doesn’t matter if we won last season; it doesn’t mean anything tomorrow. We have to do our best. We have to do what we have done so far and what we have prepared. That is the most important thing,” said Tomoyuki Hanazato, Captain, Paro FC.
While Paro FC will look to build on last season’s victory, Abu Muslim Farah FC are determined to put that result behind them and make the most of tomorrow’s one-leg playoff.
“We have watched Paro FC’s last few games and studied how they attack and defend. But tomorrow will be a different game, and we are ready for any challenge,” said Masoud Nazarzada, Head Coach, Abu Muslim Farah FC.
“Tomorrow is a different match because we changed a lot of players in our team. We added new players to our team. We are preparing very well. We prepared very well. We had a good training camp in Iran. We played a quality match with a strong team. We know it will not be an easy game. We will try to achieve a good result,” said Amanullah Sardari, Captain, Abu Muslim Farah FC.
The Preliminary Stage will feature 18 clubs from South, Central and Southeast Asia. Only nine winners will advance to the group stage, which begins later this month.
Karma Wangdi & Namgay Wangdi
Edited by Sonam Wangdi
