The Turkmen football club “Ahal” has arrived in Bhutan, where it will play group-stage matches for the 2026/27 AFC Challenge League from October 17 to 23. This was announced by the press service of the Bhutanese club “Paro”, which is hosting the group “A” tournament for the “West Zone”.

Paro noted that “Ahal” was the first of the three visiting teams in the group to arrive in the country. The hosts wished the guests a pleasant stay in the "Land of Happiness" and emphasized that while the teams are rivals on the pitch, they are friends in football.

In addition to “Ahal” and “Paro”, Lebanon’s “Al-Ansar” and Syria’s “Al-Ittihad” are competing in group “A”. All matches will be held in a centralized format at “Changlimithang” stadium in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. Each team will play every other team once.

"Ahal" will begin the tournament on October 17 with a match against "Paro" at 17:00 Ashgabat time. On October 20, the Turkmen club will face "Al-Ittihad" (20:00 Ashgabat time), and on October 23, it will play against "Al-Ansar" (17:00 Ashgabat time).

Eight teams will advance to the quarter-finals following the group stage. From the West Zone, these will be the three group winners and the best runner-up. From the East Zone, the top two teams from each group will advance. The quarter-finals will take place in March, the semi-finals in April, and the final is scheduled for May 8, 2027.

The current edition marks the third season of the revamped AFC Challenge League, featuring 20 teams from the continent's developing football leagues. Each participant in the group stage is guaranteed to receive 100 thousand USD.

“Ahal” finished second in the 2025 Turkmenistan championship. In the current season of the national league, the club sits in third place with 42 points from 22 matches.