FC Goa’s path in their maiden and historic foray into Asian continental level football will be even more clearer tomorrow. That’s the date for the draw for the 2021 AFC Champions League, where the Gaurs will learn of their fate in terms of groupings and opponents. 

Live streaming of the AFC Champions League 2021 Group Stage draw will be available on AFC’s YouTube channel – The AFC Hub – from 2:00 PM IST (Indian Standard Time) on January 27. You can watch it here.

Goa made history last season, becoming the first-ever Indian club to qualify for the group stages of the competition in its current title. The draws will be held through a virtual ceremony from the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

So what is the AFC Champions League all about? Where are the details? Have no worry as today we break you down the rules of the tournament and the draw!

Here are 10 things you need to know about the Champions League and the draw:

#1: The 2021 AFC Champions League will be the 40th edition of Asia’s premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 19th under the current AFC Champions League title

#2: The tournament will be the first to involve 40 teams during the group stage, with an increase from the previous 32 teams. The winners of the tournament will automatically qualify for the 2022 AFC Champions League, entering the qualifying play-offs, if they have not qualified through their domestic performance. 

#3: The winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League will also qualify for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, and if they are from Japan, the runners-up will also qualify.

#4: South Korean club Ulsan Hyundai are the defending champions, having won the 2020 final

#5: The whole AFC Champions League is divided into two regions – West and East. FC Goa are in the West Region

#6: So far 16 teams have made it to the AFC Champions League in the West Region. They are Al-Duhail, Al-Sadd and Al-Rayyan (from Qatar), Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli (from Saudi Arabia), Persepolis, Tractor and Esteghlal (from Iran), Sharjah and Shabab Al-Ahli (from the UAE), Al-Shorta (Iraq), Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan), Al-Wehdat (Jordan), Istiklol (Tajikistan) and FC Goa (India). Winners of the playoff round will decide the fate of the rest of the 4 slots

#7: The 40 teams will be drawn into ten groups of four: five groups each in the West Region (Groups A–E) and the East Region (Groups F–J). Teams from the same association cannot be drawn into the same group. So this means we will see FC Goa in Groups A-E 

#8: Teams are allocated into pots (FC Goa are in pot 3)  and will be drawn into the relevant positions within each group in consideration of the technical balance between groups. The pots are as follows:

#9: The AFC Champions League Group Stage West Region matches will be scheduled between April 14-30, 2021. FC Goa are in the West Region. The winners of each group and three best runners-up from each region will advance to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.

#10: The AFC Champions League 2021 knockout matches in the Round of 16 are scheduled for September 13-15 and the Quarter-finals on September 27-29. Both rounds will be played as single matches. The AFC Champions League Semi-finals will be over two legs on October 19-20 and 26-27. The tournament will reach its grand finale with the two-leg Final on November 21 and 27