Mumbai City FC heads to Abu Dhabi for training camp ahead of AFC Champions League

Indian Super League side Mumbai City FC have been drawn in Group B of 2022 AFC Champions League along with Al Jazira (United Arab Emirates), Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia), and Air Force Club (Iraq).

The team qualified for the AFC Champions League after winning the Indian Super League 2020/21 League Winners' Shield. It also defeated ATK Mohun Bagan in the final to become league champion for the first time.

Mumbai City FC will travel to Abu Dhabi for a two-week training camp ahead of its maiden AFC Champions League campaign.

“Mumbai City FC will set up base in Al Forsan, where the first team squad will prepare before the Islanders head to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the group stage of the 2022 AFC Champions League, which is scheduled to begin from April 8,” a media statement issued by the club said on Wednesday.

Before being crowned the ISL champion in the 2020/21 season, Mumbai City FC also finished at the top of the table and lifted the League Winners’ Shield, thus becoming only the second Indian club to qualify for Asia’s biggest club football competition.

#TheIslanders have regrouped and arrived in Abu Dhabi as we begin our preparations for #ACL2022!#MumbaiCity#AamchiCity@TheAFCCLpic.twitter.com/WTWYClaNY4

— Mumbai City FC (@MumbaiCityFC) March 16, 2022

 

Drawn in group B in the west region of the 2022 AFC Champions League, Mumbai City FC will face Al Jazira (UAE), Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia), and Air Force Club (Iraq).

Head coach Des Buckingham said that Mumbai now has time to acclimatize to the conditions.

“After a six-month season living in a bubble in the ISL, the players have had a small break in the past days. We now turn our attention to preparing as well as possible in Abu Dhabi, taking the positives from the league campaign and building on the learnings,” said Buckingham.

“We have a very young squad, and the experiences gained, combined with a fresh mindset, will help us focus on our next objective for our continental campaign ... for what’s going to be an important experience and historical moment for the club,” the head coach added.