Reigning Afghan champions Abu Muslim Farah have received a license to participate in the 2026/27 AFC Challenge League. This was confirmed by the Club Licensing Department of the Afghanistan Football Federation.
The club will enter the preliminary round of the competition. Abu Muslim Farah’s opponent has not yet been announced.
The question of the Afghan champions’ participation had remained open after the club issued a statement in February expressing concerns over the licensing process. At the time, Abu Muslim Farah said they were facing serious difficulties in completing the AFC club licensing requirements and complained about the lack of seminars, training courses and guidance for clubs.
In the statement, the club said that last year the required criteria had been completed in cooperation with the Club Licensing Department, but this season Abu Muslim Farah had been asked to complete all the necessary steps independently. The club stressed that it was not trying to avoid responsibility, but said it needed support from the federation, given that it would be representing Afghanistan internationally with significant expenses and limited revenue.
The Afghanistan Football Federation has now confirmed that Abu Muslim Farah, with the support of the national federation, have completed all club licensing criteria and received permission to take part in the AFC Challenge League.
For Afghan football, this is an important development. The country will retain its representation in Asian club competitions despite serious organisational, financial and infrastructure challenges.
At the same time, licensing questions remain relevant for clubs from several other countries, including Palestine, Pakistan, Nepal and Yemen. If their representatives fail to obtain approval, the vacant places may, as happened last season, be passed to clubs from countries ranked higher in the AFC club competition ranking. In particular, clubs from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan could move up and receive additional places.
Among the possible participants in the preliminary stage of the 2026/27 AFC Challenge League are Kyrgyzstan’s Dordoi and Tajikistan’s Regar-TadAZ. However, Abu Muslim Farah’s specific opponent has not yet been determined.
Last season, Abu Muslim Farah also represented Afghanistan in the AFC Challenge League, but failed to advance from the preliminary round. The Afghan club lost 1-0 to Bhutan’s Paro FC.