Sports News | Mumbai City FC Head to Abu Dhabi to Prepare for AFC Champions League Campaign

Mumbai, Mar 16 (PTI) Mumbai City FC will travel to Abu Dhabi for a two-week training camp as part of preparations for their 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.

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Before being crowned the ISL champions 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 secure participation in Asia's biggest club football competition.

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

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Head coach Des Buckingham said that the Islanders now have 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 here 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.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)