Group A, in the West Zone, will be hosted in Manama, Bahrain. Groups B and C, also in the West Zone will be staged in Amman, Jordan. Group D, in the South Zone, will be hosted in Male, Maldives. In the Central Asia Zone, Group E will be hosted by the club FC Dordoi in Kyrgyzstan and Group F in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The host of group G, in the Asean Zone, is yet to be confirmed. Singapore will host groups H and I, in the Asean Zone. Group J, in the East Zone, will be staged in Hong Kong.

In Singapore, Yazeen Buhari, the general secretary of the local FA, welcomed his country’s staging of the games, saying: “With this news of us being the host city for both groups, we will discuss in detail with Sport Singapore and other relevant government agencies the conditions we need to establish during this pandemic to keep the competition safe. The FAS prioritises the health and safety of the players and officials and we will spare no effort to ensure our local community remains safe.”

It is yet to be confirmed whether fans will be allowed to attend the games. Under strict anti-virus protocols, 500 fans were permitted to attend the recent ATP 250 Singapore Tennis Open tournament, and MMA promotion One Championship has held a series of events in the city state with 250 fans in attendance.

Singapore’s Group H will feature Kedah Darul Aman, Lion City Sailors, Saigon and the Asean Zone Play-off 2 winner. Group I will include Geylang International FC, Kaya FC-Iloilo, Terengganu FC and the representative of Myanmar, Shan United FC or Ayeyawady United FC, depending on the results of AFC Champions League preliminary and play-off matches.

The clubs in the other groups are:

Group A: Al Hidd Club, Al Nasr, Al Wahda and defending AFC Cup champions Al Ahed FC

Group B: Al Ansar FC, Muharraq Club, Al Salt and Balata Center

Group C: Al Faisaly, Al Seeb Club, Tishreen and the winner of the West Zone Play-off match.

Group D: ATK Mohun Bagan, Bashundhara Kings, Maziya Sports and Recreation, and the winner of the South Zone Play-off.

Group E: FC Dordoi, Ahal FC and FC Ravshan

Group F: FC Alay, Altyn Asyr FC, FC Khujand and the representative of Uzbekistan, AGMK FC or FC Nasaf, which will be decided after the AFC Champions League 2021 Play-off match.

Group J: Athletic 220 FC, Eastern Long Lions, Lee Man and Tainan City FC.