Match dates confirmed

Following hot on the heels of the AFC President's Cup draw in Kuala Lumpur earlier today, the match dates for Group A (without the kick-off times) have now been confirmed. All the action will take place at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh in the week commencing Saturday 21 May. There will be two matches each day on the Saturday, Monday and Wednesday, with the top and 2nd placed teams progressing into the six team final stages. Saturday 21 May
Phnom Penh Crown v Don Bosco Sporting Club (Sri Lanka)
Neftchi Kochkor-Ata v Abahani Limited
Monday 23 May
Don Bosco Sporting Club v Neftchi Kochkor-Ata
Abahani Limited (Bangladesh) v Phnom Penh Crown
Wednesday 25 May
Phnom Penh Crown v Neftchi Kochkor-Ata (Kyrgyzstan)
Abahani Limited v Don Bosco Sports Club

Phnom Penh Crown head coach Bojan Hodak gave this assessment when he heard the AFC President's Cup draw:
"It's a tough group but I am always optimistic. The Kyrgyz team is the main favourite to win the whole tournament as Kyrgyz teams are always strong, tactically and physically. But they will have a problem with the weather as they're not used to the hot and humid conditions. The Bangladesh team is very strong and defensively good, they played last year and never lost a game but unluckily went out on goal difference, while the Sri Lankan team is around about our level. Realistically, we will be in a fight for the second qualifying spot with the Bangladesh team and we will need to win our first game. In order to prepare properly I'd like two weeks or at least ten days without any C-League activity before the matches begin. We will need good preparation with a full squad, free of national team involvement and league action, but we also need competitive matches against strong opponents in the run up to the group games."