Bengaluru FC are the only Indian club in the top 50 of the AFC Clubs ranking, released in December. The list, which ranks the top clubs in the Asian Football Confederation, is led by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal.
The JSW-owned team had another extended AFC Cup campaign, reaching the semifinals where they were knocked out 3-2 on aggregate by Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol (69th). Istiklol lost in the final to Iraq’s Air Force Club (63rd), who won their second successive title.
The reigning Federation Cup champions received 8.883 points for their efforts this season while last season’s run to the final saw them rewarded with 9.667 points. They have a total of 28.491 points and are sandwiched between Thailand’s Buriram United and Australia’s Brisbane Roar.
The next Indian club in the list are Mohun Bagan, who are ranked 76th, having played in the last two editions of the AFC Cup. Churchill Brothers (106th), the now-defunct Pune FC (110th) and East Bengal (123rd) are the other Indian clubs in the top 150 of the AFC club rankings.
UAE’s Al-Ain and China’s Guangzhou Evergrande round off the top three behind Al-Hilal.