Five times Bangladesh Football League champions Bashundhara Kings left Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon for Kuwait to compete in the group stage of the AFC Challenge League, which begins on Saturday.

The current Federation Cup holders will represent Bangladesh as the country’s lone participant in the continental competition. The Kings have travelled with seven foreign players, including three on loan from Fortis FC for the campaign - Gambian left winger Pa Omar Babou, Gambian central midfielder Essa Jallow, and Nigerian centre-forward Onyekachi Okafor.

Bashundhara Kings have been placed in Group B, alongside Al-Seeb (Oman), Al-Ansar (Lebanon), and Al-Kuwait (Kuwait).

The Kings will open their campaign against Al-Seeb on 25 October at the Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Stadium in Kuwait, with the match kicking off at 7:00pm Bangladesh time. They will face Al-Ansar on 28 October, and play their final group-stage fixture against hosts Al-Kuwait on 31 October.

Five group champions and three best group runners-up teams will qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The Kings booked their place in the main round after defeating Syria’s Al-Karamah FC 1-0 in the qualifying play-off held in August in Doha, Qatar.