Melbourne City have had their Group Stage opponents for the AFC Women’s Champions League (AWCL) confirmed on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at AFC House.

The A-League Women Premiers were drawn in Group A, alongside Hồ Chí Minh City I W.F.C., who will host the group in Vietnam, Stallion Laguna F.C., and Lion City Sailors FC.

After losing the Final in a penalty shoot-out against Wuhan Jiangda, City will be looking to do one better this time around and come away with the silverware, but first, they’ll need to make it through the group stage, which will be played in Vietnam between the 13th and 19th of November this year.

The Melbourne City squad together in a huddle post-game following their 3-0 victory over Taichung Blue Whale. Photo supplied by Melbourne City FC.

The Opponents

Hồ Chí Minh City I W.F.C.

Hồ Chí Minh City I W.F.C. were established in 1998 and is one of the oldest and most decorated women’s football teams in Vietnam. They have won the Women’s National League a record number of 13 times, and have a running streak of six League Championships to their name.

In the last edition of the AWCL, their run in the tournament ended as semi-finalists, losing 1-0 to Wuhan Jiangda, who would go on to win the tournament against Melbourne City.

Stallion Laguna F.C.

Stallion Laguna F.C. will be making their AWCL debut after finishing as second-best runners-up of Group A in the Preliminary Stage of the competition.

The Filipino side has been around since the 2019-20 season of the Philippine Football Federation Women’s League, but due to disruptions from COVID-19, Stallion Laguna has only just completed its third league season, coming second in the 2025 competition on goal difference.

Lion City Sailors FC

The Singaporean side was originally founded in 1997 and played under the name Home United Women, before being privatised in 2020 and re-branded as Lion City Sailors FC, matching the men’s side of the same name.

They currently play in the Women’s Premier League in Singapore, where they have won the last three titles consecutively.

After having failed to make it out of the Preliminary Stage in the 2024/25 AWCL, Lion City Sailors FC will now be making their debut, following their Preliminary Stage success in Group D where they finished in first place.