East Bengal are the first Indian club to reach the quarter finals of the AFC Women's Champions League, Asia's top club competition for women. The man who got them there has spent three years rewriting what Indian clubs can do in Asia.
On Saturday night in Kolkata, East Bengal lost 2-0 to 4.25 SC of North Korea. By the final whistle, nobody inside Kishore Bharati Krirangan cared about the scoreline.
The result left East Bengal third in Group B with three points and a goal difference of minus four. That was enough. They went through as one of the two best third placed teams, ahead of Myanmar's Ayeyawady on goal difference. For the first time, an Indian club is in the last eight of Asia's top women's club competition.
A week that made history
The campaign opened on 1 November with a 2-1 win over Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. Fazila Ikwaput scored twice, the first from the penalty spot after 20 minutes and the second 14 minutes later. Three days on, Hwacheon KSPO of South Korea won 4-1. Ikwaput scored again, and that goal turned out to matter.
Then came 4.25 SC, one of the strongest club sides on the continent. They scored inside two minutes and again before half time. East Bengal held them there. The goalless second half did more for the club than any goal could have.
"Obviously, I am very proud of this team and the way we defended our lives. Last year, everybody knew the heartbreak of conceding a last minute goal, which shattered us throughout the year. This time, I did not want to take that risk."
Anthony Andrews, after the 4.25 SC match
Not a one off
This quarter final is the result of a steady climb that Andrews has led for three years.
He took Gokulam Kerala FC to the 2023 AFC Women's Club Championship in Thailand. With East Bengal he won their 2025/26 preliminary group without losing, then beat Bam Khatoon of Iran 3-1 in Wuhan. No Indian club had won a group stage match in the competition before that. In August 2026, East Bengal became the first Indian women's club to reach the group stage in back to back seasons. They won their preliminary group in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, with three wins, 18 goals scored and none conceded. That run included a 12-0 win over Rovers, the biggest by an Indian club in AFC women's club football since 2021.
The numbers since 2021 tell the story:
| Andrews' teams | All Indian clubs | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches won in Asia | 7 | 10 |
| Goals scored | 31 | 42 |
| Clean sheets | 4 | 4 |
Indian clubs have recorded two draws in AFC women's club football in that time, and both came under Andrews.
At home, he is the most successful coach in Indian Women's League history, with four titles: two with Gokulam Kerala and two with East Bengal. No other coach has won more than one. He also led East Bengal to the SAFF Women's Club Championship, the South Asian club title, in December 2025, and since August 2026 he has worked as assistant coach of India's U17 women's team alongside his club role.
What comes next
The quarter finals are in March 2027. East Bengal will be unseeded, which means a likely trip to face one of the competition's established powers. That is a hard draw, but it is also the most valuable stage an Indian women's club has ever played on, in front of broadcasters, sponsors and scouts from across Asia.
For Indian women's football, this week matters more than one result. It shows that a club built in India, coached by an Indian coach, can get through a group stage in Asia. Andrews has done it, and East Bengal are now in the quarter finals.
Read his full profile, honours and season by season record on his Hestia page, and every Indian club result in Asia on The Record.
Anthony Andrews is represented worldwide by SDD Sports Management x Hestia Sports. Match facts: ANI, Khel Now, India Sports Hub. Asia figures: The Record, AFC competitions since 2021.