The Turkmen football club Arkadag will play the first semi-final match of the AFC Challenge League against the local club Al-Arabi on April 9 in Kuwait City.

The teams have already met in the group stage of the current AFC Challenge League. The match, which took place on November 1, 2024 in Kuwait City, ended with a victory for the hosts with a score of 3:2.

On the way to the semi-finals, the Turkmen club confidently overcame the quarter-final barrier, beating the Indian East Bengal with a total score of 3:1. In the first meeting in Kolkata, Vladimir Bayramov's team won with a score of 1:0, and in the return match at the home stadium in the city of Arkadag, they won with a score of 2:1.

Al Arabi advanced to the semi-finals by beating Omani club Al Seeb 3-2 on aggregate.

The other East Zone semi-final will feature Preah Khan Rich Svay Rieng (Cambodia) and Madura United (Indonesia) on April 10.

The second leg of the Challenge League semi-finals will be held in Turkmenistan on April 16 and in Indonesia on April 17. The final of Asia's third-largest club tournament is scheduled for May 10, 2025.