Can Boeung Ket go one step better than MCL rivals Phnom Penh Crown and lift the AFC President’s Cup trophy this year? Photograph: Sreng Meng Srun/Phnom Penh Post

Can Boeung Ket go one step better than MCL rivals Phnom Penh Crown and lift the AFC President’s Cup trophy this year? Photograph: Sreng Meng Srun/Phnom Penh Post

Reigning Metfone C-League champions Boeung Ket Rubber Field were drawn into a tough Group C of the 2013 AFC President’s Cup group stage yesterday, as Cambodia were handed the rights to host a preliminary round of the annual international club tournament for emerging Asian countries for the third successive year.

The draw, held at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, saw Kampong Cham-based Boeung Ket bracketed with Palestinian heavyweights Hilal Al-Quds, Turkmenistan top-tier winners FC Balkan and Sri Lanka Army Sports Club. The Group C battles are slated for the second week of May at Olympic Stadium.

Group A to be played in Kathmandu, Nepal, from May 7-11 will feature the host nation’s league champions, to be decided in the early part of next month, against 2011 Cup winners

Taiwan Power Company, Abahani Limited of Bangladesh and Mongolian outfit Erchim FC.

Group B, booked for Cebu City in the Philippines during the same week, contains two-time champions and four-time runners-up Dordoi FC of Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan regulars KRL FC, Yazdeen FC of Bhutan and local hopes Global FC.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the final stage, to be held sometime in September at a centralised venue.