Meanwhile, the senior team will not be playing playoff to earn a spot at the Challenge Cup group stage after the the AFC determined it to be the 12th best team in the competition. Al-Fursan dodged another bullet by avoiding former winners Tajikistan, India, and DPR Korea. When the dust settled they were drawn in what seems to be a fairly straight forward group:
Playoffs (February 9 and 16, 2011)
Playoff 1: Bhutan vs Afghanistan
Playoff 2: Philippines vs Mongolia
Playoff 3: Chinese Taipei vs Laos
Playoff 4: Cambodia vs Macau
GROUP STAGE (March 20-31, 2011)
Group A: Myanmar, Palestine, Bangladesh, winner of playoff 2
Group B: Turkmenistan, India, winner of playoff 3, Pakistan
Group C: Tajikistan, Maldives, winner of playoff 4, Kyrgyzstan
Group D: DPR Korea, winner of playoff 1, Nepal, Sri Lanka