Fortis FC secured a place in the main stage of the AFC Challenge League after defeating Kyrgyzstan club Muras United 1-0 at Bashundhara Kings Arena on Tuesday.
Mohammad Ibrahim scored the only goal of the match as Fortis made history on their AFC debut. The Bangladesh Premier League side finished third in the 2025-26 domestic league season and earned their continental opportunity after the top two clubs, Bashundhara Kings and Dhaka Abahani, were handed FIFA sanctions.
Fortis will now face Syria’s Al-Ittihad in the preliminary round later on Tuesday night, while their victory over Muras has already secured their place in the next stage of the competition.
Muras had beaten Abahani 2-0 at the National Stadium in Paltan during last season’s AFC Challenge League preliminary round. However, they were unable to repeat that result on their return to Bangladesh.
Fortis came close to taking the lead in the 22nd minute when Pa Omar Babu broke into the box from the left and found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Kostyk. His left-footed effort beat the goalkeeper but struck the post and went wide.
Muras increased the pressure after the break, but Fortis goalkeeper Sujan Perera produced two important saves.
Fortis eventually took the lead against the run of play in the 52nd minute. Omar Babu sent a through ball into Ibrahim’s path, and the forward controlled it with his right foot before firing a low left-footed shot that went through the Kyrgyz goalkeeper’s legs and into the net.
Fortis nearly doubled their advantage four minutes later. Omar Babu’s curling corner was heading towards the goal before goalkeeper Kostyk made a goal-line save. The rebound fell to Ananta Tamang, who set up Eric Bista, but Kostyk produced another excellent save to keep out his curling effort.
Muras were awarded a penalty in the 74th minute after Madanov Ismoylovich’s shot struck Eric Bista’s hand inside the box. However, Atabayev Erbol missed the chance to equalise as his right-footed effort hit the post.
Fortis held on to their 1-0 advantage until the final whistle to book their place in the AFC Challenge League main stage.
