Bahrain’s Al Najma will take on AGMK of Uzbekistan in the opening Group ’A’ match of the 2007 Asian Clubs Men’s Volleyball Championship which gets underway on June 1 at the Juffair Youth Centre.

Al Najma’s clash with AGMK will start at 7pm after the tournament’s opening ceremony. The first match starts at 9am. A few matches will also be played at the Umm Al Hassam Sports Complex.

Najma, who have been chosen for the championship as reigning holders of the Goys President Cup, are in Group ’A’ with Garuda of Indonesia, Al Arabi of Qatar, Sang Som of Thailand, and the Suntory Sunbirds of Japan.

Group ’B’ consists of defending champions Paykan of Iran, last year’s runners-up Rahat of Kazakhstan, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Al Ahli Dubai of the UAE, Asia World of Myanmar and Shanghai Oriental Club of China.

Competing teams will start arriving in the Kingdom from Tuesday, according to officials at the Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA).

The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals on June 7.

The final is set for the following day.