AFC Cup

Last updated
AFC Cup
AFC Cup logo.svg
Organising body AFC
Founded2004;20 years ago (2004)
Abolished2024;0 years ago (2024)
RegionAsia
Number of teams36–48 (group stage)
59 (total)
Related competitions AFC Champions League (1st tier)
Last champions Flag of Australia (converted).svg Central Coast Mariners (1st title)
Most successful club(s) Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Flag of Kuwait.svg Al-Kuwait
(3 titles each)
Website the-afc.com/cup

The AFC Cup was an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was played primarily among clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots to the top-tier AFC Champions League, based on the AFC Club Competitions Ranking.

Contents

Al-Kuwait SC and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were the most successful clubs in the competition's history, having won three titles each. Clubs from Kuwait won four titles, making them the most successful nation in the competition. The tournament was dominated by clubs from West Asia, with the only winners from outside that region being Uzbek side FC Nasaf in 2011, Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta'zim in 2015 and Australian side Central Coast Mariners in 2024.

Central Coast Mariners were the last champions, having defeated Al-Ahed in the 2024 final. From the 2021 season, the team winning the AFC Cup was granted qualification to the following season's AFC Champions League qualifying playoffs, had they not qualified through their domestic performance.

The AFC Cup was discontinued at the end of the 2023–24 season, with the AFC Champions League Two and AFC Challenge League being introduced as Asia's new second and third-tier competitions.

History

The AFC Cup began in 2004 as a second-tier competition to relate back to the AFC Champions League as 14 countries that had developing status competed in the first competition with 18 teams being nominated. Group A, B, C had West and Central Asian teams while the other two groups had east and South East Asia. The winners and three runners-up would then head to the knock-out stage where it was a random draw in who was going to play. Al-Jaish took the first AFC Cup after they defeated fellow Syrian opponents Al-Wahda on away goals.

In 2005, 18 teams competed from nine nations with the nations still being allowed to choose from one or two teams entering. After Syrian teams left the AFC Cup to try at the AFC Champions League for four years, Al-Faisaly defeated Nejmeh in the final. With it, Jordanian teams would win the next two AFC Cup seasons with Bahrain joining the league while Bangladesh was relegated to the AFC President's Cup until the tournament's abolition in 2014.

Al-Muharraq would break the trend in 2008 as they competed in the last two-legged final before it headed back into a one-leg system, a rule that was never changed till the termination of this tournament.

On 23 December 2022, it was announced that the AFC competition structure would change from the established formats from the 2024–25 season. Under the new plans, the AFC Cup was discontinued, and a new second-tier tournament called the AFC Champions League Two was introduced. [1] Meanwhile, a new third-tier competition was also launched under the name AFC Challenge League. [2] [3]

Format

Map of AFC countries whose teams reached the group stage of the AFC Cup .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} AFC member country that has been represented in the group stage AFC member country that has not been represented in the group stage AFC members AFC Cup group stage.png
Map of AFC countries whose teams reached the group stage of the AFC Cup
  AFC member country that has been represented in the group stage
  AFC member country that has not been represented in the group stage

Some changes were applied in terms of teams and format for the 2017 AFC Cup. A total of 36 teams participate in the group stage (12 each from West Asia and ASEAN, and 4 each from East Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia). The final will be played as a one-off match.

Allocation

Teams from 34 AFC countries had reached the group stage of the AFC Cup. The allocation of those teams by member country was listed below; asterisks represent occasions where at least one team was eliminated in qualification for the group stage. 41 AFC countries had had teams that participated in qualification (including Brunei and Timor-Leste who made their debuts in 2020), those who had not reached the group stage but had only played in qualification are not bolded.

AssociationsSpots
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023–24
East
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 00000000000000000000
Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Chinese Taipei 00000000000000*111*112*
Flag of Guam.svg Guam 00000000000000*000000
Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong 12222222222220021220
Flag of Japan.svg Japan 00000000000000000000
Flag of Macau.svg Macau 0000000000000*0101001*
Flag of Mongolia.svg Mongolia 0000000000000*10*0*0*10*1
Flag of North Korea.svg North Korea 0000000000000221*0000
Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 00000000000000000000
Total12222222222223444434
ASEAN
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia Part of OFC 00000000000000002
Flag of Brunei.svg Brunei 00000000000000000*0*00*
Flag of Cambodia.svg Cambodia 00000000000001*111221*
Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 00000122122200222222*
Flag of Laos.svg Laos 00000000000110*0*11*0*10*
Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia 22222210222222100222
Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar 00000000222222222001*
Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines 000000000001*22222012
Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore 22222111222222222221*
Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand 000±10222100000000000
Flag of East Timor.svg Timor-Leste 00000000000000000*100
Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam 00010222222002222211
Total4446488710101010911121212111112
South
Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 122000000000*11*1*11*1*1*1*
Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan 0000000000000*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*
Flag of India.svg India 22222222222222221*222*
Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives 222222221*22221*1*021*1*1*
Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal 000000000000*00*0100*0*0*
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan 0000000000000*0000000
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka 00000000000000*00*0*0*0*0
Total56644444344454444444
Central
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg Afghanistan 00000000000000*000000
Flag of Iran.svg Iran 00000000000000000000
Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg Kyrgyzstan 000000000010*0*21*1*2221*
Flag of Tajikistan.svg Tajikistan 000000000211*1*1*1*22221*
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Turkmenistan 222200000001*1*1*21*2222*
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan 00000112100000001110
Total22220112122224447774
West
Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain 00112210012222222221*
Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq 00000203222222200002
Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan 02232222222222222201
Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait 00000233322200022122
Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon 22222322222222222222
Flag of Oman.svg Oman 101222222221*2221*1*021*
Flag of Palestine.svg Palestine 00000000000*1*20*0*11221*
Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 00000010000000000000
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia 00000000100000000000
Flag of Syria.svg Syria 2000023321*2222222222*
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 00000000000000000000
Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen 10022222220*0*00000000
Total6461010171617161414141412121212111212
Total
Finals1818202420323132323232323234363639373736
Qualifying1818202420323132333334414050444348434349

Prize money

The prize money for the 2023–24 AFC Cup: [4]

PhasePurse (USD)Travel subsidy
(per match)
Preliminary stageN/A$40,000
Play-offsN/A$40,000
Group stageN/A$40,000
Knockout stageZonal champions: $100,000$40,000
FinalChampions: $1.5 million
Runners-up: $750,000		$40,000

Marketing

Sponsorship

Like the AFC Champions League, the AFC Cup was sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to the single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues.

The tournament's main sponsors were: [5]

Media

Results and statistics

Finals

List of AFC Cup finals
YearNationHome teamScoreAway teamNationVenueAttendance
2004 Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Al-Wahda 2–3 Al-Jaish Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Al-Jaish 0–1 Al-Wahda Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria
Aggregate 3–3, Al-Jaish won on away goals
2005 Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Al-Faisaly 1–0 Nejmeh Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Nejmeh 2–3 Al-Faisaly Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Rafic El-Hariri Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon
Al-Faisaly won 4–2 on aggregate
2006 Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Al-Faisaly 3–0 Al-Muharraq Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan7,000
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Al-Muharraq 4–2 Al-Faisaly Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain3,000
Al-Faisaly won 5–4 on aggregate
2007 Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Al-Faisaly 0–1 Shabab Al-Ordon Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan5,500
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon 1–1 Al-Faisaly Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan7,500
Shabab Al-Ordon won 2–1 on aggregate
2008 Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Al-Muharraq 5–1 Safa Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain6,000
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Safa 4–5 Al-Muharraq Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon2,000
Al-Muharraq won 10–5 on aggregate
2009 Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Al-Kuwait 2–1 Al-Karamah Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait17,400
2010 Flag of Syria.svg  Syria Al-Ittihad 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		 Al-Qadsia Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait58,604
2011 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan FC Nasaf 2–1 Al-Kuwait Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi, Uzbekistan15,753
2012 Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Al-Kuwait 4–0 Erbil Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil, Iraq30,000
2013 Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Al-Kuwait 2–0 Al-Qadsia Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait10,000
2014 Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Al-Qadsia 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		 Erbil Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, UAE5,240
2015 Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1–0 Istiklol Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan18,000
2016 Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1–0 Bengaluru Flag of India.svg  India Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar5,806
2017 Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1–0 Istiklol Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan Flag of Tajikistan.svg Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor, Tajikistan20,000
2018 Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2–0 Altyn Asyr Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq24,665
2019 Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Al-Ahed 1–0 April 25 Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia500
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia. [6]
2021 Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Al-Muharraq 3–0 Nasaf Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan Al-Muharraq Stadium, Arad, Bahrain9,060
2022 Flag of Oman.svg  Oman Al-Seeb 3–0 Kuala Lumpur City Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia27,722
2023–24 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Central Coast Mariners 1–0 Al-Ahed Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman1,930

Performance by clubs

Club		WinnersRunners-upYears wonYears runners-up
Flag of Kuwait.svg Al-Kuwait 31 2009, 2012, 2013 2011
Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 30 2016, 2017, 2018
Flag of Jordan.svg Al-Faisaly 21 2005, 2006 2007
Flag of Bahrain.svg Al-Muharraq 21 2008, 2021 2006
Flag of Kuwait.svg Al-Qadsia 12 2014 2010, 2013
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Nasaf Qarshi 11 2011 2021
Flag of Lebanon.svg Al-Ahed 11 2019 2023–24
Flag of Syria.svg Al-Jaish 10 2004
Flag of Jordan.svg Shabab Al-Ordon 10 2007
Flag of Syria.svg Al-Ittihad 10 2010
Flag of Malaysia.svg Johor Darul Ta'zim 10 2015
Flag of Oman.svg Al-Seeb 10 2022
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Central Coast Mariners 10 2023–24
Flag of Iraq.svg Erbil 02 2012, 2014
Flag of Tajikistan.svg Istiklol 02 2015, 2017
Flag of Syria.svg Al-Wahda 01 2004
Flag of Lebanon.svg Nejmeh 01 2005
Flag of Lebanon.svg Safa 01 2008
Flag of Syria.svg Al-Karamah 01 2009
Flag of India.svg Bengaluru 01 2016
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altyn Asyr 01 2018
Flag of North Korea.svg April 25 01 2019
Flag of Malaysia.svg Kuala Lumpur City 01 2022

Performance by nations

NationTitlesRunners-upTotal
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 437
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 325
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 314
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 224
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 213
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 134
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 112
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 112
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 101
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 101
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 022
Flag of India.svg  India 011
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 011
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 011

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "History beckons for AFC Cup 2023/24 contenders as final edition of popular competition kicks off". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends strategic reforms to elevate Asian club football". theAFC.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". AFC. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  4. ↑ AFC Cup 2023–24 Competition Regulations. Asian Football Confederation. pp. 57–58. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "AFC Cup League". Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". AFC. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "AFC Cup: Marañón leads all-time top scorers". the-afc.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
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