AFC Challenge League
| Organising body | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 (as AFC President's Cup) 2024 (relaunched as AFC Challenge League) |
| Region | Asia |
| Number of teams | 18 (group stage) |
| Qualifier for | AFC Champions League Two |
| Related competitions | AFC Champions League Elite (1st tier) AFC Champions League Two (2nd tier) |
| Current champions | Arkadag (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Regar TadAZ (3 titles) |
| Website | AFC Challenge League at the-afc.com |
| 2025–26 AFC Challenge League | |
The AFC Challenge League (previously known as the AFC President's Cup, abbreviated as ACGL) is an annual third-tier continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The competition is played among clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots to the top-tier AFC Champions League Elite or the second-tier AFC Champions League Two, based on the AFC club competitions ranking.
The 2024–25 season marked its inaugural edition in the new format. The winner of the AFC Challenge League gets a direct spot in the group stage of the next season's AFC Champions League Two, if they have not already qualified through domestic performance.
History
| Season | Winners |
|---|---|
| AFC President's Cup | |
| 2005 | Regar TadAZ |
| 2006 | Dordoi-Dynamo |
| 2007 | Dordoi-Dynamo (2) |
| 2008 | Regar TadAZ (2) |
| 2009 | Regar TadAZ (3) |
| 2010 | Yadanarbon |
| 2011 | Taipower |
| 2012 | Istiklol |
| 2013 | Balkan |
| 2014 | HTTU Aşgabat |
| AFC Challenge League | |
| 2024–25 | Arkadag |
The AFC President's Cup was founded in 2005 as a third tier competition so that clubs from lower-ranked AFC member nations could participate in continental competition.[1]
On 25 November 2013, the AFC Competitions Committee proposed the year of 2014 to be the last edition of the President's Cup.[2] Starting from 2015, league champions of emerging countries were eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-offs.[1]
The last edition in 2014 saw HTTU Aşgabat defeat North Korean side Rimyongsu 2–1, becoming the second consecutive team from Turkmenistan to win the competition.
On 23 December 2022, it was announced that the AFC competition structure would change from the established formats from the 2024–25 season. A new third-tier tournament called the AFC Challenge League would be introduced.[3][4][5]
On 24 May 2024, AFC announced that the records and statistics from the defunct AFC President's Cup were recognised as predecessor competition and integrated with the data of the AFC Challenge League.[6]
Format
Qualification to the competition initially was for clubs from AFC-affiliated countries which fall into the AFC's emerging nations category as laid out in their Vision Asia document.
Between 8 and 12 clubs participated in each edition of the competition. From 2005 to 2007, 8 clubs were placed in the two groups of 4. The winners and runners up would advance to the semi-final stage. All the matches were held in a single host country.
From 2008 to 2010, the tournament was increased to 11 clubs. A qualification round was created and clubs were split into three groups. Each group was played in a different country. The three group winners and the best ranked runner up qualified for the final stage.
From 2011 to 2014, the tournament was increased to 12 clubs. In the qualification round, there were three groups of 4 clubs. The group winners and runners up qualified for the final stage. These 6 clubs were broken into two groups of 3. The top clubs of each group qualified for the final.[7]
In November 2013 the AFC announced that the 2014 AFC President's Cup would be the last edition of the tournament.[8] Starting from 2015, league champions of "emerging countries" are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-off.[9] The qualifying round for the 2016 AFC Cup, with similar format to the AFC President's Cup (without final stage), was held in August 2015, which qualified two clubs to the AFC Cup play-offs.[10]
After the rebrand in 2024, the new format comprised 18 participating clubs divided into four groups for the inaugural season. The clubs compete in single-leg centralized format, with the top eight qualifying for the quarter-finals. The quarter and semi-finals are played over two legs, before the coveted final is staged over a single-leg contest.[11][12]
Prize money
Starting with the 2024–25 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows:[13]
| Round | Teams | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per team | Total | ||
| Final (Champions) | 1 | $1 million | |
| Final (Runners-up) | 1 | $500,000 | |
| Semi-finals | 4 | $120,000 | $480,000 |
| Quarter-finals | 8 | $80,000 | $640,000 |
| Group stage | 18 | $100,000 | $1,800,000 |
| Total | 18 | $4,420,000 | |
Records and statistics
List of finals
| † | Match won after extra time |
| * | Match won after a penalty shoot-out |
- The "Season" column refers to the season during which the competition was held, and links to the article about that season.
Performance by club
| Club | Title(s) | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regar-TadAZ | 3 | 0 | 2005, 2008, 2009 | — |
| Dordoi Bishkek | 2 | 4 | 2006, 2007 | 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Yadanarbon | 1 | 0 | 2010 | — |
| Taiwan Power Company |
1 | 0 | 2011 | — |
| Istiklol | 1 | 0 | 2012 | — |
| Nebitçi | 1 | 0 | 2013 | — |
| Ýedigen | 1 | 0 | 2014 | — |
| Arkadag | 1 | 0 | 2024–25 | — |
| Khatlon | 0 | 1 | — | 2006 |
| Nepal Police | 0 | 1 | — | 2007 |
| Phnom Penh Crown | 0 | 1 | — | 2011 |
| Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari | 0 | 1 | — | 2012 |
| KRL | 0 | 1 | — | 2013 |
| Rimyongsu | 0 | 1 | — | 2014 |
| Svay Rieng | 0 | 1 | — | 2024–25 |
Performance by nation
| Nation | Winners | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tajikistan | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Turkmenistan | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Chinese Taipei | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Myanmar | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cambodia | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Nepal | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| North Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Palestine | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Performance by coach
| Coach | Club | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Makhmadjon Khabibulloev | Regar TadAZ | 2005, 2008, 2009 |
| Boris Podkorytov | Dordoi-Dinamo | 2006, 2007 |
| U Zaw Lay Aung | Yadanarbon | 2010 |
| Nikola Kavazović | Istiklol | 2012 |
| Chen Kuei-jen | Taiwan Power Company | 2011 |
| Rahym Kurbanmämmedow | Balkan | 2013 |
| Begench Garayev | HTTU Aşgabat | 2014 |
| Akhmet Allaberdiyev | Arkadag | 2024–25 |
Awards
Top scorers
| Season | Player(s) | Club(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Dudley Steinwall | Blue Star SC | 4 |
| Hok Sochetra | Hello United | ||
| Khurshed Mahmudov | Regar-TadAZ | ||
| Dzhomikhon Mukhidinov | Regar-TadAZ | ||
| 2006 | Chuang Yao-tsung | Tatung | 5 |
| Roman Kornilov | Dordoi-Dynamo | ||
| 2007 | Channa Ediri Bandanage | Ratnam Sports Club | 6 |
| 2008 | Thi Ha Kyaw | Kanbawza | 6 |
| 2009 | Soe Min Oo | Kanbawza | 6 |
| 2010 | Rustam Usmonov | Vakhsh Qurghonteppa | 5 |
| 2011 | Ho Ming-tsan | Taipower | 6 |
| 2012 | Mirlan Murzayev | Dordoi Bishkek | 8 |
| 2013 | Mirlan Murzayev | Dordoi Bishkek | 9 |
| 2014 | Suleyman Muhadow | HTTU Aşgabat | 11 |
| 2024–25 | Altymyrat Annadurdyýew | Arkadag | 5 |
Best player
| Season | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | N/A | N/A |
| 2006 | N/A | N/A |
| 2007 | Valery Kashuba | Dordoi-Dynamo |
| 2008 | N/A | N/A |
| 2009 | Khurshed Mahmudov | Regar-TadAZ |
| 2010 | Mirlan Murzayev | Dordoi-Dynamo |
| 2011 | Chen Po-liang | Taipower |
| 2012 | Alisher Tuychiev | Istiklol |
| 2013 | Amir Gurbani | Balkan |
| 2014 | Suleyman Muhadow | HTTU Asgabat |
| 2024–25 | Şanazar Tirkişow | Arkadag |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirlan Murzaev | Dordoi Bishkek | 19 |
| 2 | David Tetteh | Dordoi Bishkek | 12 |
| 3 | Khurshed Makhmudov | Regar-TadAZ | 11 |
| Suleyman Muhadow | HTTU | ||
| 5 | Amir Gurbani | Aşgabat Balkan |
10 |
| Channa Ediri Bandanage | Ratnam | ||
| Ibrahim Rabimov | Regar-TadAZ Istiklol | ||
| 8 | Kaleemullah Khan | KRL | 9 |
| 9 | Arslanmyrat Amanow | Aşgabat HTTU |
8 |
| Yan Paing | Yadanarbon | ||
| Ju Manu Rai | Nepal Police |
See also
- AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge League records and statistics
- AFC Champions League Elite
- AFC Champions League Two
Notes
- ^ The score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Regar TadAZ won the penalty shoot-out 4–3.
References
- ^ a b "AFC President's Cup: The end of a glorious journey". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "ACL: East vs West final proposed". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends strategic reforms to elevate Asian club football". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "AFC Club Competitions 2024/25 Slot Allocation" (PDF). FAS.org.sg. Football Association of Singapore. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Pivotal reforms approved by AFC Competitions Committee". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 24 May 2024. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". Archived from the original on 2018-08-18. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ^ "ACL: East vs West final proposed". The-afc.com. 2013-11-25. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup: The end of a glorious journey". AFC. 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "Stage set for 2016 AFC Cup play-off qualifiers". AFC. 29 June 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Pivotal reforms approved by AFC Competitions Committee". the-AFC. Archived from the original on 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
- ^ The AFC Hub (2024-06-19). AFC Challenge League™ 2024/25. Archived from the original on 2024-06-20. Retrieved 2024-06-20 – via YouTube.
- ^ "AFC Cup and Presidents Cup". rsssf. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2005 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2006 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2007 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2008 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2009 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2010 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2011 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2012 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2013 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "AFC President's Cup 2014 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
- ^ "Match Report of Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC vs Arkadag FK - 2025-05-10 - AFC Challenge League". GlobalSportsArchive.com. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
External links
- AFC – Official website
- AFC Challenge League at Global Sports Archive
- AFC President's Cup – RSSSF