AFC Cup
Founded | 2004 |
---|---|
Region | Asia (AFC) |
Number of teams | 36 (group stage) |
Qualifier for | AFC Champions League |
Related competitions | AFC Champions League |
Current champions | Al-Muharraq (2nd title) |
Most successful club(s) | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Kuwait (3 titles each) |
Website | Official website |
2022 AFC Cup |
The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the AFC. Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots in the top-tier AFC Champions League, based on the AFC Club Competitions Ranking.
Al-Kuwait SC and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are the most successful club in the competition's history, having won three titles each. Clubs from Kuwait have won four titles, making them the most successful nation in the competition. Ever since the inauguration of the competition in 2004, the finalists of each edition have been dominated by clubs from West Asia except for 2011 and 2015 when Uzbekistani team FC Nasaf from Central Asia and Malaysian team Johor Darul Ta'zim from Southeast Asia became champions that respective year. Al-Ahed are the current champions after defeating April 25 Sports Club in the 2019 final. Since 2021 season the team who become AFC Cup champions are granted to participate in the AFC Champions League qualifying playoffs should they not qualify through domestic performance.
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 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 which still runs to this day.
Format[]
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 27 AFC countries have reached the group stage of the AFC Cup. The allocation of those teams by member country is listed below; asterisks represent occasions where at least one team was eliminated in qualification for the group stage. 34 AFC countries have had teams participate in qualification (including Brunei and Timor-Leste who will make their debuts in 2020), those who have not reached the group stage but have only played in qualification are not bolded.
Associations | Spots | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
East | ||||||||||||||||||
Chinese Taipei | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 1 | 1 | 1* | 1 |
Guam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hong Kong | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Macau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Mongolia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 1 | 0* | 0* | 0* | 1 |
North Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 0 | 0 |
Total | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
ASEAN | ||||||||||||||||||
Brunei | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0* |
Cambodia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Indonesia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Laos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0* | 0* | 1 | 1* | 1* |
Malaysia | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Myanmar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Philippines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Singapore | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Thailand | 0 | 0 | 0± | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Timor-Leste | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0* |
Vietnam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Total | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
South | ||||||||||||||||||
Bangladesh | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 1 | 1* | 1* | 1 | 1* | 1* |
Bhutan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* |
India | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 2* |
Maldives | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 1* | 0 | 2 | 1* |
Nepal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0 | 0* | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0 | 0* | 0* | 0* |
Total | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Central | ||||||||||||||||||
Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kyrgyzstan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0* | 0* | 2 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 2 |
Tajikistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 1* | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Turkmenistan | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 2 | 1* | 1 | 2 |
Uzbekistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
West | ||||||||||||||||||
Bahrain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Iraq | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jordan | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Kuwait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Lebanon | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Oman | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 1* | 0 |
Palestine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 1* | 2 | 0* | 0* | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Qatar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Saudi Arabia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Syria | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1* | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Yemen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0* | 0* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
Total | ||||||||||||||||||
Finals | 18 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 20 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 37/38 |
Qualifying | 18 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 20 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 41 | 40 | 50 | 44 | 43 | 48 | 43 |
Prize money[]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Prize money details for past competitions are missing.(May 2021) |
The prize money for the 2021 AFC Cup:[1]
Phase | Purse (USD) | Travel subsidy (per match) |
---|---|---|
Preliminary stage | N/A | $30,000 |
Play-offs | N/A | $30,000 |
Group stage | N/A | $30,000 |
Knockout stage | Zonal champions: $100,000 | $40,000 |
Final | Champions: $1.5 million Runners-up: $750,000 |
$40,000 |
Marketing[]
Sponsorship[]
Like the AFC Champions League, the AFC Cup is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to the single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues.
The tournament's current main sponsors are:
- Allianz[2]
- beIN Sports[2]
- Crbeverage[2]
- Fly Emirates[2]
- Karcher[2]
- Nike[2]
- Nikon[2]
- QNB Group[2]
- Toyota[2]
- Tsingtao[2]
- Seiko[2]
Results and statistics[]
Finals[]
Year | Nation | Home team | Score | Away team | Nation | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Syria | Al-Wahda | 2–3 | Al-Jaish | Syria | Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus | |
Syria | Al-Jaish | 0–1 | Al-Wahda | Syria | Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus | ||
Aggregate 3–3, Al-Jaish won on away goals | |||||||
2005 | Jordan | Al-Faisaly | 1–0 | Nejmeh | Lebanon | Amman International Stadium, Amman | |
Lebanon | Nejmeh | 2–3 | Al-Faisaly | Jordan | Rafic El-Hariri Stadium, Beirut | ||
Al-Faisaly won 4–2 on aggregate | |||||||
2006 | Jordan | Al-Faisaly | 3–0 | Al-Muharraq | Bahrain | Amman International Stadium, Amman | 7,000 |
Bahrain | Al-Muharraq | 4–2 | Al-Faisaly | Jordan | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa | 3,000 | |
Al-Faisaly won 5–4 on aggregate | |||||||
2007 | Jordan | Al-Faisaly | 0–1 | Shabab Al-Ordon | Jordan | Amman International Stadium, Amman | 5,500 |
Jordan | Shabab Al-Ordon | 1–1 | Al-Faisaly | Jordan | Amman International Stadium, Amman | 7,500 | |
Shabab Al-Ordon won 2–1 on aggregate | |||||||
2008 | Bahrain | Al-Muharraq | 5–1 | Safa | Lebanon | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa | 6,000 |
Lebanon | Safa | 4–5 | Al-Muharraq | Bahrain | Sports City Stadium, Beirut | 2,000 | |
Al-Muharraq won 10–5 on aggregate | |||||||
Year | Nation | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Nation | Venue | Attendance |
2009 | Kuwait | Al-Kuwait | 2–1 | Al-Karamah | Syria | Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City | 17,400 |
2010 | Syria | Al-Ittihad | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) |
Al-Qadsia | Kuwait | Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City | 58,604 |
2011 | Uzbekistan | FC Nasaf | 2–1 | Al-Kuwait | Kuwait | Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi | 15,753 |
2012 | Kuwait | Al-Kuwait | 4–0 | Erbil | Iraq | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | 30,000 |
2013 | Kuwait | Al-Kuwait | 2–0 | Al-Qadsia | Kuwait | Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City | 10,000 |
2014 | Kuwait | Al-Qadsia | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) |
Erbil | Iraq | Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai | 5,240 |
2015 | Malaysia | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 1–0 | Istiklol | Tajikistan | Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe | 18,000 |
2016 | Iraq | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 1–0 | Bengaluru | India | Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha | 5,806 |
2017 | Iraq | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 1–0 | Istiklol | Tajikistan | , Hisor | 20,000 |
2018 | Iraq | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 2–0 | Altyn Asyr | Turkmenistan | Basra International Stadium, Basra | 24,665 |
2019 | Lebanon | Al-Ahed | 1–0 | April 25 | North Korea | Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur | 500 |
2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.[3] | ||||||
2021 | Bahrain | Al-Muharraq | 3–0 | FC Nasaf | Uzbekistan | Al-Muharraq Stadium, Arad | 9,060 |
Performance by clubs[]
Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Kuwait | 3 | 1 | 2009, 2012, 2013 | 2011 |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 3 | 0 | 2016, 2017, 2018 | |
Al-Faisaly | 2 | 1 | 2005, 2006 | 2007 |
Al-Muharraq | 2 | 1 | 2008, 2021 | 2006 |
Al-Qadsia | 1 | 2 | 2014 | 2010, 2013 |
Nasaf Qarshi | 1 | 1 | 2011 | 2021 |
Al-Jaish | 1 | 0 | 2004 | |
Shabab Al-Ordon | 1 | 0 | 2007 | |
Al-Ittihad | 1 | 0 | 2010 | |
Johor Darul Ta'zim | 1 | 0 | 2015 | |
Al-Ahed | 1 | 0 | 2019 | |
Erbil | 0 | 2 | 2012, 2014 | |
Istiklol | 0 | 2 | 2015, 2017 | |
Al-Wahda | 0 | 1 | 2004 | |
Nejmeh | 0 | 1 | 2005 | |
Safa | 0 | 1 | 2008 | |
Al-Karamah | 0 | 1 | 2009 | |
Bengaluru | 0 | 1 | 2016 | |
Altyn Asyr | 0 | 1 | 2018 | |
April 25 | 0 | 1 | 2019 |
Performance by nations[]
Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Kuwait | 4 | 3 | 7 |
Iraq | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Jordan | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Syria | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Bahrain | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Lebanon | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Uzbekistan | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Malaysia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Tajikistan | 0 | 2 | 2 |
India | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Turkmenistan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
North Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 |
All-time top goalscorers[]
- As of 11 March 2020[4]
Rank | Player | Club(s) | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Bienvenido Marañón | Ceres–Negros | |
2 | Mahmoud Shelbaieh | Al-Wehdat | |
3 | Aleksandar Đurić | Geylang United, Singapore Armed Forces, Tampines Rovers | |
Amjad Radhi | Erbil SC, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | ||
5 | Bader Al-Mutawa | Qadsia SC | |
Rico | Al-Muharraq, Al-Riffa, Al-Hidd | ||
7 | Ali Ashfaq | Club Valencia, New Radiant, VB Sports Club |
See also[]
- List of association football competitions
- Indian clubs in the AFC Cup
- Indonesian clubs in the AFC Cup
- Syrian clubs in the AFC Cup
- Thai clubs in the AFC Cup
- Hong Kong clubs in the AFC Cup
- Vietnamese clubs in the AFC Cup
References[]
- ^ AFC Cup 2021 Competition Regulations. Asian Football Confederatopm. p. 57. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "AFC Cup League". Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ "AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". AFC. 10 September 2020.
- ^ "AFC Cup: Marañón leads all-time top scorers". the-afc.com. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
External links[]
- AFC Cup
- Asian Football Confederation club competitions
- Recurring sporting events established in 2004
- 2004 establishments in Asia