| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Region | AFC (Asia) |
| Number of teams | 32 |
| Current champions | Nasaf Qarshi (1st title) |
| Most successful club | Al-Faisaly (2 titles) |
| 2012 AFC Cup | |
The AFC Cup is an annual international association football competition between domestic clubs sides run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Qualification to the competition is to clubs from AFC-affiliated countries which fall into the AFC's 'developing nations' category as laid out in their 'Vision Asia' document.[1] Countries which are 'mature' nations are entered into the AFC Champions League, and countries which are 'emerging' nations are entered into the AFC President's Cup.
The 'developing nations' are the fourteen 'next-best' countries which lie outside the top-14 countries in the AFC region which send their club sides to the more prestigious AFC Champions League. Before the reform in competition format that took place in 2009, the two competitions were not interlinked as the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League are in Europe, and AFC Champions League losers do not compete in the Cup. Following the reform in 2009, finalists of the AFC Cup meeting AFC's criteria and certain other eligible teams are allowed to compete in the qualifying round of AFC Champions League with the losers of the said round demote to play in the AFC Cup.
Al-Faisaly Club is currently the most successful club in the competition's history, having won their second title in 2006. Clubs from Jordon have won 3 titles and is 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.
Contents |
A total of 32 clubs will participate in the 2010 AFC Cup.
Play-off: (2 teams)
Group stage: (32 teams)
AFC’s second-tier club competition will also see changes in terms of teams and format for the 2009 edition.
- For the first time in its history, teams from Iraq and Kuwait will join the AFC Cup fray. Syrian clubs reappear in the competition after winning the inaugural edition (Al Jaish) in 2004.
- The other countries are Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, Yemen, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives. Each country has two seats, while Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will have one team in addition to the club which is playing in the ACL playoff/preliminary stage.
- A total of 32 teams will participate in the tournament (20 from West Asia and India, and 12 from East Asia).
- The teams will be divided into eight groups. Five of these groups will comprise West Asian teams, and three groups will make up the East Asian block.
- Two teams from each group will qualify for the Round of 16, where they will play one single knockout match.
- The quarter-finals, semi-finals will be played over two legs.
- The final will be played as a one-off match.
| Year | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Location | Number of teams participated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Al-Wahda | 2–3 | Al-Jaish | Abbasiyyin Stadium | Damascus, Syria | 18 |
| Al-Jaish | 0–1 | Al-Wahda | Abbasiyyin Stadium | Damascus, Syria | ||
| Aggregate 3–3, Al-Jaish won on away goals | ||||||
| 2005 | Al-Faisaly | 1–0 | Al-Nejmeh | Amman International Stadium | Amman, Jordan | 18 |
| Al-Nejmeh | 2–3 | Al-Faisaly | Al Manara Stadium | Beirut, Lebanon | ||
| Al-Faisaly won 4–2 on aggregate | ||||||
| 2006 | Al-Faisaly | 3–0 | Al-Muharraq | Amman International Stadium | Amman, Jordan | 20 |
| Al-Muharraq | 4–2 | Al-Faisaly | Bahrain National Stadium | Riffa, Bahrain | ||
| Al-Faisaly won 5–4 on aggregate | ||||||
| 2007 | Al-Faisaly | 0–1 | Shabab Al-Ordon | Amman International Stadium | Amman, Jordan | 24 |
| Shabab Al-Ordon | 1–1 | Al-Faisaly | Amman International Stadium | Amman, Jordan | ||
| Shabab Al-Ordon won 2–1 on aggregate | ||||||
| 2008 | Al-Muharraq | 5–1 | Safa Beirut | Bahrain National Stadium | Riffa, Bahrain | 20 |
| Safa Beirut | 4–5 | Al-Muharraq | Sports City Stadium | Beirut, Lebanon | ||
| Al-Muharraq won 10–5 on aggregate | ||||||
| Year | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Location | Number of teams participated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Al-Kuwait | 2–1 | Al-Karamah | Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium | Kuwait City, Kuwait | 32 |
| 2010 | Al-Ittihad | 1–1 (aet) (4–2 p) |
Al-Qadsia | Jaber International Stadium | Kuwait City, Kuwait | 31 |
| 2011 | Nasaf | 2–1 | Al-Kuwait | Markaziy Stadium | Qarshi, Uzbekistan | 32 |
| 2012 | TBD | – | TBD | TBD | TBD | 34 |
| # | Clubs | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Faisaly | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Al-Kuwait | 1 | 1 |
| Al-Muharraq | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Shabab Al-Ordon | 1 | 0 |
| Al-Jaish | 1 | 0 | |
| Nasaf Qarshi | 1 | 0 | |
| Al-Ittihad | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | Al-Nejmeh | 0 | 1 |
| Safa Beirut | 0 | 1 | |
| Al-Wahda | 0 | 1 | |
| Al-Karamah | 0 | 1 | |
| Al-Qadsia | 0 | 1 |
| # | Nation | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Syria | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Kuwait | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Bahrain | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Lebanon | 0 | 2 |
| Year | Footballer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Indra Sahdan Daud | Home United | 7 |
| Egmar Goncalves | Home United | 7 | |
| 2005 | |||
| 2006 | |||
| 2007 | Odai Al Saify | Shabab Al-Ordun | 5 |
| Mohammed Ghaddar | Al-Nejmeh | 5 | |
| 2008 | Rico | Al-Muharraq | 19 |
| 2009 | Robert Akaruye | Busaiteen | 8 |
| Mohamad Hamwi | Al-Karamah | 8 | |
| Jehad Al Hussain | Al-Kuwait | 8 | |
| Huỳnh Kesley Alves | Binh Duong | 8 | |
| 2010 | Afonso Alves | Al-Rayyan | 9 |
| 2011 | Ivan Bošković | Nasaf Qarshi | 10 |
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