AFC Cup

AFC Cup
Founded 2004 (2004)
Region Asia (AFC)
Number of teams 36
Related competitions AFC Champions League
Current champions Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (2nd title)
Most successful club(s) Kuwait Al-Kuwait
(3 titles)
2018 AFC Cup

The AFC Cup is an annual International association football competition between domestic clubs run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Qualification to the competition is available to clubs from AFC-affiliated countries that fall into the AFC's 'developing nations' category as laid out in their 'Vision Asia' document.[1] Countries which are 'emerging' nations are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-off, where as countries which have better infrastructure and football prowess are entered into the AFC Champions League.

The 'developing nations' are the fourteen 'next-best' countries that lie outside the top-14 countries in the AFC region which send their clubs 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 did 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 demoted to play in the AFC Cup.

Al-Kuwait are the most successful club in the competition's history, having won three titles. 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 until 2015 when the Malaysian team Johor Darul Ta'zim from East Asia became one of the finalists and became champions. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are the current champions after defeating FC Istiklol in the final to win the 2017 AFC Cup.

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:

Broadcasting rights

Country/Region Channels Reference
 ASEAN Fox Sports Asia
 Cambodia BTV News
 China CCTV
PPTV		 [3]
 Europe Eurosport
 India DSport
 Indonesia MNC Media (featuring All Indonesian teams only, starting from group stage match)
 Kyrgyzstan KTRK (featuring All Kyrgyz teams only)
Arab League MENA beIN SPORTS
 Tajikistan Varzish TV (featuring All Tajik teams only)
 United States Eleven Sports Network

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 Al-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 only 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. 32 AFC countries have had teams participate in qualification, and countries that have never had teams reach the group stage are not shown.

Associations Spots
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
East
Hong Kong Hong Kong 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0
Macau Macau 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0 1
Mongolia Mongolia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 1 0*
North Korea North Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Chinese Taipei Chinese Taipei 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Total 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4
ASEAN
Cambodia Cambodia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1* 1
Indonesia Indonesia 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 0 0 2
Laos Laos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0* 0*
Malaysia Malaysia 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
Myanmar Myanmar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Philippines Philippines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1* 2 2 2
Singapore Singapore 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Thailand Thailand 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vietnam Vietnam 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 2 2
Total 4 4 4 6 4 8 8 7 10 10 10 10 9 11 12
South
Bangladesh Bangladesh 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 1 1 1*
India India 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Maldives Maldives 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1* 2 2 2 2 1* 1*
Total 5 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 4
Central
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0* 0* 2 1*
Tajikistan Tajikistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1* 1* 1* 2
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1* 1* 1* 1*
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 2 2 2 0 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 4 4
West
Bahrain Bahrain 0 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 2 2 2 2 2
Iraq Iraq 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Jordan Jordan 0 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Kuwait Kuwait 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 0 0 0
Lebanon Lebanon 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Oman Oman 1 0 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1* 2 2 2
State of Palestine Palestine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 1* 2 0* 0*
Qatar Qatar 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Syria Syria 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 2 1* 2 2 2 2 2
Yemen Yemen 1 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0* 0* 0 0 0
Total 6 4 6 10 10 17 16 17 16 14 14 14 14 12 12
Total
Finals 18 18 20 24 20 32 31 32 32 32 32 32 32 34 36
Qualifying 18 18 20 24 20 32 31 32 33 33 34 41 40 50 44

Prize money

The prize money from the 2018 AFC Cup:[4][5]

Phase Purse
(US Dollars)		 Travel Subsidy
(per match)
Preliminary stage N/A $20,000
Playoff stage N/A $20,000
Group stages N/A $20,000
Knockout stages Match Winner: $100,000 $20,000
Final Winners: $1.5 million & Runners-up: $750,000 $20,000

Results and statistics

Finals

Year Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance
2004 Al-Wahda Syria 2–3 Syria Al-Jaish Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus
Al-Jaish Syria 0–1 Syria Al-Wahda Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus
Aggregate 3–3, Al-Jaish won on away goals
2005 Al-Faisaly Jordan 1–0 Lebanon Al-Nejmeh Amman International Stadium, Amman
Al-Nejmeh Lebanon 2–3 Jordan Al-Faisaly Al Manara Stadium, Beirut
Al-Faisaly won 4–2 on aggregate
2006 Al-Faisaly Jordan 3–0 Bahrain Al-Muharraq Amman International Stadium, Amman 7,000
Al-Muharraq Bahrain 4–2 Jordan Al-Faisaly Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa 3,000
Al-Faisaly won 5–4 on aggregate
2007 Al-Faisaly Jordan 0–1 Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon Amman International Stadium, Amman 5,500
Shabab Al-Ordon Jordan 1–1 Jordan Al-Faisaly Amman International Stadium, Amman 7,500
Shabab Al-Ordon won 2–1 on aggregate
2008 Al-Muharraq Bahrain 5–1 Lebanon Safa Beirut Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa 6,000
Safa Beirut Lebanon 4–5 Bahrain Al-Muharraq Sports City Stadium, Beirut 2,000
Al-Muharraq won 10–5 on aggregate
Year Winners Score Runners Up Venue Attendance
2009 Al-Kuwait Kuwait 2–1 Syria Al-Karamah Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City 17,400
2010 Al-Ittihad Syria 1–1 (aet)
(4–2 p)		 Kuwait Al-Qadsia Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City 58,604
2011 FC Nasaf Uzbekistan 2–1 Kuwait Al-Kuwait Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi 15,753
2012 Al-Kuwait Kuwait 4–0 Iraq Erbil Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil 30,000
2013 Al-Kuwait Kuwait 2–0 Kuwait Al-Qadsia Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City 10,000
2014 Al-Qadsia Kuwait 0–0 (aet)
(4–2 p)		 Iraq Erbil Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai 5,240
2015 Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia 1–0 Tajikistan Istiklol Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe 18,000
2016 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq 1–0 India Bengaluru FC Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha 5,806
2017 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq 1–0 Tajikistan Istiklol Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor 20,000
2018 Basra Sports City, Basra

Performance by clubs

Performances in the AFC Cup finals by club
Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runners-up
Kuwait Al-Kuwait 3 1 2009, 2012, 2013 2011
Jordan Al-Faisaly 2 1 2005, 2006 2007
Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2 0 2016, 2017
Kuwait Al-Qadsia 1 2 2014 2010, 2013
Bahrain Al-Muharraq 1 1 2008 2006
Syria Al-Jaish 1 0 2004
Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon 1 0 2007
Syria Al-Ittihad 1 0 2010
Uzbekistan Nasaf Qarshi 1 0 2011
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1 0 2015
Iraq Erbil 0 2 2012, 2014
Tajikistan Istiklol 0 2 2015, 2017
Syria Al-Wahda 0 1 2004
Lebanon Al-Nejmeh 0 1 2005
Lebanon Safa 0 1 2008
Syria Al-Karamah 0 1 2009
India Bengaluru 0 1 2016

Performance by nations

Nation Winners Runners-up
 Kuwait 4 3
 Jordan 3 1
 Iraq 2 2
 Syria 2 2
 Bahrain 1 1
 Malaysia 1 –
 Uzbekistan 1 –
 Lebanon – 2
 Tajikistan – 2
 India – 1

Top scorers

YearFootballerClubGoals
2004 Singapore Indra Sahdan Daud Singapore Home United 7
Singapore Egmar Goncalves Singapore Home United
2005Jordan Mo'ayyad SalimJordan Al-Faisaly9
2006Jordan Mahmoud ShelbaiehJordan Al-Wehdat8
2007 Jordan Odai Al Saify Jordan Shabab Al-Ordun 5
Lebanon Mohammed Ghaddar Lebanon Al-Nejmeh
2008 Brazil Rico Bahrain Al-Muharraq 19
2009 Nigeria Robert Akaruye Bahrain Busaiteen 8
Syria Mohamad Hamwi Syria Al-Karamah
Syria Jehad Al Hussain Kuwait Al-Kuwait
Vietnam Huỳnh Kesley Alves Vietnam Bình Dương
2010Brazil Afonso AlvesQatar Al-Rayyan9
2011 Montenegro Ivan Bošković Uzbekistan Nasaf Qarshi 10
2012 Iraq Amjad Radhi Iraq Erbil 9
Syria Raja Rafe Syria Al-Shorta
2013 Tunisia Issam Jemâa Kuwait Al-Kuwait 16
2014 Spain Juan Belencoso Hong Kong Kitchee 11
2015 Australia Daniel McBreen Hong Kong South China 8
Republic of Macedonia Riste Naumov Myanmar Ayeyawady United
2016 Iraq Hammadi Ahmed Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 16
2017 North Korea Kim Yu-song North Korea April 25 Sports Club 9

Winning coaches

YearClubCoach
2004 Syria Al-Jaish Romania Costică Ștefănescu
2005 Jordan Al-Faisaly Serbia Branko Smiljanić
2006 Jordan Al-Faisaly Iraq Adnan Hamad
2007 Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon Syria Nizar Mahrous
2008 Bahrain Al-Muharraq Bahrain Salman Sharida
2009 Kuwait Al-Kuwait Kuwait Mohamad Abdulla
2010 Syria Al-Ittihad Romania Valeriu Tița
2011 Uzbekistan Nasaf Qarshi Ukraine Anatoliy Demyanenko
2012 Kuwait Al-Kuwait Romania Marin Ion
2013 Kuwait Al-Kuwait Romania Marin Ion
2014 Kuwait Al-Qadsia Spain Antonio Puche
2015 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim Argentina Mario Gomez
2016 Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq Basim Qasim
2017 Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Syria Hussam Al Sayed

See also

References

  1. ↑ AFC Cup 2004
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "体奥动力接手，PPTV独家直播全部亚冠赛事 -懂球帝". dongqiudi.com. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  4. ↑ AFC Cup 2018 Competition Regulations (PDF). Asian Football Confederatopm. p. 31. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "AFC increases prize money for 2018 club competitions". The AFC. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
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