AFC Challenge League

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
AFC Challenge League
Organiser(s)AFC
Founded2005 (2005) (as AFC President's Cup)
2024 (2024) (relaunched as AFC Challenge League)
RegionAsia
Teams20 (group stage)
31 (total)
Qualifier forAFC Champions League Two
Related competitionsAFC Champions League Elite (1st tier)
AFC Champions League Two (2nd tier)
Current championsKuwait Kuwait SC (1st title)
Most championshipsTajikistan Regar TadAZ
(3 titles)
Websitewww.the-afc.com
2026–27 AFC Challenge League

The AFC Challenge League (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 do not receive qualifying slots to the league stage of top-tier AFC Champions League Elite or the group stage of second-tier AFC Champions League Two, based on the AFC club competitions ranking. The competition was initially launched by the AFC as the AFC President's Cup in 2005.[1] The President's Cup was dissolved in 2014, and incorporated into the AFC Cup.[2]

The 2024–25 season marked the inaugural edition of the rebranded AFC Challenge League, which featured a new format and an expanded group stage. The winners of the AFC Challenge League qualify for the group stage of the following season's AFC Champions League Two, while the runners-up qualify for the preliminary stage of the competition. Clubs from Tajikistan hold the highest number of titles (4), followed by Turkmenistan (3), Kyrgyzstan (2), Kuwait, Chinese Taipei, and Myanmar (1 each). The most successful side in the competition is Regar-TadAZ with three titles in the President's Cup era. The inaugural winners of the AFC Challenge League were Arkadag who defeated Svay Rieng by 2–1 in the 2025 final. Kuwait SC won the second edition, once again against Svay Rieng, by winning 4–3 in the 2026 final.

History

SeasonWinners
AFC President's Cup
2005Tajikistan Regar TadAZ
2006Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo
2007Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo (2)
2008Tajikistan Regar TadAZ (2)
2009Tajikistan Regar TadAZ (3)
2010Myanmar Yadanarbon
2011Chinese Taipei Taipower
2012Tajikistan Istiklol
2013Turkmenistan Balkan
2014Turkmenistan HTTU Aşgabat
AFC Challenge League
2024–25Turkmenistan Arkadag
2025–26Kuwait Kuwait SC

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] The inaugural edition of the tournament took place in 2005 and was hosted by Nepal. Regar-TadAZ won the first edition of the tournament, beating Dordoi-Dynamo 3–0 in the final.[3] The two clubs would later face each other again in the 2008 and 2009 finals, with Regar-TadAZ winning each edition.

The tournament was initially dominated by clubs from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with clubs from the two nations winning the first five editions of the tournament. Kyrgyz side Dordoi-Dynamo featured in the final six years in a row from 2005 to 2010, winning twice in 2006 and 2007.[1]

In 2010, Yadanarbon became the first club from East Asia to win the tournament, beating Dordoi-Dynamo 1–0 after extra time.[4]

On 25 November 2013, the AFC Competitions Committee proposed the year of 2014 to be the last edition of the President's Cup.[5] Starting from 2015, league champions of emerging countries would be eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-offs.[1]

The last edition of the AFC President's Cup in 2014 saw HTTU Aşgabat defeat North Korean side Rimyongsu 2–1, becoming the second consecutive team from Turkmenistan to win the competition.[6]

On 23 December 2022, it was announced that the AFC's club competitions would be restructured from the 2024–25 season. With the new third-tier tournament being named the AFC Challenge League.[7][8][9] On 24 May 2024, AFC confirmed that records and statistics from the AFC President's Cup era would be grandfathered in with the AFC Challenge League.[10]

Arkadag became the first club to win the AFC Challenge League, defeating Cambodian side Svay Rieng 2–1 after extra time in the 2025 final.[11][12] The Turkmen club were making their debut in AFC club competitions, having been founded in 2023.

Kuwait SC became the second club to win the AFC Challenge League, defeating Cambodian side Svay Rieng 4–3 in the 2025–26 final. The match, held on May 13, 2026, at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, saw Kuwait SC come from behind twice to secure the title in extra time.[13][14]

Format

As part of the AFC's Vision Asia document, the league champions from countries in the AFC's emerging nations participated in the competition.

The AFC President's Cup trophy

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 expanded to 12 clubs. In the qualification round, there were three groups of four clubs, with the group winners and runners-up qualifying for the final stage. These six clubs were broken into two groups of three, with the group winner qualifying to the final.[15]

In November 2013 the AFC announced that the 2014 AFC President's Cup would be the last edition of the tournament.[16] Starting from 2015, league champions of "emerging countries" are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-off.[2] 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.[17]

In its inaugural season, the Challenge League comprised 18 clubs in the group stage, divided into five groups of three or four. The clubs competed in single-leg centralized format, with the group winners and runners-up of the East Region, and the group winners and highest ranked runner-up of the West Region qualifying for the quarter-finals. The quarter and semi-finals are played over two legs, while the final is a single-leg contest hosted by one of the participating clubs.[18][19] The 2025–26 edition featured 20 teams in the group stage, featuring five groups of four.

Allocation

The allocation of group stage teams by member country is listed below; asterisks represent occasions where at least one team was eliminated in the qualifying rounds. Countries that have not been represented in the group stage are not listed below.

Associations Spots
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2024–25 2025–26
East Asia
Cambodia Cambodia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
Chinese Taipei Chinese Taipei 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1*
Indonesia Indonesia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Laos Laos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Mongolia Mongolia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1*
Myanmar Myanmar 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1*
North Korea North Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Philippines Philippines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
Total 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 6 8
West Asia
Bahrain Bahrain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Bangladesh Bangladesh 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1*
Bhutan Bhutan 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
India India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 2
Kuwait Kuwait 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Lebanon Lebanon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Maldives Maldives 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Nepal Nepal 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
Oman Oman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Pakistan Pakistan 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
Palestine Palestine 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
Tajikistan Tajikistan 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Syria Syria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 6 6 6 8 8 8 9 9 8 6 12 12
Total
Finals 8 8 8 11 11 11 12 12 12 11 18 20
Qualifying 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 18

Prize money

Starting with the 2024–25 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows:[20]

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

  • The "Season" column refers to the season during which the competition was held, and links to the article about that season.
List of AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge League finals[21]
Season Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance Ref.
AFC President's Cup (2005–2014)
2005 Tajikistan Regar-TadAZ 3–0 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo Dashrath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal 8,000 [22]
2006 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo 2–1
(a.e.t.)		 Tajikistan Vakhsh Sarawak Stadium, Kuching, Malaysia 500 [23]
2007 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo 2–1 Nepal Mahendra Police Club Punjab Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan 2,000 [24]
2008 Tajikistan Regar-TadAZ 1–1
(4–3 p)		 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo Spartak Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 10,000 [25]
2009 Tajikistan Regar-TadAZ 2–0 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo Metallurg Stadium, Tursunzoda, Tajikistan 10,000 [26]
2010 Myanmar Yadanarbon 1–0
(a.e.t.)		 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar 23,720 [27]
2011 Chinese Taipei Taiwan Power Company 3–2 Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown National Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 3,238 [28]
2012 Tajikistan Istiklol 2–1 Palestine Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari Central Republican Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 19,323 [29]
2013 Turkmenistan Balkan 1–0 Pakistan KRL Hang Jebat Stadium, Malacca, Malaysia 578 [30]
2014 Turkmenistan HTTU Aşgabat 2–1 North Korea Rimyongsu Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka 200 [31]
AFC Challenge League (2024–present)
2024–25 Turkmenistan Arkadag 2–1
(a.e.t.)		 Cambodia Svay Rieng Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 51,610 [32]
2025–26 Kuwait Kuwait SC 4–3
(a.e.t.)		 Cambodia Svay Rieng Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait 43,366

Performance by club

Performance in the AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge League by club
Club Title(s) Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Tajikistan Regar-TadAZ 3 0 2005, 2008, 2009 —
Kyrgyzstan Dordoi Bishkek 2 4 2006, 2007 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010
Myanmar Yadanarbon 1 0 2010 —
Chinese Taipei Taiwan Power
Company		 1 0 2011 —
Tajikistan Istiklol 1 0 2012 —
Turkmenistan Nebitçi 1 0 2013 —
Turkmenistan Ýedigen 1 0 2014 —
Turkmenistan Arkadag 1 0 2024–25 —
Kuwait Kuwait SC 1 0 2025–26 —
Cambodia Svay Rieng 0 2 — 2024–25, 2025–26
Tajikistan Khatlon 0 1 — 2006
Nepal Nepal Police 0 1 — 2007
Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown 0 1 — 2011
Palestine Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari 0 1 — 2012
Pakistan KRL 0 1 — 2013
North Korea Rimyongsu 0 1 — 2014

Performance by nation

Performance in finals 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
 Kuwait 1 0 1
 Cambodia 0 3 3
   Nepal 0 1 1
 North Korea 0 1 1
 Pakistan 0 1 1
 Palestine 0 1 1

Performance by coach

Coach Club Winners
Tajikistan Makhmadjon KhabibulloevTajikistan Regar TadAZ2005, 2008, 2009
Kyrgyzstan Boris PodkorytovKyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dinamo2006, 2007
Myanmar U Zaw Lay AungMyanmar Yadanarbon2010
Serbia Nikola KavazovićTajikistan Istiklol2012
Chinese Taipei Chen Kuei-jenChinese Taipei Taiwan Power Company2011
Turkmenistan Rahym KurbanmämmedowTurkmenistan Balkan2013
Turkmenistan Begench GarayevTurkmenistan HTTU Aşgabat2014
Turkmenistan Akhmet AllaberdiyevTurkmenistan Arkadag2024–25
Montenegro Nebojša JovovićKuwait Kuwait SC2025–26

Awards

Top scorers

Season Player(s) Club(s) Goals
2005 Sri Lanka Dudley Steinwall Sri Lanka Blue Star SC 4
Cambodia Hok Sochetra Cambodia Hello United
Tajikistan Khurshed Mahmudov Tajikistan Regar-TadAZ
Tajikistan Dzhomikhon Mukhidinov Tajikistan Regar-TadAZ
2006 Chinese Taipei Chuang Yao-tsung Chinese Taipei Tatung 5
Kyrgyzstan Roman Kornilov Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo
2007 Sri Lanka Channa Ediri Bandanage Sri Lanka Ratnam SC 6
2008 Myanmar Thi Ha Kyaw Myanmar Kanbawza 6
2009 Myanmar Soe Min Oo Myanmar Kanbawza 6
2010 Tajikistan Rustam Usmonov Tajikistan Vakhsh Qurghonteppa 5
2011 Chinese Taipei Ho Ming-tsan Chinese Taipei Taipower 6
2012 Kyrgyzstan Mirlan Murzayev Kyrgyzstan Dordoi Bishkek 8
2013 Kyrgyzstan Mirlan Murzayev Kyrgyzstan Dordoi Bishkek 9
2014 Turkmenistan Suleyman Muhadow Turkmenistan HTTU Aşgabat 11
2024–25 Turkmenistan Altymyrat Annadurdyýew Turkmenistan Arkadag 5
2025–26 Ghana Kwame Peprah Cambodia PKR Svay Rieng 8

Best player

Season Player Club
2005 N/A N/A
2006 N/A N/A
2007 Kyrgyzstan Valery Kashuba Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo
2008 N/A N/A
2009 Tajikistan Khurshed Mahmudov Tajikistan Regar-TadAZ
2010 Kyrgyzstan Mirlan Murzayev Kyrgyzstan Dordoi-Dynamo
2011 Chinese Taipei Chen Po-liang Chinese Taipei Taipower
2012 Tajikistan Alisher Tuychiev Tajikistan Istiklol
2013 Turkmenistan Amir Gurbani Turkmenistan Balkan
2014 Turkmenistan Suleyman Muhadow Turkmenistan HTTU Asgabat
2024–25 Turkmenistan Şanazar Tirkişow Turkmenistan Arkadag
2025–26 Egypt Amoory Kuwait Kuwait SC

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Club(s) Goals
1 Kyrgyzstan Mirlan Murzaev Dordoi Bishkek 19
2 Kyrgyzstan David Tetteh Dordoi Bishkek 12
3 Tajikistan Khurshed Makhmudov Regar-TadAZ 11
Turkmenistan Suleyman Muhadow HTTU
5 Turkmenistan Amir Gurbani Aşgabat
Balkan		 10
Sri Lanka Channa Ediri Bandanage Ratnam
Tajikistan Ibrahim Rabimov Regar-TadAZ
Istiklol
8 Pakistan Kaleemullah Khan KRL 9
9 Turkmenistan Arslanmyrat Amanow Aşgabat
HTTU		 8
Myanmar Yan Paing Yadanarbon
Nepal Ju Manu Rai Nepal Police
Ghana Kwame Peprah

PKR Svay Rieng

See also

Notes

References

  1. "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.
  2. "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.
  3. "AFC President's Cup Nepal 2005". Kantipur. Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  4. "Yadanarbon Lift First Ever AFC President's Ciup". aseanfootball.org. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  5. "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.
  6. "FC HTTU win last-ever AFC President's Cup". Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  7. "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.
  8. "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.
  9. "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.
  10. "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.
  11. Levy, Uri (2025-05-11). "Arkadag Win First-Ever AFC Challenge League Title". BabaGol. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  12. ""Arkadag" won the AFC Challenge League Cup [sic]". turkmenistan.gov.tm. 2025-05-10. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
  13. Sharaa, Abdellatif (2026-05-13). "Kuwait SC win AFC Challenge League - Abdellatif Sharaa". Kuwait Times. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  14. "AFC Challenge League - Final: Kuwait SC lift title with stunning fightback". the-AFC. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  15. "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". Archived from the original on 2018-08-18. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  16. "ACL: East vs West final proposed". The-afc.com. 2013-11-25. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
  17. "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.
  18. "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.
  19. "Pivotal reforms approved by AFC Competitions Committee". the-AFC. Archived from the original on 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  20. 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.
  21. "AFC Cup and Presidents Cup". rsssf. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  22. "AFC President's Cup 2005 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  23. "AFC President's Cup 2006 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  24. "AFC President's Cup 2007 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  25. "AFC President's Cup 2008 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  26. "AFC President's Cup 2009 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  27. "AFC President's Cup 2010 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  28. "AFC President's Cup 2011 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  29. "AFC President's Cup 2012 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  30. "AFC President's Cup 2013 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  31. "AFC President's Cup 2014 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  32. "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.