 | |
| Organiser(s) | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006; 19 years ago (2006) |
| Abolished | 2014; 11 years ago (2014) |
| Region | Asia |
| Teams | 8 (final stage) |
| Related competitions | AFC Solidarity Cup |
| Last champions |  Palestine (1st title) |
| Most championships |  North Korea (2 titles) |
TheAFC Challenge Cup was an internationalfootball competition forAsian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that were categorised as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme.[1] It was created by former AFC presidentMohammed Bin Hammam as the AFC's plan for a continent-wide programme to raise the standards of Asian football.[2] The AFC Challenge Cup was created for teams to experience playing in a continental competition, with the possibility to win an AFC trophy and potentially discover new talents.[3]
The inaugural tournament was hosted byBangladesh in 2006 and was held biennially. An amendment to men's national team competitions in July 2006, meant that starting with the 2008 and 2010 editions of the AFC Challenge Cup, the winners automatically qualify for theAFC Asian Cup.[4]
In the2011 and2015 AFC Asian Cup tournaments, two qualification spots have been allocated to the two most recent AFC Challenge Cup winners. The 2014 tournament was the last edition of this competition, due to the expansion of the Asian Cup to the 24-nations format from the 16-nations one after the 2015 edition.[5][6] In April 2016, due to several associations requesting a new competition to replace the Challenge Cup as they were having problems arranging friendly matches, the AFC created theAFC Solidarity Cup.[7][8]
TheAFC initially divided their 46 member nations into three groups in 2006. Although the tournament was meant for the countries ofemerging associations class, some countries from thedeveloping associations class have participated in the qualification and the finals of the tournament such asIndia,Maldives,Myanmar,North Korea,Tajikistan andTurkmenistan. As a result, only one team from the emerging class ever won the tournament,Palestine in2014. In late March 2012, theNorthern Mariana Islands Football Association, although only an associate member of the AFC, was approved to enter their national team in the competition.[9] In November 2012, the AFC announced North Korea's exclusion from future AFC Challenge Cups.[10]
The top 15 are classed asdeveloped associations:
The next 14 are classed asdeveloping associations:
The last 17 are classed asemerging associations, which need time to develop their football. They are eligible in the AFC Challenge Cup. These are the teams which participate:
| Year | Host | Final | Losing semi-finalists | Number of teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | ||||||
| 2006 Details |  Bangladesh |  Tajikistan | 4–0 |  Sri Lanka |  Kyrgyzstan and Nepal | 16 | ||
| Year | Host | Final | Third place match | Number of teams | ||||
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||
| 2008 Details |  India | India | 4–1 | Tajikistan | North Korea | 4–0 |  Myanmar | 8 |
| 2010 Details | Sri Lanka | North Korea | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4pens.) |  Turkmenistan | Tajikistan | 1–0 | Myanmar | 8 |
| 2012 Details | Nepal | North Korea | 2–1 | Turkmenistan |  Philippines | 4–3 | Palestine | 8 |
| 2014 Details |  Maldives | Palestine | 1–0 | Philippines | Maldives | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (8–7pens.) |  Afghanistan | 8 |
| Team | Champion | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Korea | 2 (2010,2012) | 1 (2008) | ||
| Tajikistan | 1 (2006) | 1 (2008) | 1 (2010) | |
| Palestine | 1 (2014) | 1 (2012) | ||
| India | 1 (2008) | |||
| Turkmenistan | 2 (2010,2012) | |||
| Philippines | 1 (2014) | 1 (2012) | ||
| Sri Lanka | 1 (2006) | |||
 Kyrgyzstan | 1 (2006^) | |||
| Nepal | 1 (2006^) | |||
| Maldives | 1 (2014) | |||
 Myanmar | 2 (2008,2010) | |||
| Afghanistan | 1 (2014) |
|
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For each tournament, the number of teams in each of the finals tournament are shown.
| Teams | 2006 (16) | 2008 (8) | 2010 (8) | 2012 (8) | 2014 (8) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | GS | GS | × | • | 4th | 3 |
| Bangladesh | QF | • | GS | • | • | 2 |
 Bhutan | GS | • | • | • | • | 1 |
 Brunei | GS | • | • | × | × | 1 |
 Cambodia | GS | • | • | • | • | 1 |
 Chinese Taipei | QF | • | • | • | • | 1 |
 Guam | GS | • | • | • | • | 1 |
| India | • | 1st | • | GS | • | 2 |
| India U20 | QF | • | • | • | • | 1 |
| India U23 | • | • | GS | • | • | 1 |
| Kyrgyzstan | SF | • | GS | • | GS | 3 |
 Laos | • | × | • | • | GS | 1 |
 Macau | GS | • | • | • | • | 1 |
| Maldives | ‡ | ‡ | • | GS | 3rd | 2 |
 Mongolia | • | × | • | • | • | 0 |
| Myanmar | ‡ | 4th | 4th | • | GS | 3 |
| Nepal | SF | GS | • | GS | • | 3 |
| North Korea | ‡ | 3rd | 1st | 1st | ‡ | 3 |
 Northern Mariana Islands | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | • | 0 |
 Pakistan | GS | • | • | • | • | 1 |
| Palestine | QF | × | • | 4th | 1st | 3 |
| Philippines | GS | • | • | 3rd | 2nd | 3 |
| Sri Lanka | 2nd | GS | GS | • | • | 3 |
| Tajikistan | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | GS | • | 4 |
 Timor-Leste | × | × | × | × | × | 0 |
| Turkmenistan | ‡ | GS | 2nd | 2nd | GS | 4 |
| Federations (Region) | Champions | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| EAFF (East Asia) | North Korea | 2 | 2010,2012 |
| WAFF (West Asia) | Palestine | 1 | 2014 |
| CAFA (Central Asia) | Tajikistan | 1 | 2006 |
| SAFF (South Asia) | India | 1 | 2008 |
| AFF (South East Asia) |
| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Korea | 3 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 4 | +31 | 38 |
| 2 | Tajikistan | 4 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 16 | +20 | 35 |
| 3 | Turkmenistan | 4 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 14 | +13 | 28 |
| 4 | Palestine | 3 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 8 | +21 | 27 |
| 5 | Philippines | 3 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 21 |
| 6 | India | 4 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 21 | –8 | 18 |
| 7 | Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 12 | –5 | 15 |
| 8 | Myanmar | 3 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 22 | –7 | 15 |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 22 | –10 | 14 |
| 10 | Nepal | 3 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 14 | –3 | 11 |
| 11 | Bangladesh | 2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | –3 | 10 |
| 12 | Maldives | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | –3 | 8 |
| 13 | Afghanistan | 3 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 19 | –12 | 8 |
| 14 | Chinese Taipei | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | –2 | 5 |
| 15 | Brunei | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | Pakistan | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –1 | 4 |
| 17 | Cambodia | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | –2 | 3 |
| 18 | Bhutan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | –3 | 1 |
| 19 | Macau | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | –6 | 1 |
| 20 | Laos | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | –6 | 1 |
| 21 | Guam | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | –17 | 0 |
| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philippines | 4 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 11 | +12 | 24 |
| 2 | Afghanistan | 3 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 20 |
| 3 | Turkmenistan | 3 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 3 | +25 | 19 |
| 4 | Tajikistan | 3 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 2 | +13 | 19 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 4 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 18 |
| 6 | Myanmar | 3 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 17 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 4 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 17 |
| 8 | Kyrgyzstan | 4 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 17 |
| 9 | Palestine | 3 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 2 | +14 | 16 |
| 10 | Nepal | 4 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 16 |
| 11 | Bangladesh | 4 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 16 |
| 12 | Maldives | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 13 |
| 13 | India | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | +7 | 13 |
| 14 | Chinese Taipei | 4 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 24 | –2 | 13 |
| 15 | North Korea | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 9 |
| 16 | Cambodia | 4 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 35 | –22 | 9 |
| 17 | Mongolia | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | –5 | 7 |
| 18 | Laos | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 10 | –1 | 6 |
| 19 | Macau | 4 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 29 | –18 | 6 |
| 20 | Guam | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 27 | –20 | 3 |
| 21 | Brunei | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 22 | –20 | 1 |
| 22 | Bhutan | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 24 | –23 | 1 |
| 23 | Northern Mariana Islands | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | –19 | 0 |
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Ibrahim Rabimov |
| 2008 | Bhaichung Bhutia |
| 2010 | Ryang Yong-Gi |
| 2012 | Pak Nam-Chol |
| 2014 | Murad Ismail |
| Year | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Fahed Attal | 8 |
| 2008 | Pak Song-Chol | 6 |
| 2010 | Ryang Yong-Gi | 4 |
| 2012 | Phil Younghusband | 6 |
| 2014 | Ashraf Nu'man | 4 |
| Year | Country | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Tajikistan | Sharif Nazarov |
| 2008 | India |  Bob Houghton |
| 2010 | North Korea | Jo Tong-sop |
| 2012 | North Korea | Yun Jong-su |
| 2014 | Palestine |  Jamal Mahmoud |
