 | |
| Organiser(s) | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005; 21 years ago (2005) (asAFC President's Cup) 2024; 2 years ago (2024) (relaunched asAFC Challenge League) |
| Region | Asia |
| Teams | 20 (group stage) 29 (total) |
| Qualifier for | AFC Champions League Two |
| Related competitions | AFC Champions League Elite (1st tier) AFC Champions League Two (2nd tier) |
| Current champions |  Arkadag (1st title) |
| Most championships |  Regar TadAZ(3 titles) |
| Website | www.the-afc.com |
 2025–26 AFC Challenge League | |
TheAFC Challenge League (abbreviated asACGL) is an annual third-tiercontinental clubfootball competition organised by theAsian Football Confederation. The competition is played among clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots to the top-tierAFC Champions League Elite or the second-tierAFC Champions League Two, based on theAFC club competitions ranking.
The2024–25 season marked its inaugural edition in the new format. The winner of the AFC Challenge League gets a direct spot in the group stage of the next season'sAFC Champions League Two, if they have not already qualified through domestic performance.
| Season | Winners |
|---|---|
| AFC President's Cup | |
| 2005 | Regar TadAZ |
| 2006 |  Dordoi-Dynamo |
| 2007 | Dordoi-Dynamo(2) |
| 2008 | Regar TadAZ(2) |
| 2009 | Regar TadAZ(3) |
| 2010 |  Yadanarbon |
| 2011 |  Taipower |
| 2012 | Istiklol |
| 2013 | Balkan |
| 2014 | HTTU Aşgabat |
| AFC Challenge League | |
| 2024–25 | Arkadag |
The AFC President's Cup was founded in 2005 as a third tier competition so that clubs from lower-rankedAFC member nations could participate in continental competition.[1]
On 25 November 2013, the AFC Competitions Committee proposed the year of 2014 to be the last edition of the President's Cup.[2] Starting from 2015, league champions ofemerging countries were eligible to participate in theAFC Cup qualifying play-offs.[1]
The last edition in2014 sawHTTU Aşgabat defeat North Korean sideRimyongsu 2–1, becoming the second consecutive team from Turkmenistan to win the competition.
On 23 December 2022, it was announced that the AFC competition structure would change from the established formats from the 2024–25 season. A new third-tier tournament called the AFC Challenge League would be introduced.[3][4][5]
On 24 May 2024, AFC announced that the records and statistics from the 2005-2014 AFC President's Cup were recognised as those of the predecessor competition, and were integrated with the data of the AFC Challenge League.[6]
Qualification to the competition initially was for clubs from AFC-affiliated countries which fall into the AFC'semerging nations category as laid out in theirVision Asia document.
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 was increased to 12 clubs. In the qualification round, there were three groups of 4 clubs. The group winners and runners up qualified for the final stage. These 6 clubs were broken into two groups of 3. The top clubs of each group qualified for the final.[7]
In November 2013 the AFC announced that the2014 AFC President's Cup would be the last edition of the tournament.[8] Starting from 2015, league champions of "emerging countries" are eligible to participate in theAFC Cup qualifying play-off.[9] Thequalifying round for the2016 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.[10]
After the rebrand in 2024, the new format comprised 18 participating clubs divided into four groups for the inaugural season. The clubs compete in single-leg centralized format, with the top eight qualifying for the quarter-finals. The quarter and semi-finals are played over two legs, before the coveted final is staged over a single-leg contest.[11][12]
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 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Chinese Taipei | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* |
 Indonesia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Laos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Mongolia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* |
 Myanmar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1* |
 North Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* |
 Bhutan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 India | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Kuwait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Maldives | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Nepal | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Oman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Pakistan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Palestine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Sri Lanka | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tajikistan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Turkmenistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 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 |
Starting with the 2024–25 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows:[13]
| 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 | |
| Club | Title(s) | Runners-up | Years won | Yearsrunner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regar-TadAZ | 3 | 0 | 2005,2008,2009 | — |
| Dordoi Bishkek | 2 | 4 | 2006,2007 | 2005,2008,2009,2010 |
| Yadanarbon | 1 | 0 | 2010 | — |
| Taiwan Power Company | 1 | 0 | 2011 | — |
| Istiklol | 1 | 0 | 2012 | — |
| Nebitçi | 1 | 0 | 2013 | — |
| Ýedigen | 1 | 0 | 2014 | — |
| Arkadag | 1 | 0 | 2024–25 | — |
| Khatlon | 0 | 1 | — | 2006 |
| Nepal Police | 0 | 1 | — | 2007 |
| Phnom Penh Crown | 0 | 1 | — | 2011 |
| Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari | 0 | 1 | — | 2012 |
| KRL | 0 | 1 | — | 2013 |
| Rimyongsu | 0 | 1 | — | 2014 |
| Svay Rieng | 0 | 1 | — | 2024–25 |
| 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 |
| Cambodia | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Nepal | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| North Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Palestine | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Global |
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| Africa |
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| Asia |
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| Europe |
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| North, Central America & the Caribbean |
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| Oceania |
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| South America |
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| Intercontinental |
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See also:International women's club football | |||||||||
