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 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 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-Faisaly Club and Kuwait SC are the most successful clubs in the competition's history, each having won two titles. Clubs from Jordan have won three titles, making it 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.
Participating nations and regions [edit]
A total of 32 clubs will participate in the 2010 AFC Cup.
Play-off: (2 teams)
Group stage: (32 teams)
- 2 play-off entries.
- 3 teams to qualify:
Kuwait
- 2 teams to qualify:
Hong Kong, 
India, 
Iraq, 
Jordan, 
Lebanon, 
Oman, 
Singapore, 
Syria, 
Vietnam
- 1 team to qualify:
Malaysia, 
Maldives, 
Myanmar, 
Indonesia, 
Yemen
- 4 losers from AFC Champions League playoffs. These losers may automatically have been placed in these slots if they failed to meet the AFC Champions League criteria.
Competition format [edit]
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.
Results [edit]
Two-leg finals [edit]
| 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 |
One leg finals [edit]
Performance by clubs [edit]
Performance by nations [edit]
By Clubs' Statistics [edit]
Top scorers [edit]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
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AFC club football seasons
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Asian Champion Club Tournament
1967–1971 |
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Asian Club Championship
1985–2002 |
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AFC Champions League
2002–present |
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AFC Champions League finals
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AFC Cup seasons, 2004–present
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AFC Cup
2004–present |
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AFC Cup
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AFC President's Cup
2005–present |
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Kuwait SC (2nd title)
Al-Faisaly
2013 AFC Cup
Al-Wahda
Al-Nejmeh
Al-Muharraq
Nasaf Qarshi
Arbil FC
