| Date | R | Домакин v Гост | - |
|---|
Teams
Бенгалуру
Ал Ахед
Ал-Джаиш Дамаск
Ал-Уехдат
Джохор Дарул Такзим
Тампинес Роувърс
Ал Сувайк
Ал Кува Ал Джавия
Ал-Рифа
Китчи
ПСМ Макасар
Саут Чайна
Ал-Мухарак
Global FC
Al-Faisaly Amman
ФК Кая
Mohun Bagan
Боеунг Кет
Персия Джакарта
Централ Коуст Маринърс
Балестиер Халса
Малкия
Персипура Джаяпура
Ал Араби SC
Бин Дуонг
Фанджа
Манама
Селангор
Than Quang Ninh
Персиб Бандунг
Нага Уърлд
ФК Айзаул
Тараджи Уади Ал-Нес
Сонг Лам Нге Ан
Хай Понг
Шабаб Ал Калеел
Ал-Найма Манама
Ахли Ал Кхалил
Шабаб Ал Ордон
Фелда Юнайтед
Теренгану
Сахам
Коломбо ФК
Тан Хоа
Клуб Ийст Бенгал
Кедах
Ийст Рифа
Келантан FC
Блу Стар
Ал Насър Салалах
Wikipedia - AFC Cup
The AFC Cup was an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was played primarily among clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying slots to the top-tier AFC Champions League, based on the AFC Club Competitions Ranking.
Al-Kuwait SC and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were the most successful clubs in the competition's history, having won three titles each. Clubs from Kuwait won four titles, making them the most successful nation in the competition. The tournament was dominated by clubs from West Asia, with the only winners from outside that region being Uzbek side FC Nasaf in 2011, Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta'zim in 2015 and Australian side Central Coast Mariners in 2024.
Central Coast Mariners were the last champions, having defeated Al-Ahed in the 2024 final. From the 2021 season, the team winning the AFC Cup was granted qualification to the following season's AFC Champions League qualifying playoffs, had they not qualified through their domestic performance.
The AFC Cup was discontinued at the end of the 2023–24 season, with the AFC Champions League 2 and AFC Challenge League being introduced as Asia's new second and third-tier competitions.
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 AFC Champions League for four years, Al-Faisaly defeated 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, a rule that was never changed till the termination of this tournament.
On 23 December 2022, it was announced that the AFC competition structure would change from the established formats from the 2024–25 season. Under the new plans, the AFC Cup was discontinued, and a new second-tier tournament called the AFC Champions League 2 was introduced. Meanwhile, a new third-tier competition was also launched under the name AFC Challenge League.