AFC Challenge Cup
The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that was categorized as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme.[1] "Vision Asia", created by former AFC president, Mohammed Bin Hammam, is the AFC's plan for a continent wide programme to raise the standards of Asian football at all levels.[2] The AFC Challenge Cup, which reflected the philosophy of Vision Asia, was created for teams to experience playing in a continental competition with the possibility to win an AFC trophy and to potentially discover new talent.[3]
 Official logo of the AFC Challenge Cup | |
| Founded | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2014 |
| Region | Asia (AFC) |
| Number of teams | 8 (at the finals) |
| Last champions |  Palestine(1st title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  North Korea(2 titles) |
| Website | Official website |
The inaugural tournament was hosted by Bangladesh 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 the AFC Asian Cup.[4]
In the 2011 and 2015 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 the AFC Solidarity Cup.[7]
Selection of teams
The AFC initially divided their 46 member nations into three groups in 2006. Although the tournament is meant for the countries of emerging associations class, some countries from the developing associations class have participated in the qualification and the finals of the tournament such as India, Maldives, Myanmar, North Korea, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. As a result, only one team from the emerging class ever won the tournament, when Palestine won in 2014. In late March 2012, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, although only an associate member of the AFC, was approved by the AFC to enter their national team in the competition.[8] In November 2012, the AFC announced North Korea's exclusion from future AFC Challenge Cups.[9]
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The top 15 are classed as developed associations:
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The next 14 are classed as developing associations:
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.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
The last 17 are classed as emerging associations, which need time to develop their football. They are eligible in the AFC Challenge Cup. These are the teams which participate:
Results
| 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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Myanmar |
8 |
| 2010 Details |
Sri Lanka |
North Korea |
1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 pens.) |
 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.) (8–7 pens.) |
 Afghanistan |
8 |
Successful national teams
| 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) | |||
Participating nations
- Legend
|
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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 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Chinese Taipei |
QF | • | • | • | • | 1 |
 Guam |
GS | • | • | • | • | 1 |
| India |
QF | 1st | GS | GS | • | 4 |
| 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 |
Champions By Region
| Federations (Region) | Champions | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| EAFF (East Asia) | North Korea |
2 | 2008, 2012 |
| WAFF (West Asia) | Palestine |
1 | 2014 |
| CAFA (Central Asia) | Tajikistan |
1 | 2006 |
| SAFF (South Asia) | India |
1 | 2008 |
| AFF (South East Asia) | N/A | 0 | N/A |
General Statistics
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Korea |
3 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 4 | +31 | 38 |
| 2 | Tajikistan |
4 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 16 | +20 | 34 |
| 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 |
General Statistics (Qualification)
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Timor-Leste |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Northern Mariana Islands |
1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | -19 | 0 |
Awards
Most Valuable Players
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Ibrahim Rabimov |
| 2008 | Bhaichung Bhutia |
| 2010 | Ryang Yong-Gi |
| 2012 | Pak Nam-Chol |
| 2014 | Murad Ismail |
Top scorers
| 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 |
See also
References
- "Regulations - AFC Challenge Cup" (PDF) (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- "Visiona Asian Philosophy". Asian Football Confederation. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- "AFC Challenge Cup in 2006 competition information". Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- "AFC Competitions Update following meeting of the AFC Executive Committee". Asian Football Confederation. 21 July 2006. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- "Revamp of AFC competitions". Asian Football Confederation. 25 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014.
- "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". Asian Football Confederation. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014.
- "AFC Competitions Committee decisions". www.the-afc.com. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- "Competitions Committee takes key decisions". Asian Football Confederation. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- "Maldives to host 2014 AFC Challenge Cup". Asian Football Confederation. 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.