AFC Challenge Cup
Encyclopedia
The AFC Challenge Cup is an international football competition for emerging nations (those in the lowest of three categories as designated by the AFC president) that are members of the Asian Football Confederation
. The first tournament was hosted by Bangladesh
in 2006. The 2008 and 2010 editions of the AFC Challenge Cup formed part of the qualifiers for the 2011 Asian Cup
as the winner of each edition qualified directly.
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 and even the developed associations class have participated in the qualification and the finals of the tournament such as India
, Korea DPR
, Maldives
, Myanmar
, Tajikistan
and Turkmenistan
.
Notes
Legend
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
. The first tournament was hosted by Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
in 2006. The 2008 and 2010 editions of the AFC Challenge Cup formed part of the qualifiers for the 2011 Asian Cup
2011 AFC Asian Cup
The 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup...
as the winner of each edition qualified directly.
Selection of teams
The AFCAsian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
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 and even the developed associations class have participated in the qualification and the finals of the tournament such as India
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...
, Korea DPR
Korea DPR national football team
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea national football team represents the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in international association football and is controlled by the DPR Korea Football Association, the governing body for football in North Korea.North Korea surprised with a...
, Maldives
Maldives national football team
The Maldives national football team is the national team of the Maldives and is controlled by the Football Association of Maldives. A member of the AFC, it qualified for the second stage of Asian qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, where it drew with South Korea at home 0–0.Maldives most significant...
, Myanmar
Myanmar national football team
The Myanmar national football team is the national team of Myanmar and is controlled by the Myanmar Football Federation. It was known as the Burma national football team until 1989, when Burma was renamed Myanmar. It finished second in the 1968 Asian Cup. They have participated in the Summer...
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan national football team
The Tajikistan national football team represents Tajikistan in association football and is controlled by the Tajikistan National Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tajikistan. Tajikistan's home ground is Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe....
and Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan national football team
The Turkmenistan national football team is the national team of Turkmenistan and is controlled by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan.-History:After the country gained independence, they played their first match against Kazakhstan on June 1, 1992...
.
The top 15 are classed as developed associations. |
The next 14 are classed as developing associations. |
The last 17 are classed as emerging associations, which need time to develop their football. These are the teams which participate. |
Results
| Year | Host | Final | Third place match | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | 3rd place | Score | 4th place | ||
| 2006 Details |
 Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... |
4–0 | |||||
| 2008 Details 2008 AFC Challenge Cup The 2008 AFC Challenge Cup football tournament was hosted by India and played from July 30 to August 13, 2008. India won the final against Tajikistan... |
 India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
4–1 | 4–0 | ||||
| 2010 Details 2010 AFC Challenge Cup The 2010 AFC Challenge Cup was the third edition of the tournament which was held from 16–27 February 2010 in Sri Lanka. India, the defending champions, fielded their under-23 team for this tournament in preparation for the 2010 Asian Games later that year... |
 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the... |
1–1 (a.e.t. Overtime (sports) Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination... ) (5–4 pens.) |
1–0 | ||||
| 2012 Details 2012 AFC Challenge Cup The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup will be the fourth edition of the tournament which will take place in Nepal from 8–19 March 2012. The winners will qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Unlike in previous editions of the tournament, there were no automatic qualifiers... |
 Nepal Nepal Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India... |
||||||
Notes
Successful national teams
| Team | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (2006) | 1 (2008) | |
| 1 (2008) | ||
| 1 (2010) | ||
| 1 (2006) | ||
| 1 (2010) |
Participating nations
| Team | 2006 |
2008 2008 AFC Challenge Cup The 2008 AFC Challenge Cup football tournament was hosted by India and played from July 30 to August 13, 2008. India won the final against Tajikistan... |
2010 2010 AFC Challenge Cup The 2010 AFC Challenge Cup was the third edition of the tournament which was held from 16–27 February 2010 in Sri Lanka. India, the defending champions, fielded their under-23 team for this tournament in preparation for the 2010 Asian Games later that year... |
2012 2012 AFC Challenge Cup The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup will be the fourth edition of the tournament which will take place in Nepal from 8–19 March 2012. The winners will qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Unlike in previous editions of the tournament, there were no automatic qualifiers... | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS | GS | 2 | |||
| QF | GS | 2 | |||
| GS | 1 | ||||
| GS | 1 | ||||
| GS | 1 | ||||
| QF | 1 | ||||
| GS | 1 | ||||
| QF | 1st | GS | Q | 4 | |
| SF | GS | 2 | |||
| GS | 1 | ||||
| ‡ | ‡ | Q | 1 | ||
| ‡ | 4th | 4th | 2 | ||
| SF | GS | Q | 3 | ||
| ‡ | 3rd | 1st | Q | 3 | |
| GS | 1 | ||||
| QF | Q | 2 | |||
| GS | Q | 2 | |||
| 2nd | GS | GS | 3 | ||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Q | 4 | |
| ‡ | GS | 2nd | Q | 3 | |
| Number of competing nations | 16 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place
- 4th – Fourth place
- QF – Quarter Finals
- GS – Group stage
- Q – Qualified
- ‡ – Competition was unavailable for the nation that year
External links
- AFC Challenge Cup at The-AFC.com
- Press release from AFC about the Challenge Cup