The AFC Challenge League (abbreviated as ACGL) is an annual third-tier continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The competition is played among clubs from nations that do not receive qualifying slots to the league stage of top-tier AFC Champions League Elite or the group stage of second-tier AFC Champions League Two, based on the AFC club competitions ranking. The competition was initially launched by the AFC as the AFC President's Cup in 2005. The President's Cup was dissolved in 2014, and incorporated into the AFC Cup.
The 2024–25 season marked the inaugural edition of the rebranded AFC Challenge League, which featured a new format and an expanded group stage. The winners of the AFC Challenge League qualify for the group stage of the following season's AFC Champions League Two, while the runners-up qualify for the preliminary stage of the competition. Clubs from Tajikistan hold the highest number of titles (4), followed by Turkmenistan (3), Kyrgyzstan (2), Kuwait, Chinese Taipei, and Myanmar (1 each). The most successful side in the competition is Regar-TadAZ with three titles in the President's Cup era. The inaugural winners of the AFC Challenge League were Arkadag who defeated Svay Rieng by 2–1 in the 2025 final. Kuwait SC won the second edition, once again against Svay Rieng, by winning 4–3 in the 2026 final.
History Season Winners AFC President's Cup 2005 Regar TadAZ 2006 Dordoi-Dynamo 2007 Dordoi-Dynamo 2008 Regar TadAZ 2009 Regar TadAZ 2010 Yadanarbon 2011 Taipower 2012 Istiklol 2013 Balkan 2014 HTTU Aşgabat AFC Challenge League 2024–25 Arkadag2025–26 Kuwait SC
The AFC President's Cup was founded in 2005 as a third tier competition so that clubs from lower-ranked AFC member nations could participate in continental competition. The inaugural edition of the tournament took place in 2005 and was hosted by Nepal. Regar-TadAZ won the first edition of the tournament, beating Dordoi-Dynamo 3–0 in the final. The two clubs would later face each other again in the 2008 and 2009 finals, with Regar-TadAZ winning each edition.
The tournament was initially dominated by clubs from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with clubs from the two nations winning the first five editions of the tournament. Kyrgyz side Dordoi-Dynamo featured in the final six years in a row from 2005 to 2010, winning twice in 2006 and 2007.
In 2010, Yadanarbon became the first club from East Asia to win the tournament, beating Dordoi-Dynamo 1–0 after extra time.
On 25 November 2013, the AFC Competitions Committee proposed the year of 2014 to be the last edition of the President's Cup. Starting from 2015, league champions of emerging countries would be eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-offs.
The last edition of the AFC President's Cup in 2014 saw HTTU Aşgabat defeat North Korean side Rimyongsu 2–1, becoming the second consecutive team from Turkmenistan to win the competition.
On 23 December 2022, it was announced that the AFC's club competitions would be restructured from the 2024–25 season. With the new third-tier tournament being named the AFC Challenge League. On 24 May 2024, AFC confirmed that records and statistics from the AFC President's Cup era would be grandfathered in with the AFC Challenge League.
Arkadag became the first club to win the AFC Challenge League, defeating Cambodian side Svay Rieng 2–1 after extra time in the 2025 final. The Turkmen club were making their debut in AFC club competitions, having been founded in 2023.
Kuwait SC became the second club to win the AFC Challenge League, defeating Cambodian side Svay Rieng 4–3 in the 2025–26 final. The match, held on May 13, 2026, at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, saw Kuwait SC come from behind twice to secure the title in extra time.
Format As part of the AFC's Vision Asia document, the league champions from countries in the AFC's emerging nations participated in the competition.
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 expanded to 12 clubs. In the qualification round, there were three groups of four clubs, with the group winners and runners-up qualifying for the final stage. These six clubs were broken into two groups of three, with the group winner qualifying to the final.
In November 2013 the AFC announced that the 2014 AFC President's Cup would be the last edition of the tournament. Starting from 2015, league champions of "emerging countries" are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-off. The qualifying round for the 2016 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.
In its inaugural season, the Challenge League comprised 18 clubs in the group stage, divided into five groups of three or four. The clubs competed in single-leg centralized format, with the group winners and runners-up of the East Region, and the group winners and highest ranked runner-up of the West Region qualifying for the quarter-finals. The quarter and semi-finals are played over two legs, while the final is a single-leg contest hosted by one of the participating clubs. The 2025–26 edition featured 20 teams in the group stage, featuring five groups of four.
Allocation 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. AssociationsSpots20052006200720082009201020112012201320142024–252025–262026–27East Asia Brunei0000000000001 Cambodia1111111111120 Chinese Taipei111111111111*2 Indonesia0000000000111 Laos0000000000110* Mongolia000000011111*0* Myanmar000111100011*2 North Korea0000000001000 Philippines0000000011012*Total2223333345688West Asia Bahrain0000000000100 Bangladesh000111111111*1* Bhutan1111111111111 India0000000000101* Kyrgyzstan1111111110120* Kuwait0000000000122* Lebanon0000000000122 Maldives0000000000100* Nepal1111111111000 Oman0000000000120 Pakistan1111111111000 Palestine0000001110100 Sri Lanka1111111111000 Tajikistan1111111100012 Turkmenistan0001111111111 Syria0000000000102Total6668889986121212TotalFinals88811111112121211182020Qualifying000000000041818
Prize money Starting with the 2024–25 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows:
RoundTeamsAmountPer teamTotalFinal (Champions)1$1 millionFinal (Runners-up)1$500,000Semi-finals4$120,000$480,000Quarter-finals8$80,000$640,000Group stage18$100,000$1,800,000Total18$4,420,000
Records and statistics
List of finals The "Season" column refers to the season during which the competition was held, and links to the article about that season.
+List of AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge League finalsSeasonWinnersScoreVenueAttendanceAFC President's Cup (2005–2014)2005 Regar-TadAZ3–0 Dordoi-DynamoDashrath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal8,0002006 Dordoi-Dynamo2–1 VakhshSarawak Stadium, Kuching, Malaysia5002007 Dordoi-Dynamo2–1 Mahendra Police ClubPunjab Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan2,0002008 Regar-TadAZ1–1 Dordoi-DynamoSpartak Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan10,0002009 Regar-TadAZ2–0 Dordoi-DynamoMetallurg Stadium, Tursunzoda, Tajikistan10,0002010 Yadanarbon1–0 Dordoi-DynamoThuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar23,7202011 Taiwan Power Company3–2 Phnom Penh CrownNational Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan3,2382012 Istiklol2–1 Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ariCentral Republican Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan19,3232013 Balkan1–0 KRLHang Jebat Stadium, Malacca, Malaysia5782014 HTTU Aşgabat2–1 RimyongsuSugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka200AFC Challenge League (2024–present)2024–25 Arkadag2–1 Svay RiengMorodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia51,6102025–26 Kuwait SC4–3 Svay RiengJaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait43,366
Performance by club + Performance in the AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge League by club Club Title(s) Years won Years Regar-TadAZ302005, 2008, 2009 Dordoi Bishkek242006, 20072005, 2008, 2009, 2010 Yadanarbon102010 102011 Istiklol102012 Nebitçi102013 Ýedigen102014 Arkadag10 Kuwait SC102025–26 Svay Rieng02, 2025–26 Khatlon012006 Nepal Police012007 Phnom Penh Crown012011 Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari012012 KRL012013 Rimyongsu012014
Performance by nation +Performance in finals by nationNationWinnersTotal415303246101101101033011011011011<noinclude>
Performance by coach CoachClubWinners Makhmadjon Khabibulloev Regar TadAZ2005, 2008, 2009 Boris Podkorytov Dordoi-Dinamo2006, 2007 U Zaw Lay Aung Yadanarbon2010 Nikola Kavazović Istiklol2012 Chen Kuei-jen2011 Rahym Kurbanmämmedow Balkan2013 Begench Garayev HTTU Aşgabat2014 Akhmet Allaberdiyev Arkadag2024–25 Nebojša Jovović Kuwait SC 2025–26
Awards Top scorers Season Player(s) Club(s) Goals2005 Dudley Steinwall Blue Star SC4 Hok Sochetra Hello United Khurshed Mahmudov Regar-TadAZ Dzhomikhon Mukhidinov Regar-TadAZ2006 Chuang Yao-tsung Tatung5 Roman Kornilov Dordoi-Dynamo2007 Channa Ediri Bandanage Ratnam SC62008 Thi Ha Kyaw Kanbawza62009 Soe Min Oo Kanbawza62010 Rustam Usmonov Vakhsh Qurghonteppa52011 Ho Ming-tsan Taipower62012 Mirlan Murzayev Dordoi Bishkek82013 Mirlan Murzayev Dordoi Bishkek92014 Suleyman Muhadow HTTU Aşgabat112024–25 Altymyrat Annadurdyýew Arkadag52025–26 Kwame Peprah8
Best player Season Player Club2005N/A N/A2006N/A N/A2007 Valery Kashuba Dordoi-Dynamo2008N/A N/A2009 Khurshed Mahmudov Regar-TadAZ2010 Mirlan Murzayev Dordoi-Dynamo2011 Chen Po-liang Taipower2012 Alisher Tuychiev Istiklol2013 Amir Gurbani Balkan2014 Suleyman Muhadow HTTU Asgabat2024–25 Şanazar Tirkişow Arkadag2025–26 Amoory Kuwait SC
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClub(s)Goals1 Mirlan Murzaev Dordoi Bishkek192 David Tetteh Dordoi Bishkek12 3 Khurshed Makhmudov Regar-TadAZ11 Suleyman Muhadow HTTU5 Amir Gurbani AşgabatBalkan10 Channa Ediri Bandanage Ratnam Ibrahim Rabimov Regar-TadAZIstiklol8 Kaleemullah Khan KRL9 9 Arslanmyrat Amanow AşgabatHTTU 8 Yan Paing Yadanarbon Ju Manu Rai Nepal Police Kwame Peprah PKR Svay Rieng
See also AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge League records and statistics AFC Champions League Elite AFC Champions League Two
Notes
References
External links AFC – Official website AFC Challenge League at Global Sports Archive AFC President's Cup – RSSSF