2024–25 AFC Challenge League

2024–25 AFC Challenge League
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
13 August 2024
Competition proper:
26 October 2024 – 10 May 2025
TeamsCompetition proper: 18
Total: 20 (from 20 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsTurkmenistan Arkadag (1st title)
Runners-upCambodia Svay Rieng
Tournament statistics
Matches played37
Goals scored103 (2.78 per match)
Attendance158,383 (4,281 per match)
Top scorer(s)Turkmenistan Altymyrat Annadurdyýew
(5 goals)
Best player(s)Turkmenistan Şanazar Tirkişow
Fair play awardCambodia Svay Rieng

The 2024–25 AFC Challenge League was the eleventh edition of the Asia's third-tier continental club football competition, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the first season since it was rebranded from the AFC President's Cup to the AFC Challenge League.

It was the first edition since 2014, when the tournament was re-introduced in 2024 with a revamped format.[1][2] The final was played on 10 May 2025 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with Turkmenistan club Arkadag defeating Cambodian club Svay Rieng 2–1 to win their first Asian title. Arkadag became the third Turkmenistan club to win the competition. As winners of the tournament Arkadag automatically qualified for the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two group stage.

Association team allocation

The associations were allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking,[3] which was published after the 2022 competitions were completed.[4]

Participation for 2024–25 AFC Challenge League
Participating
Not participating
Notes
  1. ^
    AFC Licensing (AFC): Association did not have a licensed club.[5]

Teams

The number of appearances and last appearance include the AFC President's Cup as the predecessor of the AFC Challenge League.

Notes
  1. ^
    Palestine (PLE): Due to the Gaza war, the 2023–24 West Bank Premier League was not organized by the Palestinian Football Association. The teams from Palestine are determined by the results of the 2022–23 West Bank Premier League. Jabal Al-Mukaber, the 2022–23 West Bank Premier League champions, failed to obtain an AFC license. Instead, the runners-up Hilal Al-Quds participate in the AFC Challenge League group stage.[5]
  2. ^
    Turkmenistan (TKM): Arkadag, the 2023 Turkmenistan Cup winners, also won the league title and qualified for the AFC Challenge League group stage as they lacked an AFC Champions League Two license. They were replaced by Altyn Asyr, the 2023 Ýokary Liga runners-up in AFC Champions League Two qualifying play-offs.[5]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[6]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary stage No draw[a] 13 August 2024
Group stage Matchday 1 22 August 2024 26 October 2024 (West), 27 October 2024 (East)
Matchday 2 29 October 2024 (West), 30 October 2024 (East)
Matchday 3 1 November 2024 (West), 2 November 2024 (East)
Knockout stage Quarter-finals No draw[a] 5 March 2025 (West), 6 March 2025 (East) 12 March 2025 (West), 13 March 2025 (East)
Semi-finals 9 April 2025 (West), 10 April 2025 (East) 16 April 2025 (West), 17 April 2025 (East)
Final 10 May 2025 at Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh
  1. ^ a b Pre-determined format

Preliminary stage

The bracket of the preliminary stage was determined based on each team's association ranking and their seeding within their association, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. The two winners of the preliminary stage advanced to the group stage and joined the 16 direct entrants.

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Church Boys United Nepal1–2Bhutan Paro
Abdysh-Ata Kant Kyrgyzstan2–0Afghanistan Attack Energy
Church Boys United Nepal1–2Bhutan Paro
  • Limbu 38'
 Report
Attendance: 9,873
Referee: Wiwat Jumpaoon (Thailand)
Abdysh-Ata Kant Kyrgyzstan2–0Afghanistan Attack Energy
 Report
Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad[note 2]
Attendance: 955

Group stage

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Challenge League group stage

The draw for the group stage took place on 22 August at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 18 teams were drawn into five groups: three comprising four teams from the West each (Groups A–C) and two involving three teams from the East each (Groups D–E).[7] Teams were seeded into pots: four pots for West region and three pots for East region, and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. Teams of every group will play at a neutral venue of a single-legged tie against every opponent.

Location of the 2024–25 AFC Challenge League group stage teams
Brown: Group A; Cyan: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Red: Group E

West Region

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EAB NJM PAR BSK
1 India East Bengal 3 2 1 0 9 4 +5 7 Advance to Quarter-finals 3–2 2–2
2 Lebanon Nejmeh 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6 1–0
3 Bhutan Paro (H) 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 1–2
4 Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0 0–4 1–2
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AKG AAK ABD MAZ
1 Turkmenistan Arkadag 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6[a] Advance to Quarter-finals 2–1
2 Kuwait Al-Arabi (H) 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6[a] 3–2 0–1
3 Kyrgyzstan Abdysh-Ata Kant 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6[a] 0–2
4 Maldives Maziya 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0 0–2 0–3
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head goal difference: Arkadag +1; Al-Arabi 0; Abdysh-Ata Kant –1.

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ASB AAM AFT HAQ
1 Oman Al-Seeb (H) 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 9 Advance to Quarter-finals 1–0 3–0
2 Bahrain Al-Ahli Club 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2[a] 1–1 0–0
3 Syria Al-Fotuwa 3 0 2 1 1 6 −5 2[a] 0–5
4 Palestine Hilal Al-Quds 3 0 2 1 0 3 −3 2[a] 0–0
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head goals scored: Al-Ahli Club 1, Al-Fotuwa 1, Hilal Al-Quds 0;
    Overall goal difference: Al-Ahli Club –1, Al-Fotuwa –5.

Ranking of runners-up teams

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B Kuwait Al-Arabi 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6 Advance to Quarter-finals
2 A Lebanon Nejmeh 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
3 C Bahrain Al-Ahli Club 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2
Source: AFC

East Region

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SNU TNC YEP
1 Myanmar Shan United (H) 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 4 Advance to Quarter-finals 2–2
2 Chinese Taipei Tainan City 2 1 1 0 5 4 +1 4 3–2
3 Laos Young Elephants 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3 0 0–2
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MDU SVR SPF
1 Indonesia Madura United 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4 Advance to Quarter-finals 2–1
2 Cambodia Svay Rieng 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 2–1
3 Mongolia SP Falcons (H) 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1 0–0
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Knockout stage

Main article: 2024–25 AFC Challenge League knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
             
E2 Cambodia Svay Rieng 6 1 7
D1 Myanmar Shan United 2 2 4
Cambodia Svay Rieng 3 3 6
East Region
Indonesia Madura United 0 3 3
D2 Chinese Taipei Tainan City 0 0 0
E1 Indonesia Madura United 0 3 3
Cambodia Svay Rieng 1
Turkmenistan Arkadag (a.e.t.) 2
B2 Kuwait Al-Arabi (a.e.t.) 1 2 3
C1 Oman Al-Seeb 0 2 2
Kuwait Al-Arabi 2 0 2
West Region
Turkmenistan Arkadag 0 3 3
A1 India East Bengal 0 1 1
B1 Turkmenistan Arkadag 1 2 3

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the eight qualified teams played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs determined by the group stage draw and the identity of the best runners-up in the West region.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
West Region
Al-Arabi Kuwait3–2Oman Al-Seeb1–02–2 (a.e.t.)
East Bengal India1–3Turkmenistan Arkadag0–11–2
East Region
Svay Rieng Cambodia7–4Myanmar Shan United6–21–2
Tainan City Chinese Taipei0–3Indonesia Madura United0–00–3

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the winners of quarter-finals from each region faced each other in a two-legged tie. The winners of each tie advanced to the final.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
West Region
Al-Arabi Kuwait2–3Turkmenistan Arkadag2–00–3
East Region
Svay Rieng Cambodia6–3Indonesia Madura United3–03–3

Final

Main article: 2025 AFC Challenge League final

In the final, the winners of the each semi-finals played each other, with the host team alternating every season. The winners would be given a direct slot for the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two group stage, if not already qualified through the domestic performance.

Svay Rieng Cambodia1–2 (a.e.t.)Turkmenistan Arkadag
Krya 82' Report
Attendance: 51,610[8]

Top scorers

  Team eliminated for this round.
  Player is not in the team but the team is still active for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2 F1 Total
1 Turkmenistan Altymyrat Annadurdyýew Turkmenistan Arkadag 1 2 1 1 5
2 Greece Dimitrios Diamantakos India East Bengal 1 1 2 4
Brazil Cristian Roque Cambodia Svay Rieng 1 3
Myanmar Ye Yint Aung Myanmar Shan United 2 1 1
Cambodia Min Ratanak Cambodia Svay Rieng 1 1 1 1
6 Oman Zahir Al-Aghbari Oman Al Seeb 2 1 3
7 Oman Abdul Aziz Al-Muqbali Oman Al Seeb 1 1 2
Kuwait Ali Khalaf Kuwait Al Arabi 2
Turkmenistan Şanazar Tirkişow Turkmenistan Arkadag 2
Brazil Toninho Chinese Taipei Tainan City 1 1
Indonesia Brylian Aldama Laos Young Elephants 2
Laos Bounphachan Bounkong Cambodia Svay Rieng 1 1
Note
  • Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Church Boys United played their home matches at Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu, instead of their regular home stadium Chyasal Stadium, Lalitpur.
  2. ^ Abdysh-Ata Kant played their home matches at Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad, instead of their regular home stadium Stadion Sportkompleks Abdysh-Ata, Kant.

References

  1. ^ "Asian Champions League to relaunch with fewer teams and more prize money in 2024–25 season". Associated Press. 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation.
  3. ^ a b c "AFC Club Competitions 2024/25 Slot Allocation" (PDF). FAS.org.sg. Football Association of Singapore. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "List of Licensed Clubs - AFC Club Competitions 2024/25" (PDF). the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  6. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 1 July 2023.
  7. ^ "#ChallengeLeague draw to decide 2024/25 Group Stage battles". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Match Report of Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC vs Arkadag FK - 2025-05-10 - AFC Challenge League". GlobalSportsArchive.com. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
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