Region: | Asia (AFC) |
Number Of Teams: | 36–48 (group stage) 2 (finalists) |
Most Successful Club: | Al-Kuwait (3 titles each) |
The AFC Champions League Two, formerly the AFC Cup, is an association football competition established in 2004 by Asian Football Confederation. It is considered the second most important international competition for Asian clubs, after the AFC Champions League Elite. Clubs qualify for the AFC Champions League Two based on their performance in national leagues and cup competitions. For the first 5 years of the competition, the final was contested over two legs, one at each participating club's stadium, but since 2009, the final is held as a single match. Syrian side Al-Jaish won the inaugural competition in 2004, defeating Syrian side Al-Wahda on away goals.
Al-Kuwait and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are 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 is 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. The current champions are Central Coast Mariners, who beat Al-Ahed 1–0 in the 2024 edition.
Season | Nation | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Nation | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AFC Cup era (2004–2024) | ||||||||
Two-legged format | ||||||||
scope=row rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 2004 | Al-Jaish | 3–2 | Al-Wahda | Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria | |||
0–1 | Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria | |||||||
Aggregate 3–3, Al-Jaish won on away goals. | ||||||||
scope=row rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 2005 | Al-Faisaly | 1–0 | Nejmeh | Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan | |||
3–2 | Rafic Hariri Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | |||||||
Al-Faisaly won 4–2 on aggregate. | ||||||||
scope=row rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 2006 | Al-Faisaly | 3–0 | Al-Muharraq | Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan | 7,000 | ||
2–4 | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain | 3,000 | ||||||
Al-Faisaly won 5–4 on aggregate. | ||||||||
scope=row rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 2007 | Shabab Al-Ordon | 1–0 | Al-Faisaly | Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan | 5,500 | ||
1–1 | Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan | 7,500 | ||||||
Shabab Al-Ordon won 2–1 on aggregate. | ||||||||
scope=row rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 2008 | Al-Muharraq | 5–1 | Safa | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain | 6,000 | ||
5–4 | Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon | 2,000 | ||||||
Al-Muharraq won 10–5 on aggregate. | ||||||||
Single match format | ||||||||
2009 | Al-Kuwait | 2–1 | Al-Karamah | Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait | 17,400 | |||
2010 | Al-Ittihad | 1–1 | Al-Qadsia | Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait | 58,604 | |||
2011 | Nasaf | 2–1 | Al-Kuwait | Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi, Uzbekistan | 15,753 | |||
2012 | Al-Kuwait | 4–0 | Erbil | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil, Iraq | 30,000 | |||
2013 | Al-Kuwait | 2–0 | Al-Qadsia | Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait | 10,000 | |||
2014 | Al-Qadsia | 0–0 | Erbil | Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, UAE | 5,240 | |||
2015 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 1–0 | Istiklol | Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan | 18,000 | |||
2016 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 1–0 | Bengaluru | Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar | 5,806 | |||
2017 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 1–0 | Istiklol | Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor, Tajikistan | 20,000 | |||
2018 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 2–0 | Altyn Asyr | Basra International Stadium, Basra, Iraq | 24,665 | |||
2019 | Al-Ahed | 1–0 | April 25 | Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 500 | |||
2020 | align=center colspan=7 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.[1] | ||||||
2021 | Al-Muharraq | 3–0 | Nasaf | Al-Muharraq Stadium, Arad, Bahrain | 9,060 | |||
2022 | Al-Seeb | 3–0 | Kuala Lumpur City | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 27,722 | |||
2023–24 | Central Coast Mariners | 1–0 | Al-Ahed | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman | 1,930 | |||
AFC Champions League Two era (2024–present) | ||||||||
2024–25 | v | |||||||
Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|
4 | 3 | 7 | ||
3 | 2 | 5 | ||
3 | 1 | 4 | ||
2 | 2 | 4 | ||
2 | 1 | 3 | ||
1 | 2 | 3 | ||
1 | 1 | 2 | ||
1 | 1 | 2 | ||
1 | 0 | 1 | ||
1 | 0 | 1 | ||
0 | 2 | 2 | ||
0 | 1 | 1 | ||
0 | 1 | 1 | ||
0 | 1 | 1 |