The AFC Challenge League is a men’s cup competition, with database coverage for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. This page brings together live scores, fixtures, results, standings, and player and team statistics. Visitors can use it as a clear reference when checking match activity and reviewing season information across the recorded competition seasons.
Upcoming matches, AFC Challenge League
Group Stage
-
- Group StageAl NejmehNo H2HIstiqlol
-
- Group Stage
Goa
No H2HRegar-TadAZ
-
- Group Stage
Al Qadsia
No H2HFortis
-
- Group Stage
Al Arabi
No H2HWathba
-
- Group StageAl AnsarNo H2HAl Ittihad
-
- Group Stage
Ahal
No H2HParo
-
- Group Stage
Taguig
No H2HTainan City
-
- Group Stage
Shan United
No H2HHang Yuen
-
- Group Stage
Al Ittihad
No H2HAhal
-
- Group Stage
Regar-TadAZ
No H2HAl Qadsia
Latest played matches, AFC Challenge League
Preliminary Round
AFC Challenge League Standings
AFC Challenge League Statistics
Top scorers 2026
| # | Player | Goals |
|---|
Top assists 2026
| # | Player | Assists |
|---|
Top key passes
Top tackles
Top yellow cards
Top red cards
AFC Challenge League teams participation since 2024
History
| Team | Nb participations |
|---|---|
| Al Arabi | 2 |
| Bashundhara Kings | 2 |
| Svay Rieng | 2 |
| Al Seeb | 2 |
| Shan United | 2 |
| Maziya | 2 |
| Paro | 2 |
| Abdish-Ata | 2 |
| Tainan City | 2 |
| Falcons | 2 |
| Persepam Madura Utd | 1 |
| East Bengal | 1 |
| Al Kuwait | 1 |
| Al Ansar | 1 |
| Al Nejmeh | 1 |
| Safa | 1 |
| Abahani | 1 |
| Al-Shabab | 1 |
| Phnom Penh Crown | 1 |
| Al Ahli | 1 |
| Yangon United | 1 |
| Altyn Asyr | 1 |
| Hilal Al-Quds | 1 |
| Al Karama | 1 |
| Foutoua | 1 |
| Hottin | 1 |
| Regar-TadAZ | 1 |
| Taichung Futuro | 1 |
| Ezra | 1 |
| Young Elephant | 1 |
| Kasuka | 1 |
| Khangarid | 1 |
| Dewa United | 1 |
| Church Boys | 1 |
| Muras United | 1 |
| Arkadag | 1 |
| Manila Digger | 1 |
| Attack Energy | 1 |
| Abu Muslim | 1 |
AFC Challenge League top scorer teams
AFC Challenge League About
AFC Challenge League is Asia’s third-tier men’s continental club cup, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from emerging football nations and associations outside the direct access routes to the continent’s two higher-level competitions. Relaunched in its present form for the 2024–25 season, it gives clubs a structured route into international football while connecting developing football regions across Asia.
Role and development
The competition sits below the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two in the AFC club-football pyramid. Its purpose is both sporting and developmental: clubs gain experience of continental travel, unfamiliar opponents and AFC-level standards, while their member associations receive a clearer pathway into regional competition.
The modern tournament emerged from the AFC’s 2024 restructuring of men’s club competitions. Its historical lineage is linked to the AFC President’s Cup, which operated from 2005 to 2014 as a continental competition for clubs from lower-ranked Asian associations. The AFC Challenge League is therefore a new competition in its current format, but it continues the broader objective of creating meaningful international opportunities for clubs outside the established elite.
Governance and entry
The AFC governs the competition and sets its competition regulations, licensing standards, technical requirements and access arrangements. Qualification is normally connected to domestic league or cup performance. Places are allocated through the AFC’s member-association and club-competition framework, with clubs from associations that do not receive direct places in the AFC Champions League Elite or AFC Champions League Two generally forming the competition’s principal participant base.
Depending on the edition and the available places, clubs may enter directly or have to pass through a preliminary qualifying stage. These preliminary ties can provide the final route into the group stage, while some places may also be filled by clubs that do not progress through qualifying for AFC Champions League Two. The exact allocation is determined for each season rather than being a permanent entitlement for every association.
Entry is also subject to AFC club licensing. Participating clubs must satisfy requirements covering matters such as stadium suitability, financial stability, legal compliance and sporting administration. These controls are intended to ensure that clubs entering continental competition can host and stage matches to an appropriate standard.
Competition format
The AFC Challenge League uses a hybrid cup structure: centralized group football is followed by two-legged knockout rounds and a one-match final. The opening edition did not use exactly the same field size as the subsequent format. For the 2025–26 edition, the group stage is structured around 20 teams divided into five groups, generally with three groups in the West Region and two in the East Region.
Group matches are played at a centralized venue, with each team meeting every other team in its group once. This single-round-robin arrangement reduces the travel burden created by Asia’s vast geography and allows a concentrated schedule to be completed efficiently. The regional division likewise helps manage travel and logistics while preserving the competition’s continental character.
Teams receive three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. The leading teams progress to the knockout phase: the five group winners and the best runners-up make up the eight-team quarter-final line-up. Seeding and the detailed method for ranking runners-up are set by the regulations for the relevant edition.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals are contested over two legs, normally with one match at each club’s stadium. The final is a single-leg fixture at a venue determined under the applicable AFC arrangements. This format gives the group stage a concise, high-pressure character before switching to the traditional aggregate-score drama of the knockout rounds.
Tie-breakers and decisive matches
When teams finish level on points in the group stage, the competition’s ranking process gives priority to results among the tied teams. The relevant sequence begins with head-to-head points, followed by head-to-head goal difference and head-to-head goals scored. If the teams remain inseparable, overall goal difference and overall goals scored across the group matches are then considered, alongside any further procedures specified in the regulations.
The away-goals rule is not used. If a quarter-final or semi-final is level on aggregate after the two legs, the tie proceeds to two 15-minute periods of extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out. The same principle applies to the final if the score is level after 90 minutes, with extra time followed by penalties if required.
Calendar and sporting importance
The competition generally follows an August-to-May cycle. Preliminary matches may begin in August, the centralized group stage is played during the season, and the final is held in the spring. Exact dates and venues vary between editions, reflecting the AFC calendar, regional scheduling and host arrangements.
The principal sporting reward is progression to the following season’s AFC Champions League Two group stage. That pathway makes the tournament more than a standalone cup: success can move a club into a higher continental tier and provide a direct bridge between emerging football and the wider AFC club system. With two recorded seasons covering 2024 to 2025, the AFC Challenge League remains a young competition, but its combination of access, regional representation and promotion gives it an important place in the expanding landscape of Asian club football.