2024–25 AFC Challenge League
International football competition
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The 2024–25 AFC Challenge League was the eleventh edition of the Asia's tertiary 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.
13 August 2024
Competition proper:
26 October 2024 – 10 May 2025
Total: 20 (from 20 associations)
Arkadag (1st title)
Svay Rieng| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 13 August 2024 Competition proper: 26 October 2024 – 10 May 2025 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 18 Total: 20 (from 20 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Arkadag (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Svay Rieng |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 37 |
| Goals scored | 103 (2.78 per match) |
| Attendance | 158,383 (4,281 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Altymyrat Annadurdyýew (5 goals) |
| Best player | Şanazar Tirkişow |
| Fair play award | Svay Rieng |
2025–26 → | |
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 Turkmen club Arkadag defeating Cambodian club Svay Rieng 2–1 to win their first Asian title. Arkadag were making their debut in AFC club competitions, having qualified by winning the 2023 Ýokary Liga in their first year of existence; they also became the third consecutive club from Turkmenistan 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 | |
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- Notes
Teams
The number of appearances and last appearance include the AFC President's Cup as the predecessor of the AFC Challenge League.
- Notes
- ^ Palestine (PLE): Due to the Gaza war, the 2023–24 West Bank Premier League was cancelled after three games and the championship withheld 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]
- ^ Turkmenistan (TKM): Arkadag initially qualified for the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two, but failed to obtain an AFC Champions League Two license.[5]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[6]
| Stage | Round | Draw date | West region | East Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary stage | No draw[a] | 13 August 2024 | ||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 22 August 2024 | 26 October 2024 | 27 October 2024 |
| Matchday 2 | 29 October 2024 | 30 October 2024 | ||
| Matchday 3 | 1 November 2024 | 2 November 2024 | ||
| Knockout stage | Quarter-finals | No draw[a] | 5 and 12 March 2025 | 6 and 13 March 2025 |
| Semi-finals | 9 and 16 April 2025 | 10 and 17 April 2025 | ||
| Final | 10 May 2025 at Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh | |||
- 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 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Church Boys United  | 1–2 |  Paro |
Abdysh-Ata Kant  | 2–0 |  Attack Energy |
| Abdysh-Ata Kant | 2–0 | Attack Energy |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
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.
Brown: Group A; 
Cyan: Group B; 
Orange: Group C; 
Yellow: Group D; 
Red: Group EWest Region
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | EAB | NJM | PAR | BSK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  East Bengal |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 7 | Advance to Quarter-finals | 3–2 | 2–2 | |||
| 2 |  Nejmeh |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | 1–0 | |||||
| 3 | Paro (H) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1–2 | |||||
| 4 |  Bashundhara Kings |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 | 0–4 | 1–2 |
Group B
- Head-to-head goal difference: Arkadag +1; Al-Arabi 0; Abdysh-Ata Kant –1.
Group 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 |  Al-Arabi |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 2 | A | Nejmeh |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | C |  Al-Ahli Club |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
East Region
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SNU | TNC | YEP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Shan United (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | Advance to Quarter-finals | 2–2 | |||
| 2 |  Tainan City |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | 3–2 | ||||
| 3 |  Young Elephants |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 | 0–2 |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MDU | SVR | SPF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Madura United |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | Advance to Quarter-finals | 2–1 | |||
| 2 | Svay Rieng |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2–1 | ||||
| 3 |  SP Falcons (H) |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 | 0–0 |
Knockout stage
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Svay Rieng
| 6 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
| D1 | Shan United
| 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Svay Rieng
| 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| East Region | ||||||||||||||||||
| Madura United
| 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| D2 | Tainan City
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| E1 | Madura United
| 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Svay Rieng
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Arkadag (a.e.t.)
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| B2 | Al-Arabi (a.e.t.)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| C1 |  Al-Seeb
| 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Al-Arabi
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| West Region | ||||||||||||||||||
| Arkadag
| 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| A1 | East Bengal
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| B1 | 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 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||||
| Al-Arabi | 3–2 | Al-Seeb | 1–0 | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |
| East Bengal | 1–3 | Arkadag | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| East Region | ||||
| Svay Rieng | 7–4 | Shan United | 6–2 | 1–2 |
| Tainan City | 0–3 | Madura United | 0–0 | 0–3 |
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 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||||
| Al-Arabi | 2–3 | Arkadag | 2–0 | 0–3 |
| East Region | ||||
| Svay Rieng | 6–3 | Madura United | 3–0 | 3–3 |
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 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Arkadag |
|---|---|---|
Krya  82' |
Report |
|
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | QF1 | QF2 | SF1 | SF2 | F1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Altymyrat Annadurdyýew |
Arkadag |
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 2 |  Dimitrios Diamantakos |
East Bengal |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||
 Cristian Roque |
Svay Rieng |
1 | 3 | ||||||||
| Ye Yint Aung |
Shan United |
2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Min Ratanak |
Svay Rieng |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 6 | Zahir Al-Aghbari |
Al Seeb |
2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| 7 | Abdul Aziz Al-Muqbali |
Al Seeb |
1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Ali Khalaf |
Al Arabi |
2 | |||||||||
| Şanazar Tirkişow |
Arkadag |
2 | |||||||||
| Toninho |
Tainan City |
1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Brylian Aldama |
Young Elephants |
2 | |||||||||
| Bounphachan Bounkong |
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
- Church Boys United played their home matches at Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu, instead of their regular home stadium Chyasal Stadium, Lalitpur.
- Abdysh-Ata Kant played their home matches at Kurmanbek Stadium, Jalal-Abad, instead of their regular home stadium Stadion Sportkompleks Abdysh-Ata, Kant.