AFC President's Cup
 | |
| Organising body | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Region | Asia |
| Number of teams | 20 (group stage) |
| Qualifier for | AFC Cup |
| Current champions | FC HTTU (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Regar TadAZ (3 titles) |
 2014 AFC President's Cup
| |
The AFC President's Cup was an annual continental club football competition, run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) between 2005 and 2014.
The competition targeted emerging football nations, and was set below the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup competitions.
Competition format
Between 8 and 12 teams participated in each edition of the competition. From 2005 to 2007, 8 clubs were placed into two groups of 4 teams. 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 the 11 clubs were split into three groups of 3 or 4 clubs. Each group was played in a different country. The three group winners and the best ranked runner up qualified for the finals stage, hosted in another country.
From 2011 to 2014, the tournament was increased to 12 clubs. In the qualification round, there were three groups of 4 clubs. The group winners and runners up qualify for the final stage. These 6 clubs are broken into two groups of 3. The top teams of each group qualified directly for 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 a similar format to the AFC President's Cup (but without a final stage), was held in August 2015, which qualified two teams to the AFC Cup play-offs.
On 23 December 2022, it was announced that a third-tier club competition for Asian football would be reintroduced from the 2024–25 season, which would be named the AFC Challenge League.
Qualification and participating nations
Qualification to the competition was to clubs from AFC-affiliated countries which fall into the AFC's 'emerging nations' category as laid out in their 'Vision Asia' document. Countries which were 'mature' and 'developing' nations were entered into the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, respectively. For an 'emerging nation' to have a team representing it in the competition, however, the country must have an acceptable football league. The team that represents a country in one season of the competition is the defending champion of the top-level leagues of participating countries.
Clubs from Nepal, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Cambodia were invited every year.
Clubs from Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Philippines and North Korea were also invited in some of the years of the competition.
Some participating countries – Palestine, Myanmar, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan – applied for an upgrade to the AFC Cup, so their club teams subsequently played in that competition.
Other nations that could enter a team, but never did so are: Brunei, Timor-Leste, Guam, Laos, Macau and Afghanistan.
In March 2012 the AFC announced that the Northern Mariana Islands were approved to participate in the AFC Challenge Cup and AFC President's Cup if they fulfilled the criteria. However, they never entered a team.
Results
Performance
Performance by nation
| # | Nation | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tajikistan | 4 | 1 |
| 2 | Kyrgyzstan | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Turkmenistan | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Myanmar | 1 | 0 |
| Chinese Taipei | 1 | 0 | |
| 6 | Cambodia | 0 | 1 |
| Nepal | 0 | 1 | |
| Pakistan | 0 | 1 | |
| Palestine | 0 | 1 | |
| North Korea | 0 | 1 |
Performance by club
| Team | Winners | Runners-Up | Years Won | Years Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regar TadAZ | 3 | 0 | 2005, 2008, 2009 | |
| Dordoi Bishkek | 2 | 4 | 2006, 2007 | 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Yadanarbon FC | 1 | 0 | 2010 | |
| Taiwan Power Company | 1 | 0 | 2011 | |
| Istiklol | 1 | 0 | 2012 | |
| Nebitçi | 1 | 0 | 2013 | |
| Ýedigen | 1 | 0 | 2014 | |
| Khatlon | 0 | 1 | 2006 | |
| Nepal Police Club | 0 | 1 | 2007 | |
| Phnom Penh Crown | 0 | 1 | 2011 | |
| Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari | 0 | 1 | 2012 | |
| KRL | 0 | 1 | 2013 | |
| Rimyongsu | 0 | 1 | 2014 |
By coach
| Coach | Team | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Makhmadjon Khabibulloev | Regar TadAZ | 2005, 2008, 2009 |
| Boris Podkorytov | Dordoi-Dinamo | 2006, 2007 |
| U Zaw Lay Aung | Yadanarbon FC | 2010 |
| Nikola Kavazović | Istiklol | 2012 |
| Chen Kuei-jen | Taiwan Power Company | 2011 |
| Rahym Kurbanmämmedow | Balkan | 2013 |
| Begench Garayev | HTTU Aşgabat | 2014 |
Awards
Top scorers
| Season | Player | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 |
Dudley Steinwall Hok Sochetra Khurshed Mahmudov Dzhomikhon Mukhidinov |
4 |
| 2006 |
Chuang Yao-tsung Roman Kornilov |
5 |
| 2007 | Channa Ediri Bandanage | 6 |
| 2008 | Thi Ha Kyaw | 6 |
| 2009 | Soe Min Oo | 6 |
| 2010 | Rustam Usmonov | 5 |
| 2011 | Ho Ming-tsan | 6 |
| 2012 | Mirlan Murzaev | 8 |
| 2013 | Mirlan Murzaev | 9 |
| 2014 | Suleyman Muhadow | 11 |
Best players
| Season | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | - | - |
| 2006 | - | - |
| 2007 | Valery Kashuba | Dordoi-Dynamo |
| 2008 | - | - |
| 2009 | Khurshed Mahmudov | Regar-TadAZ |
| 2010 | Mirlan Murzaev | Dordoi-Dynamo |
| 2011 | Chen Po-liang | Taipower |
| 2012 | Alisher Tuychiev | Istiqlol |
| 2013 | Amir Gurbani | Balkan |
| 2014 | Suleyman Muhadow | HTTU Asgabat |
All-time top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirlan Murzaev | Dordoi Bishkek | 19 |
| 2 | David Tetteh | Dordoi Bishkek | 12 |
| 3 | Khurshed Makhmudov | Regar-TadAZ | 11 |
| Suleyman Muhadow | HTTU | ||
| 5 | Amir Gurbani |
Aşgabat Balkan |
10 |
| Channa Ediri Bandanage | Ratnam | ||
| Ibrahim Rabimov |
Regar-TadAZ Istiklol |
||
| 8 | Kaleemullah Khan | KRL | 9 |
| 9 | Arslanmyrat Amanow |
Aşgabat HTTU |
8 |
| Yan Paing | Yadanarbon | ||
| Ju Manu Rai | Nepal Police Club |