AFC Challenge Cup

The AFC Challenge Cup was a biennial tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation with the sole aim of offering competitive football to member nations categorized as “emerging countries”. The continent’s minnows were thus able to experience a continental competition to help raise the standards of Asian football at all levels. The AFC Challenge Cup was founded in 2008 but was eventually abandoned in 2014 due to the expansion of the Asian Cup from a 16-team tournament to a 24-nation event.