About WAFF Championship

History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage

The West Asian Football Federation Championship, also known as WAFF Championship, is a soccer tournament played by the national teams of the members of the West Asian Football Federation. The first edition of the tournament was held in 2000 and WAFF authorities planned for the competition to be held every two years, but different issues have prevented that from happening, making fans wait for this competition for up to six years between two editions.

Over the years, the competition featuring Asian teams has been played by up to eleven teams, which are divided into two groups. Each group sees all teams facing each other one time, and once those games end, the group leaders fight for the title. Extra time and penalties are used to determine the winner in case the match ends in a draw.

WAFF Championship editions have changed their format several times, with some of them including semi-finals or third-place games. The tournament has been hosted by countries such as Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait, or Jordan.

Ironically, Iran is the most-winning team in WAFF Championship history with four wins. Nonetheless, the Iranian side parted ways with WAFF prior to the 2019 edition, leaving their record-breaking run in the competition to be beaten.