The AFC Solidarity Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries who were out of the continental qualifiers at early stage. The tournament was created following the termination of the AFC Challenge Cup.[1]
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| Organising body | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Abolished | 2023 |
| Region | Asia |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Last champions |  Nepal (1st title) |
| Most successful team(s) | Nepal (1 title) |
| Website | the-afc.com/olidarity-cup |
Format
editThe competition featured 10 national teams, where each team was guaranteed a minimum of 4 matches.[2] The first edition took place in November 2016. The second edition, scheduled for November and December 2020, was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and later abolished.[3]
The tournament was abolished by the AFC on 27 November 2023, because the revamped qualification format for the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup dovetailed with the initial objectives of the AFC Solidarity Cup, as there was now more exposure for lower-ranked teams to compete over a longer period of time.[3]
Results
edit| Year | Host | Final | Third place match | Number of teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||
| 2016 |  Malaysia
|
 Nepal |
1–0 |  Macau |
 Laos |
3–2 |  Brunei |
7[A] |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
- ^ The 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup was supposed to feature nine teams in the competition. However, Pakistan withdrew after the draw and Bangladesh withdrew after losing in the play-off round.[4][5]
Successful national teams
edit| Team | Champion | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepal
|
1 (2016) | |||
 Macau
|
1 (2016) | |||
 Laos
|
1 (2016) | |||
 Brunei
|
1 (2016) |
Champions by region
edit| Federation (Region) | Champion(s) | Number |
|---|---|---|
| EAFF (East Asia) | ||
| WAFF (West Asia) | ||
| CAFA (Central Asia) | ||
| AFF (Southeast Asia) | ||
| SAFF (South Asia) | Nepal | 1 title |
Participating nations
edit- Legend
|
|
The number of teams in each of the final tournaments is shown.
| Teams | 2016 (7) |
2020 (Cancelled) |
Years |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bangladesh
|
× | × | 0 |
 Bhutan
|
‡ | × | 0 |
| Brunei
|
4th | × | 1 |
| Laos
|
3rd | × | 1 |
| Macau
|
2nd | × | 1 |
 Mongolia
|
GS | × | 1 |
| Nepal
|
1st | × | 1 |
 Pakistan
|
× | × | 0 |
 Sri Lanka
|
GS | × | 1 |
 East Timor
|
GS | × | 1 |
Summary
edit| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laos |
1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 10 |
| 2 | Nepal |
1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 8 |
| 3 | Macau |
1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 8 |
| 4 | Brunei |
1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Mongolia |
1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 3 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka |
1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 |
| 7 | East Timor |
1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 1 |
- The Northern Mariana Islands made their AFC Solidarity Cup debut after having been approved by the AFC to participate (the Northern Mariana Islands is an associate member of the AFC).
Awards
edit| Tournament | Most Valuable Player | Top scorer(s) | Goals | Fair play award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Leong Ka Hang
|
Shahrazen Said Xaysongkham Champathong Niki Torrão
|
4 | Laos
|
Winning coaches
edit| Year | Team | Coaches |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Nepal
|
 Koji Gyotoku
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "AFC Confirms The Name Of The Championship – AFC Solidarity Cup For Six Nations". Goal Nepal. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee decisions". the-afc.com. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "AFC Competitions Committee takes key decisions in second meeting". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 27 November 2023.
- ^ "Pakistan Officially Withdraws from AFC Solidarity Cup; New Fixtures Revealed". Goal Nepal. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ "AFC Solidarity Cup 2016 line-up finalised". The AFC. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2021.