Afro-Asian Cup of Nations

Summary

The Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, also called the AFC Asia/Africa Challenge Cup, was an intercontinental football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), contested between representative nations from these confederations, usually the winners of the Africa Cup of Nations and the winners of the AFC Asian Cup or the Asian Games. All editions were official competitions of CAF and AFC[1]

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
Organising bodyCAF and AFC
Founded1978; 46 years ago (1978)
Abolished2007; 17 years ago (2007)
RegionAfrica
Asia
Number of teams2
Last champions Japan (2007)
Most successful team(s) Japan (2 titles)

History edit

  • The first edition was in 1978. Iran defeated Ghana 3–0 in the first leg, but the second leg was cancelled due to political problems in Iran, and the trophy was not awarded.
  • The competition was completed in 1985, 1987, 1991, 1993 and 1995, but the 1989 competition was cancelled.
  • The 1997 edition was severely delayed to 1999, while the "true" 1999 edition (between Egypt and Iran) was also cancelled.
  • The competition was discontinued following a CAF decision on July 30, 2000, after AFC representatives had supported Germany rather than South Africa in the vote for hosting the 2006 World Cup. The competition was scheduled to be resumed in 2005 with the match Tunisia-Japan, but was then cancelled once again.
  • The competition resumed in 2007 under the name "AFC Asia/Africa Challenge Cup". The 2008 edition was scheduled to be played in November 2008 between Iraq and Egypt in the neutral venue of Saudi Arabia, but was eventually cancelled.

Results and statistics edit

Finals edit

Year Hosts Final
Team 1 Score Team 2
1978
Details
  Iran  
Iran
3–0  
Ghana
  Ghana Cancelled[n 1]
1985
Details
  Cameroon  
Cameroon
4–1  
Saudi Arabia
  Saudi Arabia 1–2
1987
Details
  Qatar  
South Korea
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
 
Egypt
1991
Details
  Iran  
Iran
2–1  
Algeria
  Algeria 0–1
1993
Details
  Japan  
Japan
1–0 (a.e.t.)  
Ivory Coast
1995
Details
  Uzbekistan  
Uzbekistan
2–3  
Nigeria
  Nigeria 0–1
1997
Details
  South Africa  
South Africa
1–0  
Saudi Arabia
  Saudi Arabia 0–0
2007
Details
  Japan  
Japan
4–1  
Egypt

Most successful national teams edit

Team Winners Runners-Up
  Japan 2 (1993, 2007)
  Cameroon 1 (1985)
  South Korea 1 (1987)
  Algeria 1 (1991)
  Nigeria 1 (1995)
  South Africa 1 (1999)
  Saudi Arabia
2 (1985, 1999)
  Egypt
2 (1987, 2007)
  Iran
1 (1991)
  Ivory Coast
1 (1993)
  Uzbekistan
1 (1995)

Results by confederation edit

Confederation Winners Runners-up
CAF 4 (1985, 1991, 1995, 1997) 3 (1987, 1993, 2007)
AFC 3 (1987, 1993, 2007) 4 (1985, 1991, 1995, 1997)

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The second leg of the 1978 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations between Ghana and Iran was cancelled due to the Iranian Revolution. In the first leg, Iran beat Ghana 3–0.

References edit

  1. ^ "Ahmad Ahmad confident that Afro-Asia".

External links edit

  • Afro-Asian Cup of Nations at the RSSSF
  • Coupe Afro-asiatique des nation at Football-the-story.com