AFC Cup 2023/24

As the Mariners hoisted the AFC Cup™ trophy for the last time, Sunday’s victory marked the end of an era for Asian club football with the 20-year-old competition setting the path for the new and improved revamped three-tier club competition structure later this year.

Alou Kuol's 84th minute strike at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex clinched the title for Central Coast, with the triumph coming a decade after Western Sydney Wanderers had lifted the AFC Champions League™ title.

Seeking to win the AFC Cup for a second time, Lebanon's Al Ahed had to be satisfied with a second place finish following Alou Kuol's late winner for Australia's Central Coast Mariners.

The defender played a key role in Central Coast's AFC Cup journey, with the Australian club defeating Lebanon's Al Ahed FC 1-0 in the final at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Sunday.

On their debut in the competition, Mariners became just the second Australian club to win an AFC competition, a decade after Western Sydney Wanderers won the AFC Champions League™ on their own debut.

The final marked the last-ever game in the AFC Cup which will make way for the three-tier AFC competitions from next season; the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League 2 and AFC Challenge League.

Lebanon's Al Ahed are seeking to lift the trophy for a second time after emerging champions in 2019 while Central Coast will be bidding to become the first Australian side to win the title in the final season of the AFC Cup.

With the first edition of the AFC Cup™ being launched in 2004, Sunday’s final will see the curtains come down on the prestigious tournament, marking the end of an illustrious 19-year run filled with some of the most iconic moments in Asian club football, as the 2024/25 season enters a new era with the introduction of the revamped three-tier club structure.

Having been introduced to the Asian football calendar two decades ago, the competition has seen 12 clubs from nine different nations being crowned as champions with Al Ahed themselves lifting the trophy in 2019 when they beat DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC in the final.

With the Lebanese side aiming to lift the coveted trophy for the second time against the A-League champions who’ve had a memorable debut season in the AFC Cup, the-AFC.com picks out three players from each side who could prove to be pivotal in the decider.

While this is the maiden appearance for the Australian side, very few teams have been as ever-present as Al Ahed, who appeared in the AFC Cup 12 times. The current iteration of the team had a rollercoaster ride of a season, taking them to the final. The-AFC.com relives the journey of the team from Beirut to Sunday’s final.