Preview - Final: Al Ahed FC (LBN) v Central Coast Mariners (AUS)

Mon, 06 May, 2024

Preview - Final: Al Ahed FC (LBN) v Central Coast Mariners (AUS)

Muscat: Al Ahed FC and Central Coast Mariners will both be aiming to create history when they face off in the AFC Cup™ 2023/24 final on Sunday.

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.

www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_cup/video/afccup_-_preview_final.html

#AFCCup Final: Ones to Watch

Fri, 03 May, 2024

#AFCCup Final: Ones to Watch

Muscat: The curtains will come down on the AFC Cup™ when Al Ahed FC of Lebanon face off against Central Coast Mariners of Australia in the 2023-24 final at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman on Sunday as the tournament gets ready for its final chapter.

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.

#AFCCup: Al Ahed FC - Road to the Final

Thu, 02 May, 2024

#AFCCup: Al Ahed FC - Road to the Final

Muscat: Twenty years since it started, the AFC Cup™ reaches its end point with Lebanon’s Al Ahed competing against Australia’s Central Coast Mariners in the final of the 2023/24 edition, the last before it makes way for the AFC's new club competitions structure.

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.

#AFCCup: Central Coast Mariners - Road to the Final

Wed, 01 May, 2024

#AFCCup: Central Coast Mariners - Road to the Final

Muscat: After becoming the first-ever club from Australia to reach the final of the AFC Cup™, Central Coast Mariners will aim to go one step further when they take on Lebanon’s Al Ahed FC in an eagerly-awaited title clash on Sunday.

With a new three-tier system featuring the AFC Champions League Elite, the AFC Champions League 2 and the AFC Challenge League to be introduced from the 2024/25 season, both Al Ahed and Central Coast will be eager to bring the curtains down on the two-decade-old competition by emerging as its last-ever champion.
 
With excitement growing ahead of the title showdown at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, join the-AFC.com as we look back at Central Coast’s memorable journey to the AFC Cup 2023/24 final.

#AFCCup: Memorable Finals

Tue, 30 Apr, 2024

#AFCCup: Memorable Finals

Doha: After 18 finals which produced 12 different champions representing nine different nations, the AFC Cup™ comes to an end with Al Ahed SC and Central Coast Mariners contesting the 2023-24 final, the last one before the competition makes way for a new AFC Clubs Competitions format.

Over the years, AFC Cup finals saw their fair share of goals, drama and unforgettable celebrations. Ahead of the last AFC Cup final, the-AFC.com looks back at five of the most memorable final showdowns in the history of the competition.

#AFCCup: Records & Milestones

Tue, 30 Apr, 2024

#AFCCup: Records & Milestones

Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Cup™ 2023/24 final between Lebanon’s Al Ahed SC and Central Coast Mariners of Australia on Sunday marks the end of an era as the game will bring the curtain down on the continental competition for the last time.

The tournament’s 19th edition will be its last as a glorious chapter in Asian football comes to an end two decades after the AFC Cup was launched back in 2004.
 
As the-AFC.com continues its build-up towards the grand finale, we look back at some of the records and milestones from through the years.

#AFCCup - Revisited

Mon, 29 Apr, 2024

#AFCCup - Revisited

Riyadh: When Lebanon’s Al Ahed take on Australia’s Central Coast Mariners at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Sunday in the last ever AFC Cup™ final, the competition will have gone full circle in its two decades of existence.

Twenty years and three months earlier, it was another Lebanese team that kicked-off this iconic competition, and coincidentally, it was on the same famous ground in the Omani capital Muscat that Olympic Beirut then opened the 2004 edition against Syria’s Al Jaish.
 
After 19 editions and 12 different champions that could go up to 13 on Sunday, the curtain falls on the AFC Cup as the AFC club competitions enter a new era with the introduction of a three-tier system including the AFC Champions League Elite, the AFC Champions League 2 and the AFC Challenge League in 2024/25.