AFC Cup 2023/24

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The 46-year-old Englishman, while delighted that his players passed a stiff test, does not see it as the end of a journey for his Australian outfit, saying the club from top to bottom stand together in their bid to win the final edition of the AFC Cup.