AFC Women's Asian Cup

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AFC Women's Asian Cup
Organising bodyAFC
Founded1975; 49 years ago (1975)
RegionAsia
Number of teams12 (finals)
35 (qualifiers)
Qualifier forFIFA Women's World Cup
Current champions China
(9th title)
Most successful team(s) China
(9 titles)
2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup

The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football competition and premier women's football competition in the AFC region for national teams. The competition is also known as the Asian Women's Football Championship and the Asian Women's Championship. 20 tournaments have been held, with the current champions being China PR. The competition also serves as Asian qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup.

History[edit]

The competition was set up by the Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC), a part of the AFC responsible for women's football. The first competition was held in 1975 and was held every two years after this, except for a period in the 1980s where the competition was held every three years. The ALFC was initially a separate organisation but was absorbed into the AFC in 1986.

From 1975 to 1981, matches were 60 minutes in duration.[1]

The competition has been dominated by countries from the Pacific Rim or Eastern Asia (including East and Southeast Asia), with the China women's national football team having won 9 times, including a series of 7 consecutive victories as of 2022 edition. Countries from Central and West Asia have been rather less successful, with only Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Jordan and Iran having qualified so far. Eastern Asia has also been far more frequent in participating in the FIFA Women's World Cup, with five strongest women's teams of Asia (China, North Korea, Japan, Australia and South Korea) hail from this part.

The tournament frequency changed to every 4 years effective from 2010,[2] after AFC had announced that the Asian Cup will additionally serve as the qualification rounds of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.[3]

Until 2003, teams were invited by the AFC to compete. From 2006, a separate qualification was established and the number of teams will be decided by the merit by qualification process. The name of the tournament was also changed to as the "AFC Women's Asian Cup", to reflect the change and reforms of the competition.

The tournament was expanded from eight teams to twelve starting from the 2022 edition.[4]

On 20 August 2023, AFC has decided to shift the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to non-FIFA Women’s World Cup odd years, which will see the edition after the upcoming 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup takes place in 2029 instead of 2030.[5]

Qualification[edit]

Format[edit]

All of the 47 members of the AFC who have a women's national team are eligible to participate in the qualification tournament.

Starting from 2022 edition, a total of twelve teams participate in the final tournament including the hosts, top three finishers of the previous edition and eight teams from the qualification tournament.[4]

Results[edit]

Tournament Names
  • 1975–2003: AFC Women's Championship
  • 2006–Ongoing: AFC Women's Asian Cup
Edition Year Hosts Final Third place playoff or losing semi-finalists Teams
Champions Score Runners-up Third Place Score Fourth Place
1 1975  Hong Kong
New Zealand
3–1
Thailand

Australia[a]
5–0
Malaysia
6
2 1977  Republic of China
Republic of China
[b]
3–1
Thailand

Singapore
2–0
Indonesia
6
3 1980  India
Republic of China
2–0
India S[c]
 Hong Kong and Western AustraliaWestern Australia[d] 6
4 1981  Hong Kong
Mulan Taipei
[e]
5–0
Thailand

India
2–0
Hong Kong
8
5 1983  Thailand
Thailand
3–0
India

Malaysia
0–0
(5–4 p)

Singapore
6
6 1986  Hong Kong
China
2–0
Japan

Thailand
3–0
Indonesia
7
7 1989  Hong Kong
China
1–0
Chinese Taipei

Japan
3–1
Hong Kong
8
8 1991  Japan
China
5–0
Japan

Chinese Taipei
0–0 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)

North Korea
9
9 1993  Malaysia
China
3–0
North Korea

Japan
3–0
Chinese Taipei
9
10 1995  Malaysia
China
2–0
Japan

Chinese Taipei
0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–0 p)

South Korea
11
11 1997  China
China
2–0
North Korea

Japan
2–0
Chinese Taipei
11
12 1999  Philippines
China
3–0
Chinese Taipei

North Korea
3–2
Japan
15
13 2001  Chinese Taipei
North Korea
2–0
Japan

China
8–0
South Korea
14
14 2003  Thailand
North Korea
2–1 (a.e.t.)
China

South Korea
1–0
Japan
14
15 2006  Australia
China
2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)

Australia

North Korea
3–2
Japan
9
16 2008  Vietnam
North Korea
2–1
China

Japan
3–0
Australia
8
17 2010  China
Australia
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)

North Korea

Japan
2–0
China
8
18 2014  Vietnam
Japan
1–0
Australia

China
2–1
South Korea
8
19 2018  Jordan
Japan
1–0
Australia

China
3–1
Thailand
8
20 2022  India
China
3–2
South Korea
 Japan and  Philippines 12
21 2026  Australia 12
22 2029  Uzbekistan

Performance by nation[edit]

Rank Nation Champions Runners-up Third Place Fourth Place Semi-finalists Total
1  China 9 2 3 1 0 15
2  North Korea 3 3 2 1 0 9
3  Chinese Taipei 3 2 2 2 0 9
4  Japan 2 4 5 3 1 15
5  Australia 1 3 2 1 0 7
6  Thailand 1 3 1 1 0 6
7  New Zealand 1 0 0 0 0 1
8  India 0 2 1 0 0 3
9  South Korea 0 1 1 3 0 5
10  Hong Kong 0 0 1 2 0 3
11  Malaysia 0 0 1 1 0 2
 Singapore 0 0 1 1 0 2
13  Indonesia 0 0 0 2 0 2
14  Philippines 0 0 0 0 1 1
Total 20 20 21 17 2 80

Participating nations[edit]

Team Hong Kong
1975
(6)
Taiwan
1977
(6)
India
1980
(6)
Hong Kong
1981
(8)
Thailand
1983
(6)
Hong Kong
1986
(7)
Hong Kong
1989
(8)
Japan
1991
(9)
Malaysia
1993
(8)
Malaysia
1995
(11)
China
1997
(11)
Philippines
1999
(15)
Chinese Taipei
2001
(14)
Thailand
2003
(14)
Australia
2006
(9)
Vietnam
2008
(8)
China
2010
(8)
Vietnam
2014
(8)
Jordan
2018
(8)
India
2022
(12)
Years
 Australia 3rd 3rd Not AFC member 2nd 4th 1st 2nd 2nd QF 8
 China 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 4th 3rd 3rd 1st 15
 Chinese Taipei 1st 1st 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 3rd 4th 2nd GS GS GS GS QF 14
 Guam GS GS GS GS 4
 Hong Kong GS GS 3rd 4th GS GS 4th GS GS GS GS GS GS GS 14
 India 2nd 3rd 2nd GS GS GS GS GS WD[f] 9
 Indonesia 4th GS 4th GS GS 5
 Iran GS 1
 Japan GS GS 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 4th 2nd 4th 4th 3rd 3rd 1st 1st SF 17
 Jordan GS GS 2
 Kazakhstan Part of Soviet Union GS GS GS No longer AFC member 3
 North Korea GS 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 1st 3rd 1st 2nd 10
 South Korea GS GS 4th GS GS 4th 3rd GS GS GS 4th 5th 2nd 13
 Malaysia 4th GS 3rd GS GS GS GS GS GS 9
 Myanmar GS GS GS GS GS 5
 Nepal GS GS GS 3
 New Zealand 1st Not AFC member 1
 Philippines GS GS GS GS GS GS GS GS 6th SF 10
 Singapore GS 3rd GS 4th GS GS GS 7
 Thailand 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 3rd GS GS GS GS GS GS GS GS GS 5th 4th QF 17
 Uzbekistan Part of Soviet Union GS GS GS GS GS 5
 Vietnam GS GS GS GS GS GS 6th GS QF 9

Summary (1975-2022)[edit]

Rank Team Part M W D L GF GA GD Points
1  China 15 75 61 5 9 367 38 +329 188
2  Japan 17 81 55 6 20 365 60 +305 171
3  Chinese Taipei 14 64 38 6 20 175 84 +91 120
4  North Korea 10 53 36 6 11 242 38 +204 114
5  Thailand 17 69 34 2 33 115 171 −56 104
6  South Korea 13 54 28 7 19 157 77 +80 91
7  Australia 8 40 21 6 13 88 43 +45 69
8  India 9 36 16 4 16 63 61 +2 52
9  Hong Kong 14 57 11 4 42 26 191 −165 37
10  Vietnam 9 33 11 1 21 39 92 −53 34
11  Singapore 7 27 7 1 19 21 115 −94 22
12  Uzbekistan 5 16 7 0 9 15 64 −49 21
13  Malaysia 9 34 5 3 26 20 161 −141 18
14  Philippines 10 36 5 2 29 22 187 −165 17
15  Indonesia 5 17 4 1 12 17 77 −60 13
16  New Zealand 1 4 4 0 0 11 3 +8 12
17  Kazakhstan 3 9 2 2 5 16 39 −23 8
18  Myanmar 5 17 2 2 13 16 56 −40 8
19  Guam 4 15 1 0 14 5 112 −107 3
20  Iran 1 3 0 1 2 0 12 −12 1
21  Jordan 2 6 0 0 6 5 29 −24 0
22  Nepal 3 10 0 0 10 1 67 −66 0

Awards[edit]

Year Most Valuable Player Top Scorer Goals Best goalkeeper Fairplay Award
2006 China Ma Xiaoxu Japan Yūki Nagasato
South Korea Jung Jung-suk
7 Not awarded  China
2008 Japan Homare Sawa North Korea Ri Kum-suk 7  Japan
2010 North Korea Jo Yun-mi Japan Kozue Ando
Japan Homare Sawa
North Korea Jo Yun-mi
South Korea Yoo Young-a
3  China
2014 Japan Aya Miyama China Yang Li
South Korea Park Eun-sun
6  Japan
2018 Japan Mana Iwabuchi China Li Ying 7  Japan
2022 China Wang Shanshan Australia Sam Kerr 7 China Zhu Yu  South Korea

Winning coaches[edit]

Year Team Coach
1975  New Zealand New Zealand Dave Farrington
1977  Republic of China Taiwan Liu Jun-tse
1980  Republic of China Taiwan Chang Teng-yun
1981  Mulan Taipei Taiwan Kao Yong
1983  Thailand Thailand Fuengwit Thongpramul
1986  China China Cong Zheyu
1989  China China Shang Ruihua
1991  China China Shang Ruihua
1993  China China Ma Yuanan
1995  China China Ma Yuanan
1997  China China Ma Yuanan
1999  China China Ma Yuanan
2001  North Korea North Korea Ri Song-gun
2003  North Korea North Korea Ri Song-gun
2006  China China Ma Liangxing
2008  North Korea North Korea Kim Kwang-min
2010  Australia Scotland Tom Sermanni
2014  Japan Japan Norio Sasaki
2018  Japan Japan Asako Takakura
2022  China China Shui Qingxia

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Australia was represented by a team largely from the St. George club and the New South Wales state team.[6] These games were recognised as official Australian international fixtures in 2023.
  2. ^ Competes as Chinese Taipei since 1981, in compliance with the International Olympic Committee's Nagoya Resolution in 1979. Previously referred to as the Republic of China.[7]
  3. ^ Host country India had two teams that played in this competition: India N and India S
  4. ^ The match was cancelled as the Hong Kong team had already booked their flights home before kickoff, failing which they would have had to stay in India for a further four days for the next available flight to Hong Kong, which was impossible due to scheduling and logistical issues. Both teams were awarded joint third place.
  5. ^ The team competed under the club name "Mulan Taipei". Chinese Taipei requested two other national teams to compete under the club name as well.[8]
  6. ^ India failed to name the required 13 players and were unable to play their match of the group stage against Chinese Taipei due to them having only fewer than 13 players left with the remaining team members testing positive for COVID-19. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them were considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Asian Women's Championship". Archived from the original on 21 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Competition Regulations AFC Women's Asian Cup 2014 Qualifiers". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 25 July 2012. The AFC stages the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2014 (Qualifiers) (hereafter the "Competition") for the senior women's national teams once every four (4) years. (In Section 1)[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "VFF Aim To Host 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup". Asean Football Federation. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b "AFC to invest in new era of national team and club competitions". AFC. 26 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Key principles of landmark AFC Women's Champions League approved by AFC Women's Football Committee". Asian Football Confederation. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. ^ Howe, Andrew; Werner, Greg. Encyclopedia of Matildas. Fair Play Publishing. ISBN 978-1-925914-74-0.
  7. ^ History of the AFC Women's Asian Cup (PDF) (Print ed.). Asian Football Confederation, International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES). FIFA Museum. January 2022. pp. 5, 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2022.
  8. ^ History of the AFC Women's Asian Cup (PDF) (Print ed.). Asian Football Confederation, International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES). FIFA Museum. January 2022. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Latest update on the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022". Asian Football Confederation. 23 January 2022.

External links[edit]

Further reading[edit]