Afghanistan Champions League

Afghanistan Champions League

Founded	2021;4 years ago (2021)
Country	Afghanistan
Confederation	AFC
Number of clubs	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Province League
International cup(s)	AFC Challenge League
Current champions	Abu Muslim (1) (2024–25)
Most championships	Attack Energy (2 titles)
Broadcaster(s)	Ariana Television Network
Current: 2025–26 Afghanistan Champions League

The Afghanistan Champions League is a professional men's football league run by the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF). The competition commenced in 2021. ^[1]

History

The Afghanistan Champions League was established to replace the Afghan Premier League. ^{[2] [1]} The league consisted of 12 clubs from Kabul, Herat and Balkh. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]} In 2023, the league was not held due to financial crisis. ^{[11] [12]} In January 2024, the Afghanistan Football Federation announced the return of the league. ^{[13] [14] [15]} In 2024, Attack Energy SC won their second consecutive title after finishing the season unbeaten. ^{[16] [17] [18]} Abu Muslim won their first ever Afghan league title in the 2024–25 season, also finishing undefeated. ^[19] However, Abu Muslim's match against Adalat Farah, ending in a controversial 8–0 victory, was marred by the allegations of match-fixing. ^{[20] [21]}

Champions

Year	Champion	Runner-up
2021	Sorkh Poshan	Istiqlal
2022	Attack Energy	Abu Muslim
2024	Attack Energy	Sorkh Poshan
2024–25	Abu Muslim	Attack Energy

League wins by club

Club	Wins	Winning year
Attack Energy	2	2022, 2024
Abu Muslim	1	2024–25
Sorkh Poshan	1	2021

Clubs

The following 12 clubs competed in the 2024–25 Afghanistan Champions League season.

Club	Location
Abu Muslim	Farah
Adalat Farah	Farah
Aino Mina	Kandahar
Attack Energy	Herat
Istiqlal	Kabul
Khadim	Sar-e Pol
Khurasan	Faryab
Mawj Sahel Sahet	Takhar
Perrozi Kabul	Kabul
Sarafan	Herat
Sarsabz Yashlar	Faryab
Sorkh Poshan	Herat

Media coverage and sponsorships

In April 2024, Ariana Television Network signed a deal with the Afghanistan Football Federation to broadcast the third season of the Afghanistan Champions League live, legally and exclusively. ^[22] The league was sponsored by Victor Energy Drink. ^[22]

Awards

Top scorer

Year	Player/s	Club	Goals	Ref.
2021	N/A	N/A	N/A
2022	N/A	N/A	N/A
2024	Ahmed Nabi Muqddas	Aino Mina	N/A	[23]
2024–25	Farhad Alizadeh	Sorkh Poshan	18	[24]

Most Valuable Player

Year	Player/s	Club	Ref.
2021	N/A	N/A
2022	N/A	N/A
2024	Hamid Amiri	Sorkh Poshan	[23]
2024–25	Zulfiqar Nazari	Abu Muslim	[24]

Goalkeeper of the year

Year	Player/s	Club	Ref.
2021	N/A	N/A
2022	N/A	N/A
2024	Faisal Hamidi	Attack Energy	[23]
2024–25	Faisal Hamidi	Attack Energy	[24]

See also

• Football in Afghanistan

References

1. "Afghanistan 2021". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
2. "Afghanistan - List of Champions". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
3. "Afghanistan 2021". Facebook .
4. "Football: Afghanistan Champions League Kicks Off in Kabul". TOLOnews. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
5. "Kabul beats Laghman in Afghanistan football champions league". 2021-03-28. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
6. "Afghanistan 2022". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
7. Ahmed, Faiz (20 December 2023). "Pakistan Footballer Set to Join Afghanistan Football Club". ProPakistani.
8. Ahmed, Faiz (28 December 2023). "Pakistan's Shayak Dost Officially Signs for Abu Muslim FC in Afghanistan Premier League". ProPakistani.
9. Alexander, Shayan Obaid (2 February 2024). "Pakistan's Star Defender Abdullah Shah Joins Afghan Champions League". ProPakistani.
10. Jafari, Shir Ali (2022-12-06). "Attack Energy's Football Team Won the Afghanistan Champions League The Killid Group". The Killid Group. Archived from the original on 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
11. "چرا فوتبال در افغانستان پیشرفت نمی‌کند؟". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
12. "آشفته و نگران؛ فوتبال افغانستان با سرمربی انگلیسی‌اش آماده تقابل با قطر و کویت می‌شود". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
13. "قابل توجه فوتبال دوستان عزیز، نظر به جلسه اخیر کمیته های تخنیکی فدراسیون فوتبال افغانستان در مورد رقابت های لیگ قهرمانان فوتبال افغانستان (ACL) سال 2023 تصمیم بر این شد که مسابقات مذکور بعد از ماه مبارک رمضان در تاریخ 20 اپریل 2024 برگزار خواهد شد". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
14. "SPORTATN seals agreement to broadcast 3rd season of Afghanistan Champions League". Ariana News. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
15. Sarwari, Sohrab (9 April 2024). "Afghanistan Champion League to kick off on April 20". Pahwok Afghan News. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
16. "Attack Energy's flawless run ends in an ACL triumph | Ariana News". www.ariananews.af. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
17. Aarons, Ed; Molina, Romain (2025-02-18). "Afghan club disbands after alleging match-fixing in champions' 8-0 win". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-03-28.
18. Aarons, Ed (2025-03-27). "'Getting worse': former Afghanistan captain's anger at state of football in homeland". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-03-28.
19. "قهرمانی مبارک💪♥️". www.instagram.com (in Persian). 7 January 2025.
20. Aarons, Ed; Molina, Romain (2025-02-18). "Afghan club disbands after alleging match-fixing in champions' 8-0 win". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-03-28.
21. Aarons, Ed (2025-03-27). "'Getting worse': former Afghanistan captain's anger at state of football in homeland". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-03-28.
22. "SPORTATN seals agreement to broadcast 3rd season of Afghanistan Champions League". Ariana News. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
23. "Attack Energy's flawless run ends in an ACL triumph | Ariana News". 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
24. "The competitions of the Champions League of the country ended with the championship of Abu Muslim Farah team | AVA". Afghan Voice Agency (AVA). 2025-01-08. Retrieved 2025-01-18.

External links

• RSSSF.com – Afghanistan – list of champions