The 2008

AFC Challenge Cup The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that were categorised as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme. It was created by former AFC president Mohammed ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tournament was organised by AFC and was hosted by India. The tournament was played from 30 July – 13 August 2008.

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

won the final against

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. India was also the winner of the fair play award and the India

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

won the most valuable player award.

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

was originally designated the host, but could not guarantee it would meet the AFC's standards for hosting the tournament. Thailand was first chosen as host but withdrew due to lack of time to prepare. The Philippines also was to take over as host with matches to be played in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

in May 2008 but the plan failed to materialized. The winners of the 2008 and 2010 competitions will qualify directly for the 2011 Asian Cup. As a result, India qualified for the

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

, the first time since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. This competition is exclusive to members of the ''emerging nations'' class of the AFC. However, in the previous edition,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

were invited from the ''developing nations'' class – Bangladesh actually hosting the tournament, and India sending their under-20 team. India and Bangladesh have again been invited for the 2008 edition of the tournament, along with

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

who are also a part of the ''developing nations'' class. Laos withdrew from the competition on 2 May 2008. Palestine withdrew from the competition on 14 May 2008. Due to the poor conditions of the pitch at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, the AFC moved the majority of the matches to another venue. It was decided that ten matches would be played at the

Gachibowli Athletic Stadium Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi Athletic Stadium (GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium situated in the Gachibowli suburb of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is located beside International Institute of Information Technology ...

, and two at the LBS Stadium. Due to incessant rains in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

in the days leading up to the final, the AFC changed the venue of the final and the third place play-off to the

Ambedkar Stadium Dr. Ambedkar Stadium is a football stadium in New Delhi, India. The stadium is named after Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution. It was earlier known as Corporation Stadium. It has held competitions like ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Tournament

Qualification saw the top team from each of the four qualification groups qualify for the tournament proper, bringing the total number of participating teams in the centralized finals to eight. In addition,

(tournament hosts), Korea DPR,

and

qualified automatically.

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

decided not to take part.

Seeding

Bold Type – qualified teams, ''Italics'' – withdrawn teams # # # # # # # # # ' (Withdrew 14 May 2008) # # # # # # # # # # # ' (Withdrew 2 May 2008)

Venues

Qualification

The following teams qualified for the final tournament: * (Host) * (Automatic Qualifier) * (Automatic Qualifier) * (Automatic Qualifier) * (Winner Qualification Group A) * (Winner Qualification Group B) * (Winner Qualification Group C) * (Winner Qualification Group D)

Squads

Group stage

All times are

Indian Standard Time Indian Standard Time (IST), sometimes also called India Standard Time, is the time zone observed throughout the Republic of India, with a time offset of UTC+05:30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments. I ...

(IST) – UTC+5:30

Tie-breaking criteria

Where two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria: # points earned in the matches between the teams concerned; # goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned; # number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned; # goal difference in all group matches; # number of goals scored in all group matches; # kicks from the penalty mark (if only two teams are level and they are both on the field of play); # fewer yellow and red cards received in the group matches; # drawing of lots by the organising committee.

Group A

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group B

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

----

Third place play-off

Final

Winner

Awards

Goalscorers

;6 goals *

Pak Song-chol Pak Song-chol or Park Sung-chul (; 2 September 1913 – 28 October 2008) was a North Korean politician who served as Premier of North Korea from 1976 to 1977. He succeeded Kim Il. He also served as foreign minister from 1959 to 1970. Biog ...

;4 goals *

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (, born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and captains the India national team. He is the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history. He is ...

* Yusuf Rabiev * Guwançmuhammet Öwekow ;3 goals *

;2 goals *

Soe Myat Min U Soe Myat Min (, ; born 19 May 1982) is a former Burmese footballer. He played for the Myanmar national team and spent the majority of his club career at Kanbawza. Making his debut for the national team since 1998, he was made captain for th ...

* Ro Hak-su ;1 goal *

Climax Lawrence Climax Lourenco Lawrence (born 16 January 1979) is a retired Indian professional football midfielder. He last played for FC Bardez in the Goa Professional League in 2017. National team In 2002, he was called to the India national football team ...

Myo Min Tun Myo Min Tun (born 14 June 1983) is a Burmese former footballer. He made his first appearance for the Myanmar national football team The Myanmar national football team () represents Myanmar in men's international association football and is ...

* Si Thu Win * Yan Paing * Yazar Win Thein ;1 goal * K.C. Anjan *

Ju Manu Rai Ju Manu Rai (Nepali: जुमानु राई; born 24 January 1984) is a Nepalese footballer, who played for Nepal Police Club and the national side. Career Born in Sarlahi District, Nepal he used to play the local tournaments of football ...

Santosh Sahukhala Santosh Sahukhala (; born 10 January 1988) is a Nepali international football forward. Early life As a child he played at the Madhyapur Football Club. His elder brother Bal Gopal Sahukhala is also a professional footballer. He started playi ...

Kasun Jayasuriya Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya (born 25 March 1980) is a retired Sri Lankan football forward who last played for Saunders Sports Club and the Sri Lanka national football team. He is the all-time top goalscorer for the Sri Lankan national team with 27 ...

Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev Fatkhullo Dastamovich Fatkhulloyev (; born 24 March 1990) is a Tajik professional footballer who plays as a winger for Tajikistan Higher League club Eskhata and the Tajikistan national team. Career Club Fatkhulloyev began his senior club c ...

Dzhomikhon Mukhidinov Çomixon Muxiddinov (; born on 15 April 1976) is a Tajikistani former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a member of the Tajikistan national team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. Career statistics ''Sta ...

Davronjon Tukhtasunov Davronjon Tukhtasunov (born 14 May 1990) is a Tajikistani footballer who plays for FK Khujand. He is a member of the Tajikistan national football team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He also joined the 2007 FIFA U-17 World ...

* Vyacheslav Krendelev * Ýusup Orazmämmedow ;Own goal * Madushka Peiris (playing against Korea DPR) *

Alisher Tuychiev Alisher Tuychiev (; born 8 March 1976) is a Tajikistani football player of Uzbek descent. Career Club Tuychiev was released by FC Istiklol at the end of the 2015 season. On 4 January 2016, Tuychiev was registered by FK Khujand for their 2016 ...

(playing against

)

Team statistics

This table shows all team performance. Matches that ended in a penalty shoot out are counted as draws Source:

References

External links

Official Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenge Cup

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2008 in AFC football

2 2008 in Tajikistani football 2008 in Turkmenistani football 2008 in Afghan football 2008 in North Korean football 2008–09 in Sri Lankan football 2008 in Burmese football 2008 in Nepalese sport