WAFF Championship
OrganiserWAFF
Founded2000 (age 26)
RegionWest Asia
Number of teams12 (2026)
Current championsBahrain (1st title)
Most successful teamIran (4 titles)
Websitethe-waff.com
Current2026 WAFF Championship

The West Asian Football Federation Championship (Arabic: بطولة اتحاد غرب آسيا لكرة القدم), or simply WAFF Championship, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the governing body of football in West Asia. The championship has been held nine times since the first edition in 2000.[1]

The defending champions are Bahrain, having defeated hosts Iraq in the 2019 final. The most successful team is Iran, with four titles; however, they do not compete in the competition anymore as they are no longer members of the WAFF.

History

The inaugural WAFF Championship was held in 2000 in Jordan, with Iran winning the first edition.[2] It was hosted in memory of Hussein of Jordan, who had died a year prior.[3] The Al Hussein Cup, assigned to the winner of each tournament, was designed and manufactured in Italy in 2000, and is made of silver and copper.[2]

Results

EditionYearHostsChampionsScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth placeNo. of Teams
12000Jordan'1–04–18
22002Syria'3–22–2
(4–2 pen.)
6
32004Iran'4–13–16
42007Jordan'2–1Jordan and Syria["note" 1]6
52008Iran'2–1Qatar and Syria["note" 1]6
62010Jordan'2–1Iraq and Yemen["note" 1]9
72012Kuwait'1–01–011
82013Qatar'2–00–0
(3–2 pen.)
9
92019Iraq'1–0["note" 2]9
102026Oman12
  • a.e.t.: after extra time
  • pen.: after penalty shoot-out
  • TBD: to be determined
Notes

Teams reaching the top four

Teams reaching the top four
TeamTitlesRunners-upThird place1Fourth placeTotal
Iran4 (2000, 2004*, 2007, 2008*)1 (2010)1 (2002)6
Iraq1 (2002)3 (2007, 2012, 2019*)2 (2000, 20102)1 (2004)7
Syria1 (2012)2 (2000, 2004)2 (20072, 20082)1 (2002*)6
Bahrain1 (2019)1 (2013)1 (2012)3
Qatar1 (2013*)1 (20082)2
Kuwait1 (2010)1 (2013)2
Jordan3 (2002, 2008, 2013)2 (2004, 20072*)1 (2000*)6
Yemen1 (20102)1
Oman1 (2012)1
* = hosts
1 = includes semi-finals in case there was no third-place match
2 = semi-final

Records and statistics

Top goalscorers by tournament

YearPlayer(s)Goals
2000Razzaq Farhan4
2002Alireza Nikbakht2
Razzaq Farhan
Muayad Salim
Anas Sari
2004Ali Daei5
2007Mehdi Rajabzadeh2
Salih Sadir
2008Kianoush Rahmati3
2010Ali Al-Nono4
2012Qasim Said4
Ahmad Al Douni
2013Boualem Khoukhi6
2019Hussein Ali3

See also

References

  1. ^ "West Asian Championship". RSSSF. Archived 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  2. ^ ""كأس الحسين".. رمزية تاريخية وعودة ميمونة". The WAFF. Archived 24 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  3. ^ "اتحاد غرب آسيا يُحدد موعد بطولة الرجال العاشرة" (in Arabic). جريدة الغد. 2020-03-18. Archived 30 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  1. ^ The two semi-finalists in 2007, 2008, and 2010 did not play a third-place match.
  2. ^ There were neither semi-finals nor a third-place match in 2019.