2019 AFC Champions League
Al-Hilal defeated Urawa Red Diamonds 3–0 on aggregate in the final to earn a record third Champions League title. As winners, they qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.


2019 AFC Champions League
Kashima Antlers were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Guangzhou Evergrande in the quarter-finals on away goals.


2019 AFC Champions League, Association team allocation
The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) were ranked, based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):


2019 AFC Champions League, Association team allocation, Association ranking
For the 2019 AFC Champions League, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017, which took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, between 2014 and 2017.


2019 AFC Champions League, Teams
The following 51 teams from 22 associations entered the competition.


2019 AFC Champions League, Teams
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League. TH means title holders.


2019 AFC Champions League, Qualifying play-offs
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2). The eight winners of the play-off round (four each from both West Region and East Region) advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slot entered the AFC Cup group stage.


2019 AFC Champions League, Qualifying play-offs
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region, determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match, was officially announced by the AFC prior to the group stage draw on 22 November 2018. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same tie.


2019 AFC Champions League, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 22 November 2018, 16:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four: four groups each in the West Region (Groups A–D) and the East Region (Groups E–H). Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.


2019 AFC Champions League, Group stage
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.


2019 AFC Champions League, Group stage
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):


2019 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).


2019 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals, which was held on 2 July 2019, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2019 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Round of 16
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups determined by the group stage draw.


2019 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 2 July 2019. In the quarter-finals, the four round of 16 winners from the West Region (whose identity was not known at the time of the draw) played in two ties, and the four round of 16 winners from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection.


2019 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.


2019 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the West Region, second leg hosted by team from the East Region) reversed from the previous season's final.


2019 AFC Champions League, Top scorers
Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).


2019 AFC Champions League Final
The 2019 AFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2019 AFC Champions League, the 38th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 17th under the current AFC Champions League title.


2019 AFC Champions League Final
The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal and Japanese team Urawa Red Diamonds. The first leg was hosted by Al-Hilal at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on 9 November 2019, while the second leg was hosted by Urawa Red Diamonds at the Saitama Stadium 2002 in Saitama on 24 November 2019. The final was a rematch of the 2017 final, which Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.


2019 AFC Champions League Final
Al-Hilal won their third Asian club championship, tying the record set by the Pohang Steelers for most in the competition's history. They won 3–0 on aggregate, having defeated the Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 in the first leg and 2–0 in the second. This marked the first time in eight years that a team from West Zone won the competition since Al Sadd won it in 2011. As winners, Al-Hilal earned the right to represent the AFC at the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the second round.


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Teams
In the following table, finals until 2002 were in the Asian Club Championship era, since 2003 were in the AFC Champions League era.


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Venues
This was the first time that an Asian club final took place at the King Saud University Stadium. Saitama Stadium 2002 hosted an Asian club final for the third time, having previously hosted the second legs of 2007 and 2017.


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Format
The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the West Region, second leg hosted by team from the East Region) reversed from the previous season's final. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning side if necessary (Regulations, Section 3. 11.2 & 11.3).


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Matches, First leg, Summary
Peruvian André Carrillo scored the only goal of the match for Al-Hilal.


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Matches, First leg, Details
Assistant referees:Ali Ubaydee (Iraq)Ameer Hussein (Iraq)Fourth official:Watheq Al-Swaiedi (Iraq)Additional assistant referees:Mohanad Qasim Sarray (Iraq)Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Matches, Second leg, Summary
Salem Al-Dawsari scored for Al-Hilal after 74 minutes before Bafétimbi Gomis made his eleventh goal of the tournament, earning him the top goalscorer and best player titles aside of the AFC Champions League trophy.


2019 AFC Champions League Final, Matches, Second leg, Details
Assistant referees:Andrey Tsapenko (Uzbekistan)Timur Gaynullin (Uzbekistan)Fourth official:Ruslan Seratzidinov (Uzbekistan)Additional assistant referees:Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)


2019 AFC Champions League group stage
The 2019 AFC Champions League group stage was played from 4 March to 29 May 2019. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League. The postponement of Group A fixture between Zob Ahan and Al-Nassr made the group stage conclude a week behind schedule.


2019 AFC Champions League group stage, Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 22 November 2018, 16:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four: four groups each in the West Region (Groups A–D) and the East Region (Groups E–H). Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.


2019 AFC Champions League group stage, Draw
The following 32 teams entered into the group stage draw, which included the 24 direct entrants and the eight winners of the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.


2019 AFC Champions League group stage, Format
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.


2019 AFC Champions League group stage, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage
The 2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage was played from 18 June to 24 November 2019. A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2019 AFC Champions League.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Qualified teams
The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage advanced to the round of 16, with both West Region (Groups A–D) and East Region (Groups E–H) having eight qualified teams.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Format
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows. Up to the semi-finals, matches in the West Region were played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the East Region were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals, which was held on 2 July 2019, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Round of 16, Summary
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups determined by the group stage draw.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Summary
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 2 July 2019. In the quarter-finals, the four round of 16 winners from the West Region (whose identity was not known at the time of the draw) played in two ties, and the four round of 16 winners from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Quarter-finals, East Region
3–3 on aggregate. Urawa Red Diamonds won on away goals.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Semi-finals, Summary
In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.


2019 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the West Region, second leg hosted by team from the East Region) reversed from the previous season's final.


2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs
The 2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 5 to 19 February 2019. A total of 27 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League.


2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, Teams
The following 27 teams, split into two regions (West Region and East Region), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of three rounds:


2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, Format
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2). The eight winners of the play-off round (four each from both West Region and East Region) advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slot entered the AFC Cup group stage.


2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region, determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match, was officially announced by the AFC prior to the group stage draw on 22 November 2018. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same tie.


2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, Preliminary round 1, Summary
A total of six teams played in the preliminary round 1.


2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, Preliminary round 2, Summary
A total of 16 teams played in the preliminary round 2: 13 teams which entered in this round, and three winners of the preliminary round 1.


2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, Play-off round, Summary
A total of 16 teams played in the play-off round: eight teams which entered in this round, and eight winners of the preliminary round 2.


2019 AFC Cup
The 2019 AFC Cup was the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).


2019 AFC Cup
Al-Ahed won the title for the first time, defeating April 25 in the final. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were the title holders, having won the previous three editions of the tournament. However, they were unable to defend the title as Iraqi teams played in the AFC Champions League instead of the AFC Cup in the 2019 edition.


2019 AFC Cup, Association team allocation
The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):


2019 AFC Cup, Association team allocation, Association ranking
For the 2019 AFC Cup, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017, which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, between 2014 and 2017.


2019 AFC Cup, Teams
The following 43 teams from 26 associations entered the competition.


2019 AFC Cup, Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).


2019 AFC Cup, Qualifying play-offs
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3). The four winners of the play-off round (one each from West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, East Asia Zone) advanced to the group stage to join the 32 direct entrants.


2019 AFC Cup, Qualifying play-offs
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone, determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg, was officially announced by the AFC prior to the group stage draw on 22 November 2018.


2019 AFC Cup, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 22 November 2018, 14:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone could not be drawn into the same group.


2019 AFC Cup, Group stage
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advanced to the knockout stage:


2019 AFC Cup, Group stage
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the 11 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, except the final which was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket was decided after the draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, which was held on 2 July 2019, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Zonal semi-finals
In the Zonal semi-finals, the four qualified teams from the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) played in two ties, and the four qualified teams from the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H) played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs determined by the group stage draw and the identity of the best runners-up.


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Zonal finals
The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 2 July 2019. In the Zonal finals, the two winners of West Asia Zonal semi-finals play each other, and the two winners of ASEAN Zonal semi-finals play each other, with the order of legs decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Inter-zone play-off semi-finals
The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 2 July 2019. In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone play in two ties, i.e., the winners of the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the winners of the South Asia Zone (Group E), the winners of the East Asia Zone (Group I), and the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final (whose identity was not known at the time of the draw), with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding.


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Inter-zone play-off final
In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals play each other, with the order of legs determined by the Inter-zone play-off semi-final draw. The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advance to the final.


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Final
In the final, the winners of the West Asia Zonal final and the winners of the Inter-zone play-off final played each other, with the host team (winners of the Inter-zone play-off final) alternated from the previous season's final.


2019 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Final
The match was originally to be hosted by April 25 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on 2 November 2019. However, on 22 October 2019, due to North Korea's decision to ban television transmission of football games, the AFC announced that the final would be held in Shanghai, China in order for the match to be transmitted. On 25 October 2019, the match was rescheduled from 2 November to 4 November and the host city was shifted from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2019 AFC Cup, Top scorers
Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).


2019 AFC Cup Final
The 2019 AFC Cup Final was the final match of the 2019 AFC Cup, the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).


2019 AFC Cup Final
The final was contested as a single match between April 25 from North Korea and Al-Ahed from Lebanon. The match was played at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on 4 November 2019.


2019 AFC Cup Final
Al-Ahed won 1–0 by a goal from Ghanaian player Issah Yakubu. This was Al-Ahed's first continental title, as well as the first for a Lebanese team. April 25 became the first North Korean men's football club to qualify for an Asian final, while Al-Ahed were the third Lebanese side to do so (after Nejmeh in 2005 and Safa in 2008).


2019 AFC Cup Final, Venue
The match was originally to be hosted by April 25 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on 2 November 2019. However, on 22 October 2019, due to North Korea's decision to ban television transmission of football games, the AFC announced that the final would be held in Shanghai, China in order for the match to be transmitted. On 25 October 2019, the match was rescheduled from 2 November to 4 November and the host city was shifted from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2019 AFC Cup Final, Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2019 AFC Cup Final, Format
The final was played as a single match, with the host team (winners of the Inter-zone play-off final) alternated from the previous season's final.


2019 AFC Cup Final, Format
Should it tied after regulation time, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning team.


2019 AFC Cup Final, Match, Details
Man of the Match:Issah Yakubu (Al-Ahed)Assistant referees:Deniye Gedara Palitha Parakkrama Hemathunga (Sri Lanka)Wellabada Hewage Don Senjeewa Premalal (Sri Lanka)Fourth official:Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)Fifth official:Abdullah Al-Jardani (Oman)


2019 AFC Cup group stage
The 2019 AFC Cup group stage was played from 25 February to 26 June 2019. A total of 36 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 11 places in the knockout stage of the 2019 AFC Cup.


2019 AFC Cup group stage, Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 22 November 2018, 14:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone could not be drawn into the same group.


2019 AFC Cup group stage, Draw
The following 36 teams entered into the group stage draw, which included the 32 direct entrants and the four winners of the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.


2019 AFC Cup group stage, Format
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advanced to the knockout stage:


2019 AFC Cup group stage, Format
In the event that a group contains only three teams, it might be played on a double round-robin basis hosted by two of the teams if at least two of the three teams agree to this format (Regulations Article 10.1.7).


2019 AFC Cup group stage, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):


2019 AFC Cup group stage, Schedule
The schedule of each matchday is as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage
The 2019 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 17 June to 4 November 2019. A total of 11 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2019 AFC Cup.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Format
In the knockout stage, the 11 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, except the final which was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Schedule
The schedule of each round is as follows (W: West Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone). Matches in the West Asia Zone were played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while matches in the ASEAN Zone and the Inter-zone play-offs were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket was decided after the draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, which was held on 2 July 2019, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Zonal semi-finals, Summary
In the Zonal semi-finals, the four qualified teams from the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) played in two ties, and the four qualified teams from the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H) played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs determined by the group stage draw and the identity of the best runners-up.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Zonal semi-finals, ASEAN Zone
2–2 on aggregate. Becamex Bình Dương won on away goals.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Zonal finals, Summary
The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 2 July 2019. In the Zonal finals, the two winners of West Asia Zonal semi-finals play each other, and the two winners of ASEAN Zonal semi-finals play each other, with the order of legs decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, Summary
The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 2 July 2019. In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone play in two ties, i.e., the winners of the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the winners of the South Asia Zone (Group E), the winners of the East Asia Zone (Group I), and the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final (whose identity was not known at the time of the draw), with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Inter-zone play-off final, Summary
In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals play each other, with the order of legs determined by the Inter-zone play-off semi-final draw. The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advance to the final.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Final
In the final, the winners of the West Asia Zonal final and the winners of the Inter-zone play-off final played each other, with the host team (winners of the Inter-zone play-off final) alternated from the previous season's final.


2019 AFC Cup knockout stage, Final
The match was originally to be hosted by April 25 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on 2 November 2019. However, on 22 October 2019, due to North Korea's decision to ban television transmission of football games, the AFC announced that the final would be held in Shanghai, China in order for the match to be transmitted. On 25 October 2019, the match was rescheduled from 2 November to 4 November and the host city was shifted from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs
The 2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 5 February to 13 March 2019. A total of 11 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide four of the 36 places in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Cup.


2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs, Teams
The following 11 teams, split into five zones (West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, ASEAN Zone, East Asia Zone), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of two rounds:


2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs, Format
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3). The four winners of the play-off round (one each from West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, East Asia Zone) advanced to the group stage to join the 32 direct entrants.


2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs, Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone, determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg, was officially announced by the AFC prior to the group stage draw on 22 November 2018.


2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs, Preliminary round, Summary
A total of six teams played in the preliminary round.


2019 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs, Play-off round, Summary
A total of eight teams played in the play-off round: five teams which entered in this round, and three winners of the preliminary round.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship
The 2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship was the 10th edition of the AFC Futsal Club Championship, an annual international futsal club tournament in Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Bangkok, Thailand between 7–17 August 2019.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship
Mes Sungun were the defending champions, and were defeated by Nagoya Oceans in the final.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Teams
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 16 associations teams entered the competition, each entering one team. There was no qualification, and all entrants advanced to the final tournament.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Teams
Fifteen of the sixteen associations which participated in the 2018 AFC Futsal Club Championship returned for 2019, with Kuwait entering a representative for the first time since 2015, and replacing the Australian representatives.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Draw
The draw was held on 27 June 2019, 15:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The teams were seeded according to their association's performance in the 2018 AFC Futsal Club Championship, with the team from hosts Thailand automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Squads
Each team had to register a squad of 14 players, minimum two of whom must have been goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 30.1 and 30.2).


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 10.5):


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out (no extra time) is used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 14.1 and 15.1).


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads
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2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads
The 2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship was an international futsal tournament held in Thailand from 7 to 17 August 2019. The 16 clubs involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 14 players, minimum two of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 30.1 and 30.2). Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads
The position listed for each player is per the squad list in the official match reports by the AFC. Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. A flag is included for coaches that are of a different nationality than their own club's nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group A, Port FC
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group A, Osh EREM
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group A, Shenzhen Nanling Tielang
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group A, FS Seoul
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group B, Thái Sơn Nam
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group B, Naft Al-Wasat
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group B, Al-Rayyan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group B, AGMK
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group C, Bank of Beirut
The 15-man preliminary squad was announced on 31 July 2019.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group C, Bank of Beirut
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group C, Vamos Mataram
The 15-man preliminary squad was announced on 1 August 2019. The final squad was announced on 8 August.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group C, Vamos Mataram
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group C, Soro Company
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group C, Victoria University College
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group D, Mes Sungun
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group D, Nagoya Oceans
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group D, Al-Dhafrah
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC Futsal Club Championship squads, Group D, Kazma
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship
The 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship was the 8th edition of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the women's under-16 national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in Thailand between 15 and 28 September 2019, with a total of eight teams competing.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship
The top two teams of the tournament would have qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup (originally 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic) in India as the AFC representatives, besides India who would have automatically qualified as hosts. However, FIFA announced on 17 November 2020 that this edition of the World Cup would be cancelled.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship
This edition was the last to be played as an under-16 tournament, as the AFC have agreed to the proposal for switching the tournament from under-16 to under-17 starting from 2022.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship
North Korea were the defending champions, but were defeated 2–1 in the final by Japan.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Qualification
Four teams qualified directly for the final tournament: the hosts and the top three of 2017. The other four spots were determined by the qualifying stage.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Qualification
A total of 30 teams entered the qualifying stage. Due to the increased number of teams, two qualification rounds were scheduled for the first time. The first round was scheduled for 15–23 September 2018, and the second round was scheduled for 23 February – 3 March 2019.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Venues
The matches are played at two venues, both at the Mueang Chonburi District in Chonburi Province.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Draw
The draw was held on 23 May 2019, 15:30 ICT (UTC+7), at the Oakwood Hotel in Chonburi, Thailand. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship final tournament and qualification, with the hosts Thailand automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Squads
Players born between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2005 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team must register a squad of minimum 16 players and maximum 23 players, minimum two of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 24.1 and 24.2).


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, penalty shoot-out (no extra time) was used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 12.1 and 12.2).


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The following three teams from AFC would have qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup before the tournament was cancelled, including India who would have qualified automatically as host.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, Goalscorers
There were 63 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 3.94 goals per match.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification
The 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification is a women's under-16 football competition which decides the participating teams of the 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification
A total of eight teams qualify to play in the final tournament held in Thailand, four of which are decided by qualification.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Teams
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 33 teams entered the competition, with North Korea, South Korea, and Japan, automatically qualified for the final tournament by their position as the top three teams of the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship and thus not participating in qualification. The final tournament hosts Thailand, despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament, entered to participate in qualification. As a result, a total of 30 teams entered qualification. Due to the increased number of teams, two qualification rounds were scheduled for the first time.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Teams
The draw for the first round of the qualifiers was held on 30 May 2018, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the first round, the 30 teams were drawn into six groups of five teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship final tournament and qualification. The following restrictions were also applied:


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Player eligibility
Players born between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2005 are eligible to compete in the tournament.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams play each other once at a centralised venue.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, First round
The first round was played between 15 and 23 September 2018.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, First round, Ranking of second-placed teams
Due to groups having different number of teams (after the withdrawal of Syria from Group E), the results against the fifth-placed teams in five-team groups are not considered for this ranking.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Second round
The draw for the second round of the qualifiers was held on 7 November 2018, 11:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the second round, the eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship final tournament and qualification. The following restrictions were also applied:


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Second round
The second round was played between 27 February – 7 March 2019.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification, Goalscorers
In total there were 397 goals scored in 68 matches, for an average of 5.84 goals per match.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship squads
The following is a list of squads for each national team competing at the 2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship. The tournament took place in Thailand, between 15–28 September 2019. It was the 8th U-16 age group competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship squads
Players born between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2005 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to register a squad of minimum 16 players and maximum 23 players, minimum two of whom must have been goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 24.1 and 24.2). The full squad listings are below.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship squads, Group A, Japan
The final squad was named on 28 August 2019. Yuna Hazekawa was replaced by Mahiro Asayama on 8 September due to injury.


2019 AFC U-16 Women's Championship squads, Group B, Vietnam
The preliminary squad was named on 7 September 2019. The final squad was announced on 12 September 2019.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship
The 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship was the 10th edition of the AFC U-19 Women's Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the women's under-19 national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in Thailand between 27 October and 9 November 2019, with a total of eight teams competing.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship
The top three teams of the tournament would have qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup (originally 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic) in Costa Rica as the AFC representatives. However, FIFA announced on 17 November 2020 that this edition of the World Cup would be cancelled.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship
This edition was the last to be played as an under-19 tournament, as the AFC had agreed to the proposal for switching the tournament from under-19 to under-20 starting from 2022.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Qualification
Four teams qualified directly for the final tournament: the hosts and the top three of 2017. The other four spots were determined by the qualifying stage.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Qualification
A total of 27 teams entered the qualifying stage. Due to the increased number of teams, two qualification rounds were scheduled for the first time. The first round was scheduled for 20–28 October 2018, and the second round was scheduled for 22–30 April 2019.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Venues
The matches were played at two venues, both at the Mueang Chonburi District in Chonburi Province.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Draw
The draw was held on 23 May 2019, 16:30 ICT (UTC+7), at the Oakwood Hotel in Chonburi, Thailand. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship final tournament and qualification, with the hosts Thailand automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Squads
Players born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 24.1 and 24.2).


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Group stage
Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where there was no extra time and penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3).


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
The following three teams from AFC would have qualified for the 2021 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup before the tournament was cancelled.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, Goalscorers
There were 64 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 4 goals per match.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification
The 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification is a women's under-19 football competition which decides the participating teams of the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification
A total of eight teams qualify to play in the final tournament held in Thailand, four of which are decided by qualification.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Teams
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 30 teams entered the competition, with Japan, North Korea, and China PR, automatically qualified for the final tournament by their position as the top three teams of the 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and thus not participating in qualification. The final tournament hosts Thailand, despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament, entered to participate in qualification. As a result, a total of 27 teams entered qualification. Due to the increased number of teams, two qualification rounds were scheduled for the first time.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Teams
The draw for the first round of the qualifiers was held on 30 May 2018, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the first round, the 27 teams were drawn into six groups: three groups of five teams and three groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship final tournament and qualification. The following restrictions were also applied:


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Teams, Re-draw
Due to the withdrawal of Afghanistan and Northern Mariana Islands after the draw, there were only three teams left in Group E, but still five teams in Groups B and C. As a result, AFC decided to hold a re-draw for the qualification first round to maintain the balance of number of teams across all groups (one group of five teams and five groups of four teams). The re-draw was held at the AFC House on 30 August 2018. In the re-draw, unranked teams from Group B (Pakistan, Nepal, Singapore) and Group C (United Arab Emirates, Guam, Maldives) were placed in a pot and the first ball drawn would be moved to Group E. Singapore was drawn and as a result moved from Group B to Group E.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Player eligibility
Players born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004 are eligible to compete in the tournament.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams play each other once at a centralised venue.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 9.3):


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, First round
The first round was played between 20 and 28 October 2018.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, First round, Ranking of second-placed teams
Due to groups having different number of teams after withdrawals, the results against the fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams in four-team and five-team groups are not considered for this ranking.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Second round
The draw for the second round of the qualifiers was held on 13 February 2019, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the second round, the eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship final tournament and qualification. The following restrictions were also applied:


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Second round
The second round was played between 26 and 30 April 2019.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualification, Goalscorers
In total, there were 310 goals scored in 49 matches, for an average of 6.33 goals per match.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship squads
The following is a list of squads for each national team competing at the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship. The tournament took place in Thailand, between 27 October–9 November 2019. It was the 10th U-19 age group competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship squads
Players born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2004 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to register a squad of minimum 16 players and maximum 23 players, minimum two of whom must have been goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 24.1 and 24.2). The full squad listings are below.


2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship squads, Group A, Vietnam
The preliminary squad was named on 6 October 2019. The final squad was announced on 21 October 2019.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship
The 2019 was AFC U-20 Futsal Championship the biennial international the championships organised  Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for men's youth national futsal teams off Asia.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship
The tournament was hosted by Iran between 14 and 22 June 2019. A total the of 12 teams participated of tournament. were the defending champion but failed to defend the title after losing to Japanese in the semi-final. Japanese became the champions after beating Afghanistan in the final.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Qualification
Unlike the previous tournament where all teams entered the final tournament, qualifiers were held from 1 to 10 December 2018. The draw for the qualifiers was held on 30 August 2018.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Venue
The matches were played at the Shahid Poursharifi Arena in Tabriz.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Draw
The final draw was held on 11 April 2019, 15:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur. The 12 teams were drawn into four groups of three teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship final tournament, with the hosts automatically seeded and assigned to Position A1 in the draw.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Squads
Players born after 1 January 1999 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team must register a squad of 14 players, minimum two of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 27.1 and 27.2).


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Group stage
Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 11.5):


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out (no extra time) was used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Articles 15.1 and 16.1).


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Goalscorers
There were 128 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 6.4 goals per match.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification
The 2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification is the qualification process organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine the participating teams for the 2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship. Players born after 1 January 1999 were eligible to compete in the tournament.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification
A total of 12 teams qualify to play in the final tournament.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Draw
Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 23 teams entered the competition. The qualification process is divided into four zones: ASEAN Zone, Central Zone, East Zone and West Zone (no teams from South Zone entered qualification). The 12 spots in the final tournament are distributed as follows:


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Draw
As the final tournament hosts had not been announced at the time of the qualifying draw, the hosts were also included in the draw. Despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament, they may still decide to participate in qualification, and if they finish in one of the qualification spots, the next best team in their zone also qualifies.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Draw
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 30 August 2018, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The mechanism of the draw for each zone is as follows:


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Draw
The teams were seeded according to their performance in the 2017 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship final tournament.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams play each other once at a centralised venue.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 11.5):


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Central Zone, Play-off
As Iran were confirmed as the final tournament hosts on 5 December 2018, loser also qualifies for 2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, West Zone, Play-off
Saudi Arabia later withdrew and were replaced by Hong Kong.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Qualified teams
The following 12 teams qualified for the final tournament. Saudi Arabia, which originally qualified, withdrew and were replaced by Hong Kong.


2019 AFC U-20 Futsal Championship qualification, Goalscorers
There were 204 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 6.8 goals per match.


2019 AFC Women's Club Championship
The 2019 AFC Women's Club Championship was the first edition of the Asia's women's club football competition organised by AFC, held in South Korea between 26 and 30 November 2019. Four clubs from four associations competed in this edition, which was also known as 2019 FIFA–AFC Pilot Women's Club Championship.


2019 AFC Women's Club Championship, Venue
All matches were played at Yongin Citizen Sports Park, Yongin.


2019 AFF Beach Soccer Championship
The 2019 AFF Beach Soccer Championship is the third edition of the AFF Beach Soccer Championship, the premier regional beach soccer championship. This edition will features three of the members of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and two invited teams inside Asia.


2019 AFF Beach Soccer Championship
Organised by the AFF, the tournament takes place between 13 and 17 November in Chonburi, Thailand, featuring five teams.


2019 AFF Futsal Championship
The 2019 AFF Futsal Championship will be the 16th edition of the tournament. The tournament was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.


2019 AFF Futsal Championship
Same as the previous tournament which were held in odd years, the tournament serves as AFC Futsal Championship qualification. Top 3 teams of the tournament will qualify for 2020 AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan as AFF's representative.


2019 AFF Futsal Championship, Entrants
There was no qualification, and all entrants advanced to the final tournament. The following 8 teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation entered the tournament. Australia came back for this tournament after 4 years of absence since their last appearance in 2015 AFF Futsal Championship.


2019 AFF Futsal Championship, Venue
All matches are held in Phú Thọ Indoor Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City.


2019 AFF Futsal Club Championship
2019 AFF Invitational Futsal Club Championship is the fifth edition of AFF Futsal Club Championship. The tournament was held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand from 18 to 23 June 2019. The title of the tournament was also changed into AFF Futsal Cup. The defending champion is Bangkok BTS but they didn't take part in this edition.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship
The 2019 AFF U-15 Championship is the fourteenth edition of the AFF U-16 Championship (second edition of the under-15 era), the annual international youth association football championship organised by the ASEAN Football Federation for men's under-15 national teams of Southeast Asia.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship
A total of 12 teams play in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2004 eligible to participate. Each match is scheduled to have a duration of 80 minutes, consisting of two halves of 40 minutes.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship
Malaysia beat Thailand 2–1 in the final for their second title in the championship.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Qualified teams
There was no qualification, and all entrants advanced to the final tournament. The following 12 teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation entered the tournament.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Venues
The competition is being played at two venues in Chonburi, Chonburi Province: Chonburi Campus Stadium and Chonburi Stadium (in Mueang Chonburi).


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Group stage
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-outs are used to decide the winner if necessary (extra time is not used).


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Goalscorers
There were 109 goals scored in 34 matches, for an average of 3.21 goals per match.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Incidents and controversies
On 29 July 2019, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) received official protest from two participating teams regarding the eligibility of an East Timorese player in the ongoing tournament. The protest was subsequently admitted upon compliance of the procedural requirements set out in the 2019 Tournament Regulations with the AFF began to carrying out the necessary investigation and have requested the parties involved to collaborate to establish the facts. On 3 August, the AFF further state that the  relevant documents requested from the player and his team have been delivered and acknowledged by the AFF secretariat.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Incidents and controversies
In accordance to the tournament regulations, the conclusion of the investigation will be decided by the AFF Disciplinary and Ethics Committee. On 4 August, the AFF announced their findings that the said player is deemed to be eligible to participate in the tournament in accordance with Article 5.1 as stated in the tournament regulations and ruled the protest lodged by two countries as unfounded and dismissed it accordingly.


2019 AFF U-15 Championship, Incidents and controversies
On 9 August, the final match between Thailand and Malaysia was marred with ugly incident that resulting Thai player Kongpop Sroirak and Malaysian player Khairil Zain were both issued a red card.


2019 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship
The 2019 AFF U-15 Girls' Championship was the 4th edition of the AFF U-16 Girl's Championship, an international women's football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The tournament was hosted by Thailand from 9 to 21 May 2019.The defending champion was Thailand. They managed to retain their title.


2019 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals. All times listed are Thai Standard Time (UTC+07:00)


2019 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-outs are used to decide the winner if necessary (extra time is not used).


2019 AFF U-16 Girls' Championship, Goalscorers
There were 117 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 5.85 goals per match.


2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship
The 2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship is the 17th edition of the AFF U-19 Youth Championship, organised by ASEAN Football Federation. It is hosted by Vietnam during August 2019. Twelve member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation take part in the tournament featuring two groups of six teams.


2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship
Australia beat Malaysia 1–0 in the final for their fifth title in the championship.


2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship, Participant teams
All of 12 teams from member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation are eligible for the tournament.


2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship, Participant teams
A total of 12 teams from 12 member associations entered the tournament, listed below:


2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner if necessary.


2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship, Goalscorers
There were 127 goals scored in 34 matches, for an average of 3.74 goals per match.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship
The international exhibition association football tournament organised by LG Electronics even though the same name tournament


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship
The 2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship or AFF U-22 LG Cup 2019 was the 2nd edition of the AFF U-22 Youth Championship, organised by ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The tournament was sponsored by Korean LG Corporation as the "social marketing experiment" campaign since 2003 by the ASEAN Club Championship. LG Electronics also sponsored the Indonesian club from Banten, Persita Tangerang, in the 2003 (ninth season) Indonesian league. Indonesia won the tournament after beating Thailand 2–1 in the final. The tournament was held from 17 to 26 February in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship
This was its first as an under-22 tournament, with the previous edition an under-23 tournament. 2005 AFF U-23 Youth Championship winners Thailand were the defending champions, as there was no competition from 2006 to 2018, as the 2011 edition has been cancelled. The 2003 ASEAN Club Championship invited the Indian club, East Bengal, till they become a champions, but this tournament not invited Australian National U-22 Team to participated here as the outside-Southeast Asia participant.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship, Qualified teams
There was no qualification, and all entrants advanced to the final tournament. The following teams from member associations of the AFF entered the tournament (excluding Australia). Singapore withdrew from the tournament in order to focus on the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification tournament in March. Brunei and Laos also withdrew from the tournament.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship, Draw
The top six teams from the 2005 AFF U-22 Championship were seeded in Pot 1, the remaining teams were in Pot 2. Cambodia were assigned to position B1 as hosts.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship, Squads
A final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) must be registered one day before the first match of the tournament.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if necessary.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship, Broadcasters
All 16 matches are broadcast live and free to access in Cambodia, some ASEAN countries, and internationally via Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) official Facebook page, in Khmer language.


2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship squads
Below are the squads for the 2019 AFF U-22 Youth Championship, which takes place between  17 to 26 February 2019.


2019 AFF Women's Championship
The 2019 AFF Women's Championship was the 10th edition of the AFF Women's Championship, an international women's football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The tournament was hosted by Thailand from 15 to 27 August 2019.


2019 AFF Women's Championship
Vietnam beat Thailand 1–0 in the final for their third title in the championship.


2019 AFF Women's Championship, Goalscorers
There were 110 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 5.5 goals per match.


2019 AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy
2019 AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy would have been the first edition of the AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy, a biennial football tournament that was founded in 2018. The tournament match was to be between Vietnam, the defending champion of 2018 AFF Championship and South Korea, the defending champion of 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship. The representative of ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), Vietnam, would have hosted the event.


2019 AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy, Background
The trophy is to be contested biennially starting 2019, with AFF and East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) rotating the host venue duties and the former staging the first-ever Champions Trophy. Vietnam automatically won the hosting rights to the inaugural trophy match on 15 December 2018 after beating Malaysia 3–2 on aggregate score in the 2018 AFF Championship Final. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the organisation of the AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy was signed in Hanoi, Vietnam on 15 December 2018 by AFF Deputy President, Maj General Khiev Sameth, and EAFF President, Chung Mong-gyu.


2019 AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy, Background, Timing issue
The first AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy match, to be played on a single-match format, was scheduled to be held on 26 March 2019 at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam between the national football teams of Vietnam and South Korea. However, the plan for this match was hindered by its coinciding with the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification schedule as the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship in Thailand decided on the eligibility to enter the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. The Korea Football Association (KFA) also asked to move the 2019 AFF–EAFF Champions Trophy to another date in 2019. The VFF finally decided to postponed the match until 2020, but it was not played.


2019 AFL Grand Final
The 2019 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and Greater Western Sydney Giants at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 September 2019. It was the 123rd annual grand final of the Australian Football League (formerly Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers for the 2019 AFL season. The match, attended by 100,014 spectators, was won by Richmond by a margin of 89 points, marking the club's twelfth VFL/AFL premiership and their second in three seasons. Richmond's Dustin Martin won the Norm Smith Medal as the player judged best on ground.


2019 AFL Grand Final
It was the eighth consecutive grand final which featured one Victorian team and one non-Victorian team, and it was only the second grand final in VFL/AFL history (and the first since 1980) that did not feature either team that finished first or second on the ladder at the conclusion of the home-and-away season.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
After ending a 37-year premiership drought in 2017, then winning the 2018 minor premiership but being eliminated by Collingwood in the preliminary final, Richmond still entered the season considered a strong chance at the premiership, after retaining the core of its 2017 team and adding key forward Tom Lynch from Gold Coast. Richmond suffered misfortune during the first half of the season, with several of their star players sidelined due to injury – including star defender Alex Rance, and young stars in Jack Higgins, Sydney Stack and Jack Graham.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
At the conclusion of Round 14, the Tigers were ninth on the ladder with an average 7–6 win-loss record; however, they did not lose again in the home-and-away season, winning their last nine games to finish third with a 16–6 record. The Tigers advanced directly to the preliminary final after a 47-point victory over Brisbane in the qualifying final; then, in the preliminary final, overcame a 21-point half time deficit to defeat Geelong by 19 points.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
Greater Western Sydney started season 2019 having been eliminated from the 2018 season in the semi-finals. The club lost co-captain Callan Ward to an ACL injury early in the season, a season-ending injury to star midfielder Stephen Coniglio later in the year. A strong start to the year saw the Giants placed second after Round 11, but indifferent form and a 5–6 record in the second half of the year, saw the Giants qualify for the finals in sixth with a 13–9 win-loss record.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
However, strong form in September saw the Giants win three finals to qualify for the grand final: a dominant win against Western Bulldogs by 58 points in the elimination final, then two thrilling victories – a three-point win over Brisbane in the semi-final, and a four-point win against Collingwood in the preliminary final. It was just the second time since the introduction of the AFL final eight system in 2000 that a team reached the grand final without finishing inside the top four, after the Bulldogs' 2016 victory.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
The teams met twice during the home-and-away season; first in Round 3 at Giants Stadium when the Giants thrashed Richmond by 49 points, and then in Round 17 at the MCG when the Tigers won by 27 points.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
It was Richmond's 23rd grand final appearance, and second in three years; and it was the first grand final appearance for Greater Western Sydney. The sides had previously contested one final, the 2017 preliminary final won by Richmond by 36 points.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
As the higher-ranked team, Richmond wore its full home kit, and GWS wore its predominantly white clash guernsey with white shorts. Richmond was an overwhelming favourite to win, with bookmakers offering odds of $1.44 for a Richmond win compared with $3.25 for a Giants win.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Background
With an average audience of 2.197 million across the five major capital cities, this was the lowest rating AFL Grand Final on free-to-air television since OzTAM began recording television ratings in 2001.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Entertainment
Tones and I performed "The Kids Are Coming" and "Dance Monkey", and was followed by Dean Lewis, who performed "Be Alright" and "Waves". John Williamson also performed Waltzing Matilda.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Entertainment
Paul Kelly performed "Leaps and Bounds" and "Dumb Things". Mike Brady also performed "Up There Cazaly".


2019 AFL Grand Final, Entertainment
Conrad Sewell performed the Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair".


2019 AFL Grand Final, Entertainment
Richmond chose Maureen Hafey – the widow of legendary Richmond coach Tom Hafey – as their ambassador to carry the premiership cup onto the field, while GWS chose Kevin Sheedy – their first ever coach. Hafey also presented the trophy to Trent Cotchin and Damien Hardwick during the on-field award ceremony.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
The opening term of the grand final was a tough and low-scoring battle of attrition, with neither team scoring a goal in the first twenty minutes of the match. Giants spearhead Jeremy Cameron scored the opening goal of the grand final at the 20-minute mark before two late goals—from Dustin Martin at the 24-minute mark and Daniel Rioli right on the quarter-time siren—saw the Tigers take a seven-point lead at the first break.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
Richmond began to pull away from the Giants in the second quarter. They scored five unanswered goals in a dominant quarter; Jack Riewoldt goaled at the four-minute mark of the term, followed by Martin's second goal at the seven-and-a-half minute mark. Tom Lynch scored two minutes later before Riewoldt finished the half with another two majors. Greater Western Sydney were held to just four behinds in the second term, and the Tigers headed to the halftime break with an ominous 35-point lead.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
Richmond sealed the premiership with an equally uncompromising third quarter. They scored five goals to one in the term; Lynch kicked his second goal at the five-minute mark before Martin slotted his third seven-and-a-half minutes into the term. Marlion Pickett, the first Grand Final debutant since Keith Batchelor for Collingwood in 1952, scored his only goal of the afternoon at the 11th minute, and Kane Lambert scored two minutes after.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
The Giants finally broke a run of 11 consecutive Richmond goals with a Jacob Hopper major at the 25-minute mark of the quarter, but Ivan Soldo goaled right on the three-quarter-time siren. The margin was 62 points in favour of the Tigers at the final break, and the premiership was now beyond doubt.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
With the flag under lock and key, the final quarter was a celebration for the Tigers. It was practically a carbon copy of the second and third quarters, with Richmond again scoring five goals and conceding only one. The Giants scored their third and final goal of the game early in the final quarter, with Harry Himmelberg saluting before the second minute, but the Tigers did not allow them to save face and ran away with their most lopsided premiership victory in club history.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Fourth quarter
Shai Bolton scored his first major of the day at the ninth minute, followed by Riewoldt's fourth goal. Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin goaled at the 23-minute mark and was followed soon after by Martin, who also scored his fourth goal of the Grand Final. Riewoldt put the exclamation mark on a supremely emphatic victory, goaling only moments before the siren to increase the final margin to 89 points, the third-highest margin in a Grand Final. It was Richmond's most lopsided Grand Final victory of all time, surpassing their 81-point victory against Collingwood in 1980.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
By unanimous selection – 15 out of 15 possible votes – Dustin Martin was awarded his second Norm Smith Medal after having won it in 2017 (when he had become the first to win the premiership/Brownlow Medal/Norm Smith Medal treble), making him the fourth player to win multiple Norm Smith Medals after Gary Ayres, Andrew McLeod and Luke Hodge. No other player garnered more than 6 votes, but Bachar Houli finished second as he did in 2017. Chaired by Alastair Lynch, the voters and their choices were as follows:


2019 AFL Grand Final, Teams
The teams were announced on 26 September 2019. Richmond made one change to the side, with Jack Graham dropping out of the side due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the preliminary final victory over Geelong. Pickett was announced to be taking his spot; having previously been picked up from South Fremantle in the WAFL during the midseason draft following the retirement of 2017 Premiership player Shaun Grigg, he had won the Norm Goss Medal in Richmond's VFL Grand Final victory over Williamstown. Ultimately, Pickett, Tom Lynch, Shai Bolton, Ivan Soldo, Jayden Short and Liam Baker in for Rance, Grigg, Graham, Jacob Townsend, Dan Butler and Kamdyn McIntosh were the six changes from the Richmond team that beat Adelaide two years beforehand.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Teams
Greater Western Sydney, meantime, recalled Toby Greene and Lachie Whitfield, who both missed their preliminary final win over Collingwood due to suspension and injury respectively, into their side, with Lachlan Keeffe and Ian Hill both making way. GWS also was missing former Richmond Rising Star Brett Deledio after he had been injured earlier in the finals.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Teams
The umpiring panel, comprising three field umpires, four boundary umpires, two goal umpires and an emergency in each position is given below.


2019 AFL Grand Final, Teams
Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 2019.


2019 AFL Rising Star
The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League (AFL). The award was won by Carlton's Sam Walsh, marking the fourth time that a player taken first in the draft had won the award.


2019 AFL Rising Star, Eligibility
Every round, a nomination is given to a standout young player who performed well during that particular round. To be eligible for nomination, a player must be under 21 on 1 January of that year and have played ten or fewer senior games before the start of the season; a player who is suspended may be nominated, but is not eligible to win the award.


2019 AFL Under 18 Championships
The 2019 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships was the 24th edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships.


2019 AFL Under 18 Championships
The tournament was played between five teams - Allies, South Australia, Vic Country, Vic Metro and Western Australia - playing each other across five rounds.


2019 AFL Under 18 Championships
Western Australia won the tournament for the first time since 2009, Western Australia captain and midfielder Deven Robertson won the Larke Medal as the tournament's best player.


2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team
The 2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team represents the best-performed players of the 2019 AFL Women's season. It was announced on 2 April 2019 as a complete women's Australian rules football team of 21 players. The team is honorary and does not play any games.


2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team, Initial squad
The initial 40-woman All-Australian squad was announced on 21 March. Adelaide had the most players selected in the initial squad with nine, and every team had at least two representatives. Nine players from the 2018 team were among those selected.


2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team, Final team
The final team was announced on 2 April. Premiers Adelaide had the most selections with five, and every team except Greater Western Sydney had at least one representative. Four players from the 2018 team were selected, three of whom – Adelaide co-captain Chelsea Randall, Melbourne's Karen Paxman and North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney – achieved selection for the third consecutive year. Adelaide's other co-captain, Erin Phillips, was announced as the All-Australian captain and Randall, the previous year's All-Australian captain, was announced as the vice-captain.


2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team, Final team
Note: the position of coach in the AFL Women's All-Australian team is traditionally awarded to the coach of the premiership-winning team.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final
The 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at Adelaide Oval on 31 March 2019 to determine the premiers of the league's third season. Admission was free to the general public, and the match between Adelaide and Carlton was contested before a crowd of 53,034 – which at that time was the record for a stand-alone women's sporting event in Australia. It was won by Adelaide, 10.3 (63) to 2.6 (18), and Adelaide claimed its second premiership in three years. Its co-captain Erin Phillips was voted best on ground, despite suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the third quarter.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background
Two new teams, Geelong and North Melbourne, joined the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition in 2019, bringing the total number of teams to ten. The league retained a seven-round home-and-away season. This was achieved by splitting the competition into two conferences, with one of the new teams in each. Each team played four games against their fellow conference members and three "cross-over" matches against teams from the other conference. Conference membership was based on the final ladder positions of the 2018 season. As it turned out, the competition was unbalanced, with Conference A teams winning 14 of the 16 cross-over matches.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background
The finals series was expanded to include preliminary finals for the first time. The two teams that finished the highest in each conference at the end of the home-and-away season qualified for the preliminary finals, with the team that finished highest in Conference A playing the team that finished second in Conference B and vice versa. The winners of these matches then played in the AFL Women's Grand Final.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background
After winning the 2017 AFL Women's Grand Final, the Adelaide Crows finished a disappointing fifth in 2018. The Carlton Blues, which were also expected to perform well in 2018, did much worse, ultimately battling Fremantle for the wooden spoon – and getting it. In 2019, both Adelaide and Carlton had new coaches – Matthew Clarke and Daniel Harford respectively. The Crows retained much of their team from 2017 and 2018, but lacked a ruckman after Rhiannon Metcalfe was sidelined for an ACL reconstruction and Jasmyn Hewett suffered an ankle injury.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background
Former Opals basketball player Jess Foley was pressed into the ruck role at the last minute. The Crows went on to an impressive season, notching up seven games by an average of 40 points, and finishing on top of Conference A. Their only loss for the season was by a single point in the first round match against the Western Bulldogs, when they kicked an inaccurate 1.11. Carlton got off to a slow start, losing to North Melbourne in round one and then Adelaide in round two, before winning five of the last six games to finish on top of Conference B.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background
In their preliminary final, the Crows conducted a 66-point demolition of Geelong before a home crowd of 13,429 at the Adelaide Oval, not allowing the visitors to score until late in the final quarter. In an answer to critics of the women's game that complained about it being low scoring, the Crows outscored nine of the men's teams that weekend (including their own men's team, as well as reigning premiers West Coast), despite the fact that AFLW only plays 15-minute quarters (instead of 20), and has less time on. The conference system ensured that Carlton, which finished at the top of Conference B, also hosted the preliminary finals. This was seen as disadvantaging Fremantle, which had won two more games than Carlton, and had a far better percentage (141.2 per cent compared with 99.6 per cent).


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Background
In the lead up to the preliminary final, an image of Carlton's star forward Tayla Harris demonstrating her on-field athleticism that was posted online by the Seven Network came under attack by misogynist internet trolls. Rather than suppressing their comments, Seven took the image down, resulting in a chorus of outrage. In the preliminary final, Harris went on to demonstrate her kicking style, slotting Carlton's first goal from 45 metres out. The Blues went on to win by 36 points, setting up a grand final clash with Adelaide.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Venue
As the highest-ranked team across the two conferences, Adelaide won the right to host the grand final. The match was scheduled for Sunday, 31 March 2019 at Adelaide Oval, which AFLW Chief Executive Nicole Livingstone conceding this timeslot would clash with a men's game between North Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Venue
The AFLW considered a Saturday game, but getting the ground ready for a Port Adelaide game later that afternoon meant that the Grand Final would have to start at 10:30 am (Adelaide time) to have the signage and advertising changed for the men's game, a proposition that was rejected outright by the clubs and Adelaide Oval management.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Venue
Admission was free to the general public, and the AFL hoped for a crowd of around 25,000. In the event, the crowd of 53,034 was the largest ever for an AFLW match, the fifth highest ever at Adelaide Oval, and a record for a stand-alone women's sporting event in Australia, surpassing a record set in 1920. Extra seating was hurriedly opened in the upper grandstands. The unanticipated large crowd put the city's public transport under strain. Its record as the highest women's sports crowd in Australian history was surpassed in March 2020 by the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup Final, but as of 2020 retains the record for highest crowd at a women's football match.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Teams
Teams were announced on 29 March 2019. Both clubs had unchanged lineups from the preliminary finals the week before:


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
The Blues started well, with Madison Prespakis scoring an early first goal off a 50-metre penalty on Adelaide co-captain Erin Phillips. The Crows were quick to respond with quick ball movement in the centre square from Foley to Ebony Marinoff to Anne Hatchard, who notched up their first score. A second 50-metre penalty gave Carlton another chance but was rushed through by Adelaide for a behind by Sarah Allan. The Crows were soon back on the attack, with Phillips marking just inside the 50-metre arc.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
Her kick fell short, but Irish recruit Ailish Considine put it through for a second goal. A third soon followed with Eloise Jones passing the ball to Hannah Martin for a goal from point-blank range. An attempt at the other end by Sarah Hosking resulted only in a behind, and yet another 50-metre penalty gave the Blues an opportunity on the siren, but the ball fell well short of the goal line.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
At quarter time, Carlton felt they were dominating everywhere but on the scoreboard, but this feeling would soon pass. The second quarter opened with an Adelaide goal. An overhead mark in the centre by Jones was handed off to Phillips, who booted it forward to the advantage of Stevie-Lee Thompson, who marked it and sprinted towards the goal line. Thompson proved too fast for the Carlton defenders, who were caught too far out from goal, and a goal resulted. A couple of minutes later, Phillips earned a free kick from a high tackle by Sarah Hosking. One accurate kick later, and Phillips had ten goals for the season, and Adelaide, five for the match. A mark by Renee Forth off a delivery from Deni Varnhagen nearly made it six, but she missed, scoring only a behind.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
The next opportunity came a few minutes later. A Carlton turnover saw Allan boot the ball forward to Chloe Scheer, who took a specky over the top of Blues defender Kerryn Harrington. She played on and delivered it to Danielle Ponter for an easy first goal. Soon after though, Scheer went down with a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury, and was out of the game. It did not halt Adelaide, as Ponter marked a delivery from Jones inside the goal square for her second. A third followed, bringing her to twelve for the season.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
Tayla Harris attempted to score one against the flow of play, but it was touched on the line by Allan. It fell to Carlton captain Bri Davey to put the Blues' second goal on the scoreboard. Jones had a free kick at goal after the siren that sailed through, and Adelaide took a forty-point lead into the half time break.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
When play resumed after the long break, Harris started in the ruck, possibly in an attempt to get her into the game. This backfired, as she immediately collided with Davey, and went off clutching her knee. Thompson also hobbled off the ground, with an ankle injury. Both would return, but not for some time. Phillips marked a pass from Forth 40 metres out, and had her second goal of the match. Soon after, Phillips went down, clutching her knee, and had to be stretchered off the ground.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary
The crowd gave her a standing ovation, and even the Carlton players looked upset. In the final quarter, the players had less to show for their efforts. Foley missed a shot from 35 metres out, scoring only a behind, as did Chloe Dalton at the other end. Hosking was awarded a free kick after being crunched in a tackle by Foley, but missed everything. A final effort by the Crows could not score before the final siren sounded.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary, Best on Ground Medal
Phillips's injury cast a pall over the Crows' win. "It's an ACL," she confirmed, "something I have done before in my other leg. This was supposed to be the good leg." Despite only playing for three-quarters, Phillips, who had 18 disposals and two goals, was named best on ground, as she had been when Adelaide previously won the flag in 2017. The following night she won the AFLW Players' Association's Most Valuable Player award, which she had also previously won in 2017.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Match summary, Best on Ground Medal
On 2 April, she was awarded the AFLW best and fairest award for second time, having previously won it in 2017, and was named the captain of the 2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team. Her Adelaide co-captain Chelsea Randall was named the vice captain, and Hatchard, Thompson and Marinoff were also part of the squad, as were Carlton's Prespakis, Harrington and Gabriella Pound.


2019 AFL Women's Grand Final, Media coverage
The game was broadcast live on Channel Seven, Fox Footy, womens.afl and the AFLW Official App. ARIA Award winner Amy Shark performed songs from her debut album Love Monster. She said that the Tayla Harris photo incident made her more determined to perform, saying that "[J]ust being a female in music, I'll do anything I can to help highlight any other woman trying to make it in the professional world, no matter what that field is". The match was watched live by a television audience of 409,000.


2019 AFL Women's Rising Star
The 2019 NAB AFL Women's Rising Star award was presented to the player adjudged the best young player during the 2019 AFL Women's season. Madison Prespakis of the Carlton Football Club won the award with 49 votes.


2019 AFL Women's Rising Star, Eligibility
Every round, two nominations were given to standout young players who performed well during that particular round. To be eligible for nomination, players must have been under 21 years of age on 1 January 2019, not have been suspended during the season and never previously been nominated.


2019 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships
The 2019 NAB AFL Women's Under 18 Championships was played between May and July 2019, with six teams competing in the main 'Series 2' round robin tournament and with a further four playing in a two-match on-on-one exhibition as the competition's initial 'Series 1'.


2019 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, Format
The competition was opened with 'Series 1', a set of closed competitions between four pairs of teams representing the country's eight largest states and territories. In 'Series 2' teams representing Vic Country, Vic Metro, Queensland and Western Australia were joined by Central and Eastern Allies teams representing teams of the combined regions of Northern Territory and South Australia (Central) as well as New South Wales, ACT and Tasmania (Eastern). Each team played a total of three matches in that series.


2019 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, Format
Vic Metro finished the round-robin 'Series 2' as the only team undefeated in that series, making them the de facto tournament winners. The competition's best player award was won by Vic Metro's Georgia Patrikios.


2019 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, All-Australian team
The 2019 Women's All-Australian team was selected by a panel of experts including the AFL's Brett Munro and AFL Women's club list managers Katrina Gill (Adelaide), Wade Spilcker (Fremantle), Rhys Harwood (North Melbourne) and Ben Waller (Geelong).


2019 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, Team MVPs
At the conclusion of the tournament each competing team named their best player for the tournament. The winner of these 'most valuable player' awards are as follows:


2019 AFL Women's best and fairest
The 2019 AFL Women's best and fairest was the award presented to the player adjudged the best and fairest player during the 2019 AFL Women's season. Erin Phillips of the Adelaide Football Club won the award for the second time, winning with 19 votes.


2019 AFL Women's best and fairest, Voting procedure
The three field umpires (the umpires who control the flow of the game, as opposed to goal or boundary umpires) confer after each match and award three votes, two votes and one vote to the players they regard as the best, second-best and third-best in the match, respectively. The votes are kept secret until the awards night, and are read and tallied on the evening.


2019 AFL Women's draft
The 2019 AFL Women's draft consisted of the various periods when the 14 clubs in the AFL Women's competition can recruit players prior to the competition's 2020 season.


2019 AFL Women's draft
At the conclusion of the period clubs were required to have 27 senior-listed and three rookie-listed players.


2019 AFL Women's draft, Expansion club signing period, First period
Prior to the completion of the 2019 season, future expansion clubs Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast were permitted to pre-list up to 10 players from their women's academies or designated development zones. A maximum of seven of these players could be open-age signings who had nominated for the 2018 AFL Women's draft but not been selected. A final three spots were reserved for three junior players of minimum draft age (born in 2001) and who hailed from the clubs' designated development regions.


2019 AFL Women's draft, Expansion club signing period, Second period
From 8 April expansion clubs Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast will have an 11-day window until 18 April to sign players who played for existing clubs during the 2019 season. These clubs can sign a maximum of 12 players each through this mechanism. All existing clubs other than Brisbane and Fremantle could lose no more than four players to the mechanism while Brisbane and Fremantle can each lose a maximum of eight due to the entry of Gold Coast and West Coast into their previously exclusive state-zones. No compensation will be offered to those clubs losing players under this process, but the player's existing club are permitted to negotiate to re-sign the player. Players can be signed under this mechanism to one or two year contracts.


2019 AFL Women's draft, Signing and trading period
Concurrently to the expansion club signing period, all 14 clubs were able to sign and trade players. Players can be signed during this period are eligible for one or two year contracts. A second stage to the trade period will open from 23 April and run until 26 April, with only the 10 established clubs able to take part.