The President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa congratulated the Arkadag football club on winning the first title of the AFC Challenge League. This was reported by the publication "Turkmenistan: Golden Age" with reference to the press service of the AFC.

The Turkmen club defeated the current champion of Cambodia "Svay Rieng" with a score of 2:1 in extra time in the final match. The match was held at the stadium in Phnom Penh in the presence of 51,600 spectators.

The goals for the winners were scored by Mekan Saparov (59th minute) and Altymurad Annadurdyev (112th minute). Sareth Kria scored for the hosts (82nd minute).

"On behalf of the Asian Football Family, I congratulate FC Arkadag from Turkmenistan on their historic victory in the AFC Challenge League. “The Football Federations of Turkmenistan and Cambodia deserve special praise for creating a dynamic environment for their clubs to thrive on the continental stage,” the AFC press service quotes Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa as saying.

The current two-time champion of Turkmenistan, Arkadag, achieved success despite the fact that many experts preferred the Cambodian team, which includes many Brazilian legionnaires. In addition, the match was held at the home stadium of Svay Rieng.

The AFC President also expressed gratitude to the 18 participating clubs and federations for their contribution to the successful holding of the first AFC Challenge League and noted the work of the organizers of the centralized group stage.

“This new historical chapter could not have been written without the support of all participants. I express my gratitude to the organizers of the group stages and everyone who worked behind the scenes for their contribution to the holding of the first season of the AFC Challenge League,” the head of the Asian Football Confederation emphasized.