Aga Khan Gold Cup
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 |
| Ceased | 1982 |
| No. of teams | various |
| Countries | Asia |
The Aga Khan Gold Cup was played in Dhaka, Bangladesh(East Pakistan) which invited top club sides from leading football playing nations to compete. Some people regard this competition as a predecessor of AFC Champions League (held for the first time in 1967), since it was the first organized international competition that involved club teams around Asia. During the late 1950s and early 1980s,it was a prestigious tournament among Asian clubs.
When Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini of Iran, now known as Aga Khan IV visit in 1958, the highness expressed his interest to start a major international football club tournament in the region. With his highness providing the funding required for the Gold Cup,the football authorities of Bangladesh in collaboration with Asian Football Confederation (AFC) decided to go ahead with the idea. Dhaka, the football capital of the country, was the obvious choice as the venue. Initially, the idea was to gradually develop this event into the main international club competition of Asia with the winning team will be declared as unofficial Asian Champions'. However, the tournament expectation has not been fulfilled reached as various associations insisted on sending national selections(the team that was formed by top clubs players in the National League) rather than clubs. Soon, it was discontinued since 1981.
Teams from both Bangladesh and West Pakistan regularly participated in the event. Among the foreign countries, Indonesia almost always sent a team, and their team won the event 3 times during this period. The India club from Calcutta Mohammedan played brilliant football to lift the 1960 trophy. Sri Lanka sent teams regularly with modest success. The uneasy political relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia meant that the Malaysian football authorities frequently declined invitation to participate not until 1976 when Penang FA won it.
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