AFC Champions League

AFC Champions League
Founded	1967 (2002 in current format)
Region	Asia (AFC)
Number of teams	40 (group stage)
Related competitions	FIFA Club World Cup AFC Cup
Tournament information
Current champions	Urawa Red Diamonds (3rd title)
Most successful team(s)	Al Hilal (4 titles)
Current
Website	Official website

The AFC Champions League, commonly known as the Asian Champions League or ACL, is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition in Asian football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations. From the 2024–25 season onwards, the competition name will be changed to AFC Champions League Elite, following an introduction of new format for AFC club competitions.

Introduced in 2002, the competition replaced the Asian Club Championship which had run since 1985 and which had replaced the Asian Champion Club Tournament (1967-1971) after a 14-year hiatus. It is a result of the merger between the Asian Club Championship, the Asian Cup Winners' Cup and the Asian Super Cup. It is the premier club tournament in Asia, equivalent to the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores, and the UEFA, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC Champions League competitions.

A total of 32 clubs compete in the round robin group stage of the competition. Clubs from Asia's strongest national leagues receive automatic berths, with clubs from other nations eligible to qualify via the qualifying playoffs and, in addition, they are also eligible to participate in the AFC Cup. Between 2009 and 2023, the champions do not qualify automatically for the following year competition, and since that the defending champions are eligible qualify through play-offs if they couldn't qualify directly through domestic route. The winner of the AFC Champions League qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup.

The most successful club in the competition is Al Hilal with a total of four titles. The reigning champions of the competition is Urawa Red Diamonds.

List of champions

Asian Champion Club Tournament era (1967–1972)
Year	Champions	Runners-up
1967	Hapoel Tel Aviv	Selangor
1969	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Yangzee FC
1970	Taj Tehran	Hapoel Tel Aviv
1971	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Aliyat Al-Shorta
1972	Cancelled
Asian Club Championship era (1985–2002)
Year	Champions	Runners-up
1985–86	Daewoo Royals	Al-Ahli
1986	Furukawa Electric	Al-Hilal
1987	Yomiuri FC	Al-Hilal
1988–89	Al-Sadd	Al-Rasheed
1989–90	Liaoning	Nissan Yokohama FC
1990–91	Esteghlal	Liaoning
1991	Al-Hilal	Esteghlal
1992–93	PAS Tehran	Al-Shabab
1993–94	Thai Farmers Bank	Oman Club
1994–95	Thai Farmers Bank	Al-Arabi
1995	Ilhwa Chunma	Al-Nassr
1996–97	Pohang Steelers	Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma
1997–98	Pohang Steelers	Dalian Wanda
1998–99	Júbilo Iwata	Esteghlal
1999–2000	Al-Hilal	Júbilo Iwata
2000–01	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Júbilo Iwata
2001–02	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Anyang LG Cheetahs
AFC Champions League era (2002–present)
Year	Champions	Runners-up
2002–03	Al-Ain	BEC Tero Sasana
2004	Al-Ittihad	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
2005	Al-Ittihad	Al-Ain
2006	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Al-Karamah
2007	Urawa Red Diamonds	Sepahan
2008	Gamba Osaka	Adelaide United
2009	Pohang Steelers	Al-Ittihad
2010	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	Zob Ahan
2011	Al-Sadd	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2012	Ulsan Hyundai	Al-Ahli
2013	Guangzhou Evergrande	FC Seoul
2014	Western Sydney Wanderers	Al-Hilal
2015	Guangzhou Evergrande	Al-Ahli
2016	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Al-Ain
2017	Urawa Red Diamonds	Al-Hilal
2018	Kashima Antlers	Persepolis
2019	Al-Hilal	Urawa Red Diamonds
2020	Ulsan Hyundai	Persepolis
2021	Al-Hilal	Pohang Steelers
2022	Urawa Red Diamonds	Al-Hilal

Performances by club

Performances in the Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League by club

Club	Title(s)	Runners-up	Seasons won	Seasons runner-up
Al-Hilal	4	5	1991, 1999–2000, 2019, 2021	1986, 1987, 2014, 2017, 2022
Pohang Steelers	3	1	1996–97, 1997–98, 2009	2021
Urawa Red Diamonds	3	1	2007, 2017, 2022	2019
Esteghlal	2	2	1970, 1990–91	1991, 1998–99
Seongnam FC	2	2	1995, 2010	1996–97, 2004
Al-Ittihad	2	1	2004, 2005	2009
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC	2	1	2006, 2016	2011
Maccabi Tel Aviv1	2	0	1969, 1971	—
Al-Sadd	2	0	1988–89, 2011	—
Thai Farmers Bank2	2	0	1993–94, 1994–95	—
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2	0	2000–01, 2001–02	—
Ulsan Hyundai	2	0	2012, 2020	—
Guangzhou	2	0	2013, 2015	—
Júbilo Iwata	1	2	1998–99	1999–2000, 2000–01
Al-Ain	1	2	2002–03	2005, 2016
Hapoel Tel Aviv1	1	1	1967	1970
Liaoning2	1	1	1989–90	1990–91
Busan IPark	1	0	1985–86	—
JEF United Chiba	1	0	1986	—
Tokyo Verdy	1	0	1987	—
PAS Tehran2	1	0	1992–93	—
Gamba Osaka	1	0	2008	—
Western Sydney Wanderers	1	0	2014	—
Kashima Antlers	1	0	2018	—

¹ In 1974, the Israel Football Association was expelled from the Asian Football Confederation due to political pressure, and became a full UEFA member in 1994. As a result, Israeli clubs no longer participate in AFC tournaments but in their UEFA counterparts instead.
² Teams that no longer exist.

Performances by nation

Performances in finals by nation

Nation	Titles	Runners-up	Total
South Korea	12	7	19
Japan	8	4	12
Saudi Arabia	6	10	16
Iran	3	6	9
China	3	2	5
Israel	3	1	4
Qatar	2	1	3
Thailand	2	1	3
United Arab Emirates	1	3	4
Australia	1	1	2
Iraq	0	2	2
Malaysia	0	1	1
Oman	0	1	1
Syria	0	1	1

External links

• AFC Champions League

AFC Champions League

AFC Champions League seasons

2018 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 ·

AFC Champions League Finals

2018 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 ·

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