List of Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League Elite finals

The AFC Champions League Elite is a seasonal football competition established in 1967. It is open to the league champions and cup winners of Asian Football Confederation member associations, as well as to the clubs finishing in second and third position in the stronger leagues of each zone. Prior to the 2002–03 season, the tournament was named the Asian Club Championship.[1] Originally, only the champions of their respective national league and the defending champion of the competition were allowed to participate. However, this was changed in 2002 to allow the national cup winners to compete as well. In 2024, the competition rebranded again, and was renamed as the AFC Champions League Elite.

List of Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League Elite finals
AFC Champions League trophy, used until 2024
Founded1967
RegionAsia (AFC)
Number of teams24 (league stage)
2 (finalists)
Current championsUnited Arab Emirates Al Ain (2nd title)
Most successful club(s)Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal (4 titles)
2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite

Al-Hilal hold the record for the most victories, with four wins since the competition's inception. Thai Farmers Bank, Pohang Steelers, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Al-Ittihad are the four teams that have won the competition consecutively. Al-Hilal has contested the most finals, nine, winning four and losing five, while Al-Ahli, Yokohama F. Marinos, FC Seoul and Persepolis are the only four clubs to reach the finals more than once without winning. Overall, 24 clubs have won the competition since its inception in 1967. Clubs from South Korea have won the most titles with twelve. Japanese clubs are second with eight, and Saudi Arabian clubs are third with six wins. The current champions are Al Ain, who beat Yokohama F. Marinos 6–3 on aggregate in the 2023–24 edition.

List of finals

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Key
# Finals not played
Ties decided on away goals
Matches won after extra time
* Matches decided on penalties
  • The "Year" column refers to the season the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season.
  • Official season orthography of Asian Club Championship is reset. Both one-year and two-year seasons listed separately.[2]
  • Finals are listed in the order they were played.
Asian Champion Club Tournament era (1967–1972)
Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance
1967 Hapoel Tel Aviv   2–1   Selangor Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok
1969 Maccabi Tel Aviv   1–0   Yangzee FC Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok
1970 Taj Tehran   2–1   Hapoel Tel Aviv Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran 35,000[3]
1971 Maccabi Tel Aviv   w/o[A]#   Aliyat Al-Shorta Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok
1972 Cancelled
Asian Club Championship era (1985–2002)
1985–86 Daewoo Royals   3–1   Al-Ahli Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
1986 Furukawa Electric   RR[B]   Al-Hilal N/A
Year Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance
1987 Al-Hilal   w/o   Yomiuri FC Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh N/A
Yomiuri FC   w/o   Al-Hilal Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka, Tokyo N/A
Yomiuri FC won the title.[C]#
1988–89 Al-Rasheed   3–2   Al-Sadd Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad 10,000
Al-Sadd   1–0   Al-Rasheed Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha 5,000
Al-Sadd won 3–3 on away goals.
1989–90 Nissan Yokohama FC   1–2   Liaoning Mitsuzawa Stadium, Yokohama
Liaoning   1–1   Nissan Yokohama FC Tiexi New District Sports Center, Shenyang
Liaoning won 3–2 on aggregate.
Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance
1990–91 Esteghlal   2–1   Liaoning Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka
1991 Al-Hilal   1–1*[D]   Esteghlal Khalifa International Stadium, Doha
1992–93 PAS Tehran   1–0   Al-Shabab Al Ahli Stadium, Manama
1993–94 Thai Farmers Bank   2–1   Oman Club Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok
1994–95 Thai Farmers Bank   1–0   Al-Arabi Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok
1995 Ilhwa Chunma   1–0   Al-Nassr King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh
1996–97 Pohang Steelers   2–1   Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
1997–98 Pohang Steelers   0–0*[E]   Dalian Wanda Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
1998–99 Júbilo Iwata   2–1   Esteghlal Azadi Stadium, Tehran 121,000[4]
1999–2000 Al-Hilal   3–2   Júbilo Iwata King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh 40,000
2000–01 Suwon Samsung Bluewings   1–0   Júbilo Iwata Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon
2001–02 Suwon Samsung Bluewings   0–0*[F]   Anyang LG Cheetahs Azadi Stadium, Tehran
AFC Champions League era (2002–2024)
Year Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance
2002–03 Al Ain   2–0   BEC Tero Sasana Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain
BEC Tero Sasana   1–0   Al Ain Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok
Al Ain won 2–1 on aggregate.
2004 Al-Ittihad   1–3   Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma   0–5   Al-Ittihad Seongnam Stadium, Seongnam
Al-Ittihad won 6–3 on aggregate.
2005 Al Ain   1–1   Al-Ittihad Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain
Al-Ittihad   4–2   Al Ain Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah
Al-Ittihad won 5–3 on aggregate.
2006 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors   2–0   Al-Karamah Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju 25,830
Al-Karamah   2–1   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Khaled bin Walid Stadium, Homs 40,000
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–2 on aggregate.
2007 Sepahan   1–1   Urawa Red Diamonds Foolad Shahr Stadium, Fuladshahr 30,000
Urawa Red Diamonds   2–0   Sepahan Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama 59,034
Urawa Red Diamonds won 3–1 on aggregate.
2008 Gamba Osaka   3–0   Adelaide United Osaka Expo '70 Stadium, Suita, Osaka 21,000[5]
Adelaide United   0–2   Gamba Osaka Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide 17,000[6]
Gamba Osaka won 5–0 on aggregate.
Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance
2009 Pohang Steelers   2–1   Al-Ittihad National Stadium, Tokyo 25,743[7]
2010 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma   3–1   Zob Ahan National Stadium, Tokyo 27,308[8]
2011 Al-Sadd   2–2*[G]   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju 41,805[9]
2012 Ulsan Hyundai   3–0   Al-Ahli Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan 42,153[10]
Year Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance
2013 FC Seoul   2–2   Guangzhou Evergrande Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul 55,501[11]
Guangzhou Evergrande   1–1   FC Seoul Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou 55,847[12]
3–3 on aggregate, Guangzhou Evergrande won on away goals.
2014 Western Sydney Wanderers   1–0   Al-Hilal Parramatta Stadium, Sydney 20,053[13]
Al-Hilal   0–0   Western Sydney Wanderers King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh 66,225[14]
Western Sydney Wanderers won 1–0 on aggregate.
2015 Al-Ahli   0–0   Guangzhou Evergrande Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai 9,480[15]
Guangzhou Evergrande   1–0   Al-Ahli Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou 42,499[16]
Guangzhou Evergrande won 1–0 on aggregate.
2016 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors   2–1   Al Ain Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju 36,158[17]
Al Ain   1–1   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain 23,239[18]
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–2 on aggregate.
2017 Al-Hilal   1–1   Urawa Red Diamonds King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh 59,136[19]
Urawa Red Diamonds   1–0   Al-Hilal Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama 57,727[20]
Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.
2018 Kashima Antlers   2–0   Persepolis Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima 35,022[21]
Persepolis   0–0   Kashima Antlers Azadi Stadium, Tehran 100,000[22][23]
Kashima Antlers won 2–0 on aggregate.
2019 Al-Hilal   1–0   Urawa Red Diamonds King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh 22,549[24]
Urawa Red Diamonds   0–2   Al-Hilal Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama 58,109[25]
Al-Hilal won 3–0 on aggregate.
Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance
2020 Ulsan Hyundai   2–1   Persepolis Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah 8,517[26]
2021 Al-Hilal   2–0   Pohang Steelers King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh 50,171[27]
Year Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance
2022 Al-Hilal   1–1   Urawa Red Diamonds King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh 50,881[28]
Urawa Red Diamonds   1–0   Al-Hilal Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama 53,574[29]
Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.
2023–24 Yokohama F. Marinos   2–1   Al Ain Nissan Stadium, Yokohama 53,704[30]
Al Ain   5–1   Yokohama F. Marinos Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain 24,826[31]
Al Ain won 6–3 on aggregate.

Performances

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By club

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Performances in the Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League Elite 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 Ain 2 2 2002–03, 2023–24 2005, 2016
  Al-Ittihad 2 1 2004, 2005 2009
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 1 2006, 2016 2011
  Maccabi Tel Aviv 2 0 1969, 1971
  Al-Sadd 2 0 1988–89, 2011
  Thai Farmers Bank 2 0 1993–94, 1994–95
  Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2 0 2000–01, 2001–02
  Ulsan HD 2 0 2012, 2020
  Guangzhou 2 0 2013, 2015
  Júbilo Iwata 1 2 1998–99 1999–2000, 2000–01
  Hapoel Tel Aviv 1 1 1967 1970
  Liaoning 1 1 1989–90 1990–91
  Busan IPark 1 0 1985–86
  JEF United Chiba 1 0 1986
  Tokyo Verdy 1 0 1987
  PAS Tehran 1 0 1992–93
  Gamba Osaka 1 0 2008
  Western Sydney Wanderers 1 0 2014
  Kashima Antlers 1 0 2018
  Al-Ahli 0 2 1985–86, 2012
  Yokohama F. Marinos 0 2 1989–90, 2023–24
  FC Seoul 0 2 2001–02, 2013
  Persepolis 0 2 2018, 2020
  Selangor 0 1 1967
  Yangzee 0 1 1969
  Aliyat Al-Shorta 0 1 1971
  Al-Rasheed 0 1 1988–89
  Al-Shabab 0 1 1992–93
  Oman Club 0 1 1993–94
  Al-Arabi 0 1 1994–95
  Al-Nassr 0 1 1995
  Dalian Shide 0 1 1997–98
  Police Tero 0 1 2002–03
  Al-Karamah 0 1 2006
  Sepahan 0 1 2007
  Adelaide United 0 1 2008
  Zob Ahan 0 1 2010
  Shabab Al-Ahli 0 1 2015


By nation

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Performances in finals by nation
Nation Titles Runners-up Total
  South Korea 12 7 19
  Japan 8 5 13
  Saudi Arabia 6 10 16
  Iran 3 6 9
  China 3 2 5
  Israel 3 1 4
  United Arab Emirates 2 3 5
  Qatar 2 1 3
  Thailand 2 1 3
  Australia 1 1 2
  Iraq 0 2 2
  Malaysia 0 1 1
  Oman 0 1 1
  Syria 0 1 1

See also

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Notes

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A. ^ The final was scratched and Maccabi Tel Aviv were awarded the championship after Aliyat Al-Shorta refused to play the Israeli side for political reasons.[32]

B. ^ The championship was decided in a final group round-robin of four teams.

C. ^ The final was scratched and Yomiuri FC were awarded the championship as Al-Hilal was unable to field a team after several of their starting players were selected for the Saudi national team's preparation camp, which clashed with the first leg.[33]

D. ^ Score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Al-Hilal won the penalty-shootout 4–3.[34]

E. ^ Score was 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time. Pohang Steelers won the penalty-shootout 6–5.[35]

F. ^ Score was 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time. Suwon Samsung Bluewings won the penalty-shootout 4–2.[36]

G. ^ Score was 2–2 after 90 minutes and extra time. Al-Sadd won the penalty-shootout 4–2.[37]

References

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  1. ^ "AFC Champions League: The drama, the glory..." the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  2. ^ "AFC Champions League Official Programme". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013.
  3. ^ احمدی, مهدی. "روایتی جذاب از اولین قهرمانی تاج در آسیا/ آقایی در قاره کهن با شکست غولی به نام هاپوئل!". استقلال نیوز (in Persian). Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  4. ^ "رکورد بیشترین تعداد تماشاگر بازی‌های باشگاهی آسیا همچنان در اختیار استقلال". yjc.news (in Persian). Retrieved 14 September 2022.[unreliable source?]
  5. ^ "Gamba Osaka – Adelaide United 3:0 (AFC Champions League 2008, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Adelaide United – Gamba Osaka 0:2 (AFC Champions League 2008, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Al Ittihad – Pohang Steelers 1:2 (AFC Champions League 2009, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma – FC Zob Ahan 3:1 (AFC Champions League 2010, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Jeonbuk FC – Al Sadd 2:4 (AFC Champions League 2011, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Ulsan Hyundai – Al Ahli SFC 3:0 (AFC Champions League 2012, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  11. ^ "FC Seoul – Guangzhou Evergrande 2:2 (AFC Champions League 2013, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Guangzhou Evergrande – FC Seoul 1:1 (AFC Champions League 2013, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Western Sydney Wanderers – Al Hilal 1:0 (AFC Champions League 2014, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Al Hilal – Western Sydney Wanderers 0:0 (AFC Champions League 2014, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Al Ahli Dubai – Guangzhou Evergrande 0:0 (AFC Champions League 2015, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Guangzhou Evergrande – Al Ahli Dubai 1:0 (AFC Champions League 2015, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Jeonbuk FC – Al Ain FC 2:1 (AFC Champions League 2016, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Al Ain FC – Jeonbuk FC 1:1 (AFC Champions League 2016, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Al Hilal – Urawa Red Diamonds 1:1 (AFC Champions League 2017, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Urawa Red Diamonds – Al Hilal 1:0 (AFC Champions League 2017, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Kashima Antlers – Persepolis 2:0 (AFC Champions League 2018, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Persepolis – Kashima Antlers 0:0 (AFC Champions League 2018, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Match Report of Persepolis FC vs Kashima Antlers". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Al Hilal – Urawa Red Diamonds 1:0 (AFC Champions League 2019, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  25. ^ "Urawa Red Diamonds – Al Hilal 0:2 (AFC Champions League 2019, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Persepolis – Ulsan Hyundai 1:2 (AFC Champions League 2020, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  27. ^ "Al Hilal – Pohang Steelers 2:0 (AFC Champions League 2021, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Final – 1st Leg: Urawa Reds fight back to hold Al Hilal". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 29 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  29. ^ "Urawa Reds edge Al Hilal for historic third title". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Yokohama F. Marinos – Al Ain FC 2:1 (AFC Champions League 2023/2024, Final)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Al Ain FC – Yokohama F. Marinos 5:1 (AFC Champions League 2023/2024, Final)". worldfootball.net. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  32. ^ "Champions' Cup 1971". RSSSF. 26 December 2000. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  33. ^ "الزعيم تاريخ عريق من الانتصارات الآسيوية". al-jazirah.com (in Arabic). 7 March 2001. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  34. ^ "Champions' Cup 1991/92". RSSSF. 2 August 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  35. ^ "Champions' Cup 1997/98". RSSSF. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  36. ^ "Champions' Cup 2001/02". RSSSF. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  37. ^ "Going the distance: A look back at the 2011 ACL final". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2016.