AFC Champions League

AFC Champions League

Founded	2002
Region	Asia (AFC)
Number of teams	32
Current champions	Gamba Osaka
Most successful club	Esteghlal Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal Suwon Samsung Bluewings Pohang Steelers Thai Farmers Bank Maccabi Tel Aviv (2 times)
AFC Champions League 2008

The AFC Champions League is the current annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In normal circumstances, 32 top clubs from fourteen Asian countries along with the defending champions competed in the tournament.

Including the results from Asian Champion Club Tournament and Asian Club Championships, seven clubs have won the tournament twice; Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Esteghlal F.C., Al-Hilal, Thai Farmers Bank FC, Pohang Steelers, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Al Ittihad.

History

Asian Champion Club Tournament Era (1967-1972)

The competition started as the Asian Champion Club Tournament back in 1967. Eight domestic champions from eight Asian leagues competed in the inaugural season. With the exception of 1968 season, the tournament was held annually until 1971. During this first four editions, two Israeli clubs from Tel Aviv took three championships. In 1972, the tournament canceled due to a lack of interests which eventually resulted in withdrawals of most participants except for two clubs. The tournament was not held for next fourteen years. This also because professionalism in Asian club football did not start till late 90s and early 2000s.

Asian Club Championship Era (1985/86-2001/02)

Using old European Cup as a model, the tournament returned to Asia during the 1985/86 season with a new name, Asian Club Championship. Entry was restricted to the domestic champions of certain Asian leagues. Even so, few withdrawal were seen from year to year. From 1990, AFC introduced Asian Cup Winners Cup which, as the name suggest, was also restricted to domestic cup winners. The winners of these two Asian tournaments then played at the Asian Super Cup.

AFC Champions League Era (2002/03-present)

From 2002/03 season the three major Asian tournaments, Asian Champions Cup, Asian Cup Winners Cup, and Asian Super Cup was merged into one larger competition and was re-branded as AFC Champions League. In the previous years, the domestic champions and cup winners were sorted into two different continental tournaments, but now both domestic champions and cup winners enter into one competition. In the first edition, after several qualifying round, a total of sixteen clubs participated. The 2003/04 season was canceled due to SARS virus and the War in Iraq. The tournament was re-launched in 2004 season with 28 clubs from fourteen countries. In the current format, these 28 clubs are divided into 7 groups of four and plays double round-robin (home and away). The seven group winners along with defending champions qualifies to the quarter-final. Quarter-final, semi-final, and finals are two-legged series, with away goal, extra time, and penalties are used as tie-breaker. The 2007 draw also saw clubs from Australia's Hyundai A-League competition participate.

Future Plans (2009 and beyond)

The champions league will be expanded to 32 clubs and entry will be limited to the top eleven Asian leagues. Each country will receive up to 4 slots depending on the strength of their league, league structure (professionalism), marketability, financial status and other criteria set out by the AFC Pro-League committee. New developments has suggested that the AFC Cup winner and runners-up will also to play in the qualifying rounds to determine which teams will participate in the group stage^[1]. The group round will be conducted in the same manner as the 2002/03-2008 edition; however, the only difference is that the eight group winners and eight runners-up will qualify to the round of 16.

Qualification

Current

The domestic champions of the top 14 Asian federations qualify automatically for the tournament, along with the respective cup winners of the same federations. The tournament holders receive a bye into the quarter-finals. Clubs in 2nd-tier countries enter the AFC Cup.

2009-2010

AFC Final Assessment Ranking^[2]

P	Associations	Pts (Total 500)	Spots
			Group stage	Qualifying play-off	AFC Cup
1	Japan	470	4	0	0
2	China PR	431	4	0	0
3	Australia	343	2	0	0
4	Iran	340	4	0	0
5	Korea Republic	441	4	0	0
6	Saudi Arabia	365	4	0	0
7	UAE	356	3	1	0
8	Indonesia	296	1	1	0
9	Uzbekistan	289	2	0	0
10	Qatar	270	2	0	0
11	Singapore	279	0	1	1
12	Thailand	221	0	1	1
13	India	202	0	1	2
14	Vietnam	191	0	1	1

Format

Current

Group Stage

A total of 28 clubs are divided into 7 groups of four, based on region i.e. East Asian and South-east Asian clubs are drawn in Group E to G, while the rest are grouped in Group A to D. Each group is a double round robin, for a total of 6 matches for each team. Clubs receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked according to points and tie breakers are in following order:

• Points earned between the clubs in question
• Goal Difference between the clubs in question
• Goals For between the clubs in question
• Goal Difference within the group
• Goals For within the group

The seven group winners along with the defending champions qualify for the quarter-finals.

Knock-out Round

All 8 clubs are randomly matched; however, the only restriction is that the clubs from same country cannot face each other in the quarter-finals. The games are conducted in 2 legs -home and away- where the aggregate goals decides the match winner. If the aggregate goals cannot produce a winner the away goals rule is used. If still tied the clubs play extra time, where the away goals rule still applies. If still tied after extra time, the game goes to penalties.

2009-2010

Qualifying play-off

8 teams, 2 knock-out rounds, each 1 leg, on a regional basis, 2 winners qualify for the group stage.

Group Stage

32 teams, 8 groups of 4, home and away round robin, on a regional basis, winners and runners-up qualifies.

Round of 16

Group winners vs group runners-up, 1 leg, on a regional basis.

Quarter-finals and semi-finals

8 teams, each 2 legs, random draws.

Final

1 leg on a neutral venue.

Sponsors

On 5 November 2008 it was announced that Qatar’s leading telecom company Qtel will sponsor the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and the AFC Champions League from 2009-2012. ^[3]

Prize money

From the 2009 edition, the total prize pool is gone up to US $14 million. The winner can cash in 1.5 million US dollars and prize money collected from the earlier rounds.^[4]

The below figures are subject to approval by the AFC Executive Committee, which meets on November 26.

Group stages

• Win: $40,000
• Draw: $20,000
• Loss: $0
• Travel subsidy(away matches): $30,000 x 3 for each team

Round of 16

• Win: $50,000
• Travel subsidy: $40,000

Quarter-finals

• Aggregate win: $80,000
• Travel subsidy: $50,000

Semi-finals

• Aggregate Win: $120,000
• Travel subsidy: $60,000

Final

• Champions: $1.5 million
• Runners-up: $750,000
• Travel subsidy: $60,000

Participating Associations

Associations	Spots
	02/03	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
East Asia
Australia	–	–	–	–	2	2	2	2
China PR	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4
Indonesia	0	2	2	2	2	0	1†	1†
Japan	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	4
Korea Republic	2	2	2	2	3	2	4	4
Malaysia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Singapore	0	0	0	0	0	0	0†	0†
Thailand	2	2	2	0	1	2	0†	0†
Vietnam	0	2	2	0	1	2	0†	0†
Total	8	12	12	8	13	13	16	16
West Asia
Bahrain	0	2	0	0	0	0	0†	0
India	0	0	0	0	0	0	0†	0†
Iran	2	2	2	2	1	2	4	4
Iraq	1	2	2	2	2	2	0	0
Jordan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kuwait	0	2	2	2	2	2	0	0
Lebanon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0†	0
Qatar	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Saudi Arabia	1	2	3	3	2	2	4	4
Syria	0	0	2	2	2	2	0	0
Turkmenistan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
UAE	1	3	2	2	2	2	3†	3†
Uzbekistan	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Total	8	17	17	17	15	16	16	16
Total
	16	29	29	25	28	29	32	32

† May get one more spot via qualifying play-off

Asian Champions Cup & Champions League Finals

AFC Champions League

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up
2008	Gamba Osaka	5 - 0 (aggregate)	Adelaide United
2007	Urawa Red Diamonds	3 - 1 (aggregate)	Sepahan
2006	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	3 - 2 (aggregate)	Al Karama
2005	Al-Ittihad	5 - 3 (aggregate)	Al-Ain
2004	Al-Ittihad	6 - 3 (aggregate)	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
2002-03	Al-Ain	2 - 1 (aggregate)	BEC Tero Sasana

Asian Club Championship

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up
2001-02	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0 - 0 (4-2 pens)	Anyang LG Cheetahs
2000-01	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1 - 0	Júbilo Iwata
1999-2000	Al-Hilal	3 - 2	Júbilo Iwata
1998-99	Júbilo Iwata	2 - 1	Esteghlal
1997-98	Pohang Steelers	0 - 0 (6-5 pens)	Dalian Wanda
1996-97	Pohang Steelers	2 - 1	Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma
1995-96	Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma	1 - 0	Al-Nasr
1994-95	Thai Farmers Bank	1 - 0	Al-Arabi
1993-94	Thai Farmers Bank	2 - 1	Oman Club
1992-93	PAS	1 - 0	Al-Shabab
1991-92	Al-Hilal	1 - 1 (4-3 pens)	Esteghlal
1990-91	Esteghlal	2 - 1	Liaoning FC
1989-90	Liaoning FC	3 - 2 (aggregate)	Nissan FC
1988-89	Al Sadd	3 - 3 (aggregate, away goals win)	Al Rasheed
1987-88	Yomiuri	w/o - x (Al-Hilal withdrew)	Al-Hilal
1986-87	Furukawa Electric	Group stage win	Al-Hilal
1985-86	Daewoo Royals	3 - 1	Al-Ahly

Asian Champion Club Tournament

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up
1971	Maccabi Tel Aviv	w/o - x (Al Shourta withdrew)	Al Shourta
1970	Taj	2 - 1	Hapoel Tel Aviv
1969	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1 - 0	Yangzee FC
1967	Hapoel Tel Aviv	2 - 1	Selangor FA

Participating Associations by Debut

Asian Club Championship (included qualifying round)

Italics are Withdraw association.

• 1967: Israel,  Malaysia,  Hong Kong,  South Korea,  South Vietnam,  Thailand
• 1969: India,  Philippines,  Iran,  Japan
• 1970: Indonesia,  Lebanon
• 1971: Kuwait,  Iraq
• 1986: South Yemen,  North Yemen,  Jordan,  Syria,  Saudi Arabia,  Oman,  United Arab Emirates,  Bahrain,  Qatar,  Bangladesh,  Sri Lanka,  Maldives,  Nepal,  Afghanistan,  Pakistan,  Singapore,  Brunei,  Myanmar,  North Korea,  China,  Macau
• 1987: South Yemen
• 1988:none
• 1989: North Yemen
• 1990: Yemen
• 1991:none
• 1992:none
• 1993: Vietnam
• 1994:none
• 1995: Uzbekistan,  Turkmenistan,  Kazakhstan,  Kyrgyzstan,  Tajikistan
• 1996: Guam
• 1997:none
• 1998:none
• 1999: Palestine
• 2000: Cambodia
• 2001:none
• 2002:none

AFC Champions League

• 2003: Jordan,  Kyrgyzstan,  Lebanon,  Uzbekistan,  Sri Lanka,  Turkmenistan,  United Arab Emirates,  Kuwait,  Syria,  Yemen,  South Korea,  Japan,  Iraq,  Iran,  Qatar,  Saudi Arabia,  Maldives,  Brunei,  Indonesia,  Macau,  India,  China,  Hong Kong,  Thailand,  Vietnam,  Singapore
• 2004: Bahrain
• 2005:none
• 2006:none
• 2007: Australia
• 2008:none
• 2009:none

Non Participating Associations

•  Laos
•  Timor-Leste
•  Afghanistan
•  Bhutan
•  Mongolia
•  Chinese Taipei

AFC Champions League records and statistics

By Nation

The following table lists countries by number of winners and runner-up in AFC Champions League (Asian Club Championship also included).

South Korea is the current leader with 7 titles.

#	Nation	Winners	Runners-up
1	South Korea	7	4
2	Japan	5	3
3	Saudi Arabia	4	5
4	Iran	3	3
5	Israel	3	1
6	Thailand	2	1
7	China	1	2
8	Qatar	1	1
8	United Arab Emirates	1	1
10	Iraq	0	2
11	Australia	0	1
11	Malaysia	0	1
11	Oman	0	1
11	Syria	0	1

By Club

The following table lists Clubs by number of winners and runner-up in AFC Champions League (Asian Club Championship also included).

Team	Winners	Runners-Up	Years Won	Years Lost
Esteghlal	2	2	(1970, 1990-91)	(1991-92, 1998-99)
Al-Hilal	2	2	(1991-92, 1999-2000)	(1986-87, 1987-88)
Al-Ittihad	2	0	(2004, 2005)	-
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2	0	(2000-01, 2001-02)	-
Pohang Steelers	2	0	(1996-97, 1997-98)	-
Thai Farmers Bank	2	0	(1993-94, 1994-95)	-
Maccabi Tel Aviv	2	0	(1969, 1971)	-
Júbilo Iwata	1	2	(1998-99)	(1999-2000, 2000-01)
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	1	2	(1995-96)	(1996-97, 2004)
Al-Ain	1	1	(2002-03)	(2005)
Liaoning F.C.	1	1	(1989-90)	(1990-91)
Hapoel Tel Aviv	1	1	(1967)	(1970)
Gamba Osaka	1	0	(2008)	-
Urawa Red Diamonds	1	0	(2007)	-
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1	0	(2006)	-
PAS	1	0	(1992-93)	-
Al Sadd	1	0	(1988-89)	-
Tokyo Verdy	1	0	(1987-88)	-
JEF United Chiba	1	0	(1986-87)	-
Daewoo Royals	1	0	(1985-86)	-
Adelaide United	0	1	-	(2008)
Sepahan F.C.	0	1	-	(2007)
Al Karama	0	1	-	(2006)
BEC Tero Sasana	0	1	-	(2002-03)
Anyang LG Cheetahs	0	1	-	(2001-02)
Dalian Wanda	0	1	-	(1997-98)
Al-Nasr	0	1	-	(1995-96)
Al-Arabi	0	1	-	(1994-95)
Oman Club	0	1	-	(1993-94)
Al-Shabab	0	1	-	(1992-93)
Yokohama F. Marinos	0	1	-	(1989-90)
Al Rasheed	0	1	-	(1988-89)
Al-Ahly	0	1	-	(1985-86)
Al Shourta	0	1	-	(1971)
Yangzee FC	0	1	-	(1969)
Selangor FA	0	1	-	(1967)

By Club Statistics

• Iraqi clubs at the AFC Champions League
• Thai clubs at the AFC Champions League
• Thai Clubs in Asian Club Championship

Top Scorers

Year	Footballer	Club	Goals
2002-03	Hao Haidong	Dalian Shide	9
2004	Kim Do-Hoon	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	9
2005	Mohamed Kallon	Al-Ittihad	6
2006	Magno Alves	Gamba Osaka	9
2007	Mota	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	7
2008	Nantawat Thansopa	Krung Thai Bank	9

Fair Play Award

Year	Club
2008	Gamba Osaka

See also

• International club competition records

References

External links

• AFC Champions League Official Website

AFC Champions League Seasons AFC Champions League 2002-03 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 Asian Club Championship 1985-86 · 1986-87 · 1987-88 · 1988-89 · 1989-90 · 1990-91 · 1991-92 · 1992-93 · 1993-94 · 1994-95 · 1995-96 · 1996-97 · 1997-98 · 1998-99 · 1999-2000 · 2000-01 · 2001-02 Asian Champion Club Tournament 1967 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 Asian Cup Winners Cup 1990-1991 · 1991-1992 · 1992-1993 · 1993-1994 · 1994-1995 · 1995-1996 · 1996-1997 · 1997-1998 · 1998-1999 · 1999-2000 · 2000-2001 · 2001-2002 Asian Super Cup 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002
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