List of Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League finals
The AFC Champions League is a seasonal association football competition that was established in 1967. It begins in January or February and ends with the finals in October or November of the same year. The AFC Champions League 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.
| Founded | 1967 2002 (current format) |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (AFC) |
| Number of teams | 32 (group stage) 2 (finalists) |
| Current champions |  (3rd title) |
| Most successful club(s) |  (3 titles each) |
 | |
Al-Hilal and Pohang Steelers hold the record for the most victories, with three wins each since the competition's inception. Pohang Steelers have also won the competition the most times consecutively along with Thai Farmers Bank, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Al-Ittihad, winning it two times. Al-Hilal has contested the most finals, with seven, winning three and losing four, while Al-Ahli and FC Seoul are the only clubs to have finished as runners-up twice without winning. Overall, 24 clubs have won the competition since its inception in 1967. Clubs from South Korea have won the most titles, eleven, Japanese clubs are second with seven, and Saudi Arabian clubs are third with five wins. The current champions are Al-Hilal, who beat Urawa Red Diamonds 3–0 on aggregate in the 2019 final.
List of finals
| # | Finals not played |
 |
Finals decided on away goals |
 |
Matches won during extra time |
| * | Matches decided by a penalty shootout |
- 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.
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Performances
By club
The following table lists clubs by number of Winners and Runners-up in the Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League.
1 Club no longer exists.
2 In 1974 the Israel FA was expelled from the AFC 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.
By nation
| Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
|
11 | 6 | 17 |
 |
7 | 4 | 11 |
|
5 | 9 | 14 |
 |
3 | 5 | 8 |
 |
3 | 2 | 5 |
 |
3 | 1 | 4 |
 |
2 | 1 | 3 |
 |
2 | 1 | 3 |
 |
1 | 3 | 4 |
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1 | 1 | 2 |
 |
0 | 2 | 2 |
 |
0 | 1 | 1 |
 |
0 | 1 | 1 |
 |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 38 | 38 | 76 |
Notes
A. ^ The final was scratched and Maccabi Tel Aviv were awarded the championship as Al-Shorta refused to play the Israeli side for political reasons, entering the field waving Iraqi and Palestinian flags around the pitch.[4]
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 participate in the final after nine of the starting players were chosen to be in the Saudi national team's preparation camp, which coincided with the final matches.[5]
D. ^ Score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Al-Hilal won the penalty-shootout 4–3.[6]
E. ^ Score was 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time. Pohang Steelers won the penalty-shootout 6–5.[7]
F. ^ Score was 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time. Suwon Samsung Bluewings won the penalty-shootout 4–2.[8]
G. ^ Score was 2–2 after 90 minutes and extra time. Al-Sadd won the penalty-shootout 4–2.[9]
References
- "AFC Champions League: The drama, the glory..." the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- "AFC Champions League Official Programme". AFC.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-27.
- "رکورد بیشترین تعداد تماشاگر بازیهای باشگاهی آسیا همچنان در اختیار استقلال". www.yjc.ir. Retrieved 2018-12-05.
- "Champions' Cup 1971". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 26 December 2000. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- "الزعيم تاريخ عريق من الانتصارات الآسيوية". al-jazirah.com (in Arabic). 7 March 2001. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- "Champions' Cup 1991/92". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 2 August 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- "Champions' Cup 1997/98". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- "Champions' Cup 2001/02". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- "Going the distance: A look back at the 2011 ACL final". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
| Asian Club Championship |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Champions League |
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