AFC Champions League

AFC Champions League

Founded	1967 (2002 in its current format)
Region	Asia (AFC)
Number of teams	32 Group Stage 35 Total
Current champions	Ulsan Hyundai (1st title)
Most successful club(s)	Pohang Steelers (3 titles)
Website	Official website
2013 AFC Champions League

The AFC Champions League is the premier club tournament of Asia, that is run by the Asian Football Confederation. A total of thirty-five clubs compete in the tournament; with twenty-nine clubs receiving automatic berths, will six clubs qualify via the qualifying playoffs. Since's the 2009 AFC Champions League; champions do not qualify automatically.

The most successful club in the competition; is the Pohang Steelers with the club winning a total of three titles.

History

Asian Champion Club Tournament Era (1967–1971)

The competition started as the Asian Champion Club Tournament, the competition had a variety of different formats with the inaugural tournament staged as a straight forward knockout format. The two most successful clubs of this era were Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The tournament was not held after the 1971 edition for fourteen years due to; a lack of professionalism and interest.

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

1985/86 competition marked the return of the premier club tournament rebranded the Asian Club Championship. The format would again change for time to time with a few withdrawals also seen. In 1990, the Asian Football Confederation introduced the Asian Cup Winners Cup, with the 1995 season seeing the introduction of the Asian Super Cup.

AFC Champions League Era (2002/03–present)

2002/03 season

The 2002/03 season saw the Asian Club Championship, Asian Cup Winners Cup and Asian Super Cup combine to become the AFC Champions League. League and Cup Winners would qualify for the qualifying playoffs with the best eight clubs from east and west Asia progressing to the Group Stage. The inaugural winners of the AFC Champions League was Al Ain defeating BEC Tero 2-1 on aggregate. The competition would be postponed for one year due to the SARI Virus.

2004–2008 seasons

The tournament was re-launched in 2004 season with 28 clubs from fourteen countries. Unlike the previous year, the tournament schedule was changed from March to November. In the group stage, the 28 clubs were divided into seven groups of four on a regional basis, separating East Asian and West Asian clubs to reduce traveling costs, and played double round-robin on a home and away basis. Then, the seven group winners along with the defending champions qualified to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals were two-legged series, with away goals, extra time, and penalties used as tie-breakers.

The 2005 season saw Syrian clubs join the competition, thus increasing the number of participating countries to 15, and two years later, following their transfer into the AFC in 2006, Australian clubs were also included in the tournament. With lack of professionalism in Asian football, many problems still existed in the tournament, such as on field violence and late submission of the player registration. Many blamed the lack of prize money and expensive travel cost as the some of the reasons.

However, with the introduction of the FIFA World Club Championship in 2005 (now known as FIFA Club World Cup), inclusion of English media via the A-League, and two consecutive wins by Japanese sides, allowed to set up a more competitive and more professional format in 2009.

2009–2013

The Champions League expanded to 32 clubs and direct entry is limited to the top ten Asian leagues. Each country will receive up to 4 slots, though no more than one third of the number of teams in that country's top division, rounded downwards, depending on the strength of their league, league structure (professionalism), marketability, financial status, and other criteria set out by the AFC Pro-League committee.

The assessment criteria and ranking for participating associations will be revised by AFC every two years, with the most recent ones being approved for 2011–2012 seasons.

The prize money has been significantly increased since 2009 season and the clubs can earn some prize money even at the group stage depending on their performance. The group stage is conducted in the same manner as the previous four tournaments; this time, however, now eight group winners and eight runners-up qualify to the Round of 16, in which group-winners play host to the runners-up in a single match format, matched regionally.

The regional restriction is lifted from the further stages, though since 2010 season clubs from the same country cannot face each other in the quarterfinals unless that country has three or more representatives in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals and the semifinals are played in two-legged series, with away goal, extra time, and penalties used as tie-breakers. The final is played as a single match at a pre-determined neutral venue.

The Competition committee meeting in 2012 marked new format changes for the 2013 edition with the Round of 16 for the first time to be played as a home and away series. Also for the first time since 2008; the Final would be played as a two legged tie.

2014-Future

The Asian Football Confederation made a purposal to revert the final back to a single leg and allow the best twenty-three member associations that meet the ACL Criteria. A final decision on the purposals will be made in November 2013.

Current Regulations

Qualification

Qualification to the AFC Champions League is based on the ACL Criteria; which is a modify verse of the Union of European Football Associations coefficient that determines a specific number of berths that a nation receives. The criteria measures marketability, stadia, etc. Currently only the ten best nations are eligible to compete in the competition.

AFC Final Assessment Ranking for 2013 seasons

The Asian Football Confederation announced the ACL berths (see below) for AFC Champions League 2013 in November, 2012.

Evaluation for 2013 AFC Champions League
	Fulfills criteria (> 600 points)
	Does not fulfill criteria, but allocated slots
	Does not fulfill criteria, not allocated slots

West Asia Zone

Rank	Member Association	Points	Spots
			Group stage	Play-off	AFC Cup
1	Saudi Arabia	860.5	4	0	0
2	Qatar	838.2	4	0	0
3	Iran	813.5	3	1	0
4	UAE	750.2	2	2	0
5	Uzbekistan	680.8	1	0	0
6	India	−106.4	0	0	2
7	Jordan	−128.7	0	0	2
Total			14	4	—

East Asia Zone

Rank	Member Association	Points	Spots
			Group stage	Play-off	AFC Cup
1	Japan	946.8	4	0	0
2	Korea Republic	886.6	4	0	0
3	China PR	796.7	4	0	0
4	Australia	567.0	1	1	0
5	Thailand	177.2	1	1	0
6	Singapore	−135.1	0	0	2
7	Vietnam	−815.7	0	0	2
Total			14	2	—

Tournament Format

Qualifying play-off

Six teams would play a single match on a regional basis; to determine who would progress to the Group Stage. The eliminated clubs for the AFC Champions League 2013 season would not qualify to the AFC Cup.

Changes could be made to the Qualifying Playoffs for the AFC Champions League 2014 due to the increase of teams that's excepted (only if the proposal made is pass by the Asian Football Confederation in November 2013).

Group Stage

A total of 32 clubs are divided into 8 groups of four, based on region i.e. East Asian and South-east Asian clubs are drawn in Group E to H, 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 eight group winners and eight runners-up qualify to the Knockout Phase.

Knockout Phase

Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinal & Final

Starting season 2013: the group winners and runners-up would play a two-legged tie to determine which club would progress to the Quarter Finals. Clubs would play each other on a regional basis. 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.

All 8 clubs are randomly matched; however, starting 2010 season, the clubs from same country cannot face each other in the quarter-finals. The Final for the 2013 edition would be played as a two legged fixture.

The Final is excepted to be reverted back to a single leg for the AFC Champions League 2014.

Sponsors & Promotion

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.

On 8 January 2009 it was confirmed that Emirates Airline signed a four-year extension to its sponsorship deal with AFC.

In November 2009, the AFC signed a $1 billion 8-year deal with WSG starting 2013. Most of this money will be allocated to the AFC Champions League.

Currently Nike, ING, Nikon, Panasonic and Emirates are the Offical Sponsors whilst Asahi are the Official Partners.

Starting 2014, Pro Evolutions Soccer will cover the AFC Champions League.

Prize money

The budget for the tournament has increased from US $4 million in 2008 ($4265224 million in 2012 US dollars) to US $20 million in 2009 ($21402203 in 2012 US dollars), with the total prize pool now equalling US $14 million. The winner receives US $1.5 million in prize money plus additional winnings collected from the earlier rounds. Clubs receive a travel subsidy for each away match.

The AFC Champions League 2014 is excepted to increase the total of prize money won to the champions to ten million dollars.

Qualifying Playoffs

• Travel Subsidy: $20,000 (Traveling Team Only)

Group stages

• Win: $40,000
• Draw: $20,000
• Loss: $0
• Travel subsidy: $30,000 x 3

Round of 16

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

Quarter-finals

• Participation: $80,000
• Travel subsidy: $50,000

Semi-finals

• Participation: $120,000
• Travel subsidy: $60,000

Final

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

Participating Associations

Associations	Spots
	2002/03	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
East Asia
Australia	–	–	–	–	2	2	2	2	2	3	1
China PR	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	3	4
Indonesia	0	2	2	0	2	0	1	1	1	0	0
Japan	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	4	4	4	4
Korea Republic	2	2	2	2	3	2	4	4	4	4	4
Singapore	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
Thailand	2	2	2	0	1	2	0	0	0	1	2
Vietnam	0	2	2	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
Total	8	12	12	8	13	13	16	16	15	15	15
West Asia
Bahrain	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
India	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Iran	2	2	2	2	1	2	4	4	4	3	3
Iraq	1	2	2	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Kuwait	0	2	2	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Qatar	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	4
Saudi Arabia	1	2	3	3	2	2	4	4	4	3	4
Syria	0	0	2	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Turkmenistan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
UAE	1	3	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4
Uzbekistan	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	2
Total	8	17	17	17	15	16	16	16	17	17	17
Total
	16	29	29	25	28	29	32	32	32	32	32

Asian Champions League Finals

Asian Champion Club Tournament (1967–1972)

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Venue
1967	Hapoel Tel Aviv	2 – 1	Selangor FA	Bangkok
1969	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1 – 0	Yangzee FC	Bangkok
1970	Taj (Esteghlal Tehran FC)	2 – 1	Hapoel Tel Aviv	Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran
1971	Maccabi Tel Aviv	w/o1	Al-Shorta Club	Bangkok

¹ The final was scratched and Maccabi were awarded the championship after Al-Shorta refused to play in the final for political reasons.

Asian Club Championship (1985–2002)

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Venue
1985–86	Daewoo Royals	3 – 1	Al-Ahli SC	Jeddah
1986–87	Furukawa Electric	1	Al-Hilal FC	Riyadh
1987–88	Yomiuri FC	w/o2	Al-Hilal FC	Two-leg finals
1988–89	Al-Sadd SC	3 – 3 (aggregate, away goals win)	Al-Rasheed SC	Two-leg finals
1989–90	Liaoning FC	3 – 2 (aggregate)	Nissan FC	Two-leg finals
1990–91	Esteghlal FC	2 – 1	Liaoning FC	Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka
1991–92	Al-Hilal FC	1 – 1 (4–3 PSO)	Esteghlal FC	Doha
1992–93	PAS Tehran FC	1 – 0	Al-Shabab Club	Bahrain
1993–94	Thai Farmers Bank FC	2 – 1	Oman Club	Bangkok
1994–95	Thai Farmers Bank FC	1 – 0	Al-Arabi SC	Bangkok
1995–96	Ilhwa Chunma	1 – 0	Al-Nassr FC	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh
1996–97	Pohang Steelers	2 – 1	Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma	Kuala Lumpur
1997–98	Pohang Steelers	0 – 0 (6–5 PSO)	Dalian Wanda	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
1998–99	Júbilo Iwata	2 – 1	Esteghlal FC	Azadi Stadium, Tehran
1999-00	Al-Hilal FC	3 – 2	Júbilo Iwata	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh
2000–01	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1 – 0	Júbilo Iwata	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon
2001–02	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0 – 0 (4–2 PSO)	Anyang LG Cheetahs	Azadi Stadium, Tehran

¹ The championship was decided in a final pool of four teams.
² The final was scratched and Yomiuri FC were awarded the championship after Al-Hilal objected to the match officials that were chosen for the first leg and refused to participate in the final.

AFC Champions League (2002/03-present)

Two-leg finals (2002/03–2008)

Year	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance
2002/03	Al-Ain FC	2–0	BEC Tero Sasana	Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium
	BEC Tero Sasana	1–0	Al-Ain FC	Rajamangala Stadium
	Al-Ain FC won 2 – 1 on aggregate
2004	Al-Ittihad FC	1–3	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	Prince Abdullah al-Faisal stadium
	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	0–5	Al-Ittihad FC	Tancheon Sports Complex
	Al-Ittihad FC won 6 – 3 on aggregate
2005	Al-Ain FC	1–1	Al-Ittihad FC	Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium
	Al-Ittihad FC	4–2	Al-Ain FC	Prince Abdullah al-Faisal stadium
	Al-Ittihad FC won 5 – 3 on aggregate
2006	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2–0	Al-Karamah SC	Jeonju World Cup Stadium	25,830
	Al-Karamah SC	2–1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Khaled bin Walid Stadium	40,000
	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3 – 2 on aggregate
2007	Sepahan FC	1–1	Urawa Red Diamonds	Foolad Shahr Stadium	30,000
	Urawa Red Diamonds	2–0	Sepahan FC	Saitama Stadium 2002	59,034
	Urawa Red Diamonds won 3 – 1 on aggregate
2008	Gamba Osaka	3–0	Adelaide United	Osaka Expo '70 Stadium	20,639
	Adelaide United	0–2	Gamba Osaka	Hindmarsh Stadium	17,000
	Gamba Osaka won 5 – 0 on aggregate

One leg finals (2009–2012)

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Venue	Attendance
2009	Pohang Steelers	2–1	Al-Ittihad FC	National Stadium, Tokyo	25,743
2010	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	3–1	Zob Ahan FC	National Stadium, Tokyo	27,308
2011	Al-Sadd SC	2–2 (4–2 PSO)	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju	41,805
2012	Ulsan Hyundai	3–0	Al-Ahli SC	Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan	42,315

Two Legged Final 2013

Year	Home team	Score	Away team	Venue	Attendance
2013	-	0	-	-	-
	-	0	-	-	-

Participating Associations by Debut

Asian Club Championship (included qualifying round)

Italics are withdrawn associations.

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

AFC Champions League

Year	New Entry Team(s)
2003	Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macau, Maldives, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
2004	Bahrain
2005	None
2006	None
2007	Australia
2008	None
2009	Singapore
2010	None
2011	None
2012	None

Non Participating Associations

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

AFC Champions League records and statistics

Main article: 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).

Nation	Winners	Runners-up
South Korea	10	5
Japan	5	3
Saudi Arabia	4	7
Iran	3	4
Israel	3	1
Thailand	2	1
Qatar	2	1
China	1	2
United Arab Emirates	1	1
Iraq	0	2
Australia	0	1
Malaysia	0	1
Oman	0	1
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
Pohang Steelers	3	0	1996–97, 1997–98, 2009	-
Esteghlal FC	2	2	1970, 1990–91	1991–92, 1998–99
Al-Hilal FC	2	2	1991–92, 1999–2000	1986–87, 1987–88
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	2	2	1995–96, 2010	1996–97, 2004
Al-Ittihad FC	2	1	2004, 2005	2009
Al-Sadd SC	2	0	1988–89, 2011	-
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2	0	2000–01, 2001–02	-
Thai Farmers Bank FC	2	0	1993–94, 1994–95	-
Maccabi Tel Aviv	2	0	1969, 1971	-
Jubilo Iwata	1	2	1998–99	1999–2000, 2000–2001
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1	1	2006	2011
Al-Ain FC	1	1	2002–03	2005
Liaoning FC	1	1	1989–90	1990–91
Hapoel Tel Aviv	1	1	1967	1970
Ulsan Hyundai	1	0	2012	-
Gamba Osaka	1	0	2008	-
Urawa Red Diamonds	1	0	2007	-
PAS Tehran FC	1	0	1992–93	-
Tokyo Verdy	1	0	1987–88	-
JEF United Chiba	1	0	1986–87	-
Busan IPark	1	0	1985–86	-
Al-Ahli SC	0	2	-	1985–86, 2012
Zob Ahan Isfahan FC	0	1	-	2010
Adelaide United	0	1	-	2008
Sepahan FC	0	1	-	2007
Al-Karamah SC	0	1	-	2006
BEC Tero Sasana	0	1	-	2002–03
FC Seoul	0	1	-	2001–02
Dalian Wanda	0	1	-	1997–98
Al-Nassr FC	0	1	-	1995–96
Al-Arabi SC	0	1	-	1994–95
Oman Club	0	1	-	1993–94
Al-Shabab FC	0	1	-	1992–93
Yokohama F. Marinos	0	1	-	1989–90
Al-Rasheed SC	0	1	-	1988–89
Al-Shorta Club	0	1	-	1971
Yangzee FC	0	1	-	1969
Selangor FA	0	1	-	1967

All-time Top 20 AFC Champions League Clubs

This table includes results beyond group stage of AFC Champions League through 2002/03 season, therefore

• it includes quarterfinal appearance by the defending champions during 2004 to 2008 seasons (with + appearance).
• it does not include the old Asian Club Championship
• it does not include Qualifying rounds

As of May 1, 2013 (After Group Stage)

Best Finish		Winner		Runners-up		Semifinals		Quarterfinals		Round of 16

Rank	Club	Seasons	Games	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	R	SF	QF	16	G
1	Ittihad FC	6+2	66	37	14	15	134	67	67	125	2	1	2	1		2
2	Sepahan FC	9	66	32	15	19	103	76	27	111		1		2		6
3	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6+1	57	33	7	17	121	71	50	106	1	1	1	2	0+1	1
4	FC Pakhtakor Tashkent	11	69	31	12	26	93	88	5	105			2	1	1	7
5	Al-Hilal FC	9	59	29	15	15	96	66	30	102			1	2	2+1	3
6	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	5	44	28	8	8	108	47	61	92	1	1	1		1	1
7	Al-Shabab Riyadh	7	49	25	8	16	64	52	12	83			1	1	2+1	2
8	Gamba Osaka	6	45	24	8	13	101	54	47	80	1				3	2
9	FC Bunyodkor	6	50	22	14	14	66	60	6	80			2	1	2+1
10	Al Ain FC	7+1	53	21	12	20	77	73	4	75	1	1		2		4
11	Sadd Sports Club	8	51	19	14	18	68	60	8	71	1			1		6
12	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	5	39	20	10	9	67	37	30	70			1	1	1	2
13	Pohang Steelers	5	39	17	11	11	52	36	16	62	1			1		3
14	Kashima Antlers	5	32	18	7	7	75	30	45	61				1	3	1
15	Al-Ahli Jeddah	5	38	17	9	12	72	47	25	60		1		1	0+1	2
16	Adelaide United FC	4	34	16	8	10	43	29	14	56		1		1	1	1
17	Ulsan Hyundai	3	24	17	2	5	45	26	19	53	1		1			1
18	Al-Gharafa Sports Club	7	43	15	8	20	63	72	-9	53				1	0+1	5
19	Shandong Luneng Taishan F.C.	5	32	16	4	12	54	43	11	52				1		4
20	Esteghlal Tehran FC‡	6	35	13	11	11	52	43	9	50					2+1	3

By Club Statistics

• Australian clubs in the AFC Champions League
• Chinese clubs in the AFC Champions League
• Indonesian clubs in the AFC Champions League
• Iraqi clubs in the AFC Champions League
• Japanese clubs in the AFC Champions League
• Qatari clubs in the AFC Champions League
• South Korean clubs in the AFC Champions League
• Thai clubs in the AFC Champions League

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
2009	Leandro	Gamba Osaka	10
2010	Jose Mota	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	9
2011	Lee Dong-Gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	9
2012	Ricardo Oliveira	Al Jazira	12

Fair Play Award

Year	Club
2008	Gamba Osaka
2009	Pohang Steelers
2010	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
2011	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2012	Ulsan Hyundai

See also

• International club competition records
• List of Asian Cup and AFC Champions League winning managers

External links

• AFC Champions League official website