AFC Champions League Elite
| File:ACLlogo.gif | |
| Sport | Football (soccer) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1967 |
| No. of teams | 28+1 (Group stages) |
| Country | AFC member nations |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
The AFC Champions League is an annual international inter-club football competition between the champions and cup winners of the top 14 Asian leagues. It is run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
History
Originally known as the Asian Club Championship, the tournament began in 1967 with just eight clubs registered to take part. In 1972, with only two entrants able to take part, the tournament was cancelled.
After 1972 the competition went into hiatus but was resurrected again in 1986 and reborn as the Asian Champions Cup. Entry was restricted to domestic champions only, with Cup winners playing in the Asian Cup Winners Cup tournament. The winners of the two major tournaments then played off for the Asian Super Cup.
From 2002/03 the Asian Champions Cup and Asian Cup Winners Cup were merged into one competition and was rebranded the AFC Champions League.
Seven clubs have won the tournament two times; Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Pohang Steelers, Al-Hilal, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Thai Farmers Bank, Esteghlal and Al Ittihad. Maccabi cannot add any further titles, as the Israel Football Association has not been an AFC member for over 30 years, and has since joined UEFA.
With the introduction of the Australian national competition, the Hyundai A-League, in 2005 and the move of Australia from the Oceania Football Confederation to the AFC in 2006, two Australian teams will participate in the tournament starting in 2007. Sydney FC and Adelaide United will be the first Australian teams in the competition.
Qualification & format
The domestic champions of the 14 top 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. Teams which are not in the top 14 federations go into the AFC Cup.
In total, 29 clubs competed in the 2005 Champions League tournament.
The qualifying teams are split on a regional basis into seven groups of four teams. The teams play each other home and away, and the top team from each group qualifies for the quarter-finals, where they join the reigning holders. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are played on a home-and-away basis in the format of a knockout competition.
In 2007 the tournament will stay at 28 teams, with two teams from Australia's A-League offered places in the tournament. Due to their teams technical performance and match results of the Thai and Vietnamese clubs in recent seasons, the AFC decided that Thailand and Vietnam would keep one representative each in the competition with their second places teams demoted to the AFC Cup.
Competing Asian Federations
Central & West Asia
Iran | Iraq | Kuwait | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Syria | UAE | Uzbekistan
East Asia
China | Indonesia | Japan | South Korea | Thailand | Vietnam
From 2006 Australia joined the AFC and will enter teams in the AFC Champions League from 2007 onwards.
Asian Champions Cup & Champions League Finals
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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 |
7 | 4 |
 Saudi Arabia |
4 | 5 |
 Japan |
3 | 3 |
 Iran |
3 | 2 |
 Israel |
3 | 1 |
 Thailand |
2 | 1 |
 China |
1 | 2 |
 Qatar |
1 | 1 |
 UAE |
1 | 1 |
 Iraq |
0 | 2 |
 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Al-Hilal |
2 | 2 | (1992, 2000) | (1987, 1988) |
 Esteghlal |
2 | 2 | (1970, 1991) | (1992, 1999) |
| Al-Ittihad |
2 | 0 | (2004, 2005) | - |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
2 | 0 | (2001, 2002) | - |
| Pohang Steelers |
2 | 0 | (1997, 1998) | - |
 Thai Farmers Bank FC |
2 | 0 | (1994, 1995) | - |
 Maccabi Tel Aviv |
2 | 0 | (1969, 1971) | - |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma |
1 | 2 | (1996) | (1997, 2004) |
 Júbilo Iwata |
1 | 2 | (1999) | (2000, 2001) |
 Al-Ain |
1 | 1 | (2003) | (2005) |
 Liaoning FC |
1 | 1 | (1990) | (1991) |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv |
1 | 1 | (1967) | (1970) |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
1 | 0 | (2006) | - |
| Pas |
1 | 0 | (1993) | - |
 Al Sadd |
1 | 0 | (1989) | - |
| Yomiuri |
1 | 0 | (1988) | - |
| Furukawa Electric |
1 | 0 | (1987) | - |
| Daewoo Royals |
1 | 0 | (1986) | - |
 Al Karama |
0 | 1 | - | (2006) |
| BEC Tero Sasana |
0 | 1 | - | (2003) |
| Anyang LG Cheetahs |
0 | 1 | - | (2002) |
| Dalian Wanda |
0 | 1 | - | (1998) |
| Al-Nasr |
0 | 1 | - | (1996) |
| Al-Arabi |
0 | 1 | - | (1995) |
 Oman Club |
0 | 1 | - | (1994) |
| Al-Shabab |
0 | 1 | - | (1993) |
| Nissan FC |
0 | 1 | - | (1990) |
 Al Rasheed |
0 | 1 | - | (1989) |
| Al-Ahly |
0 | 1 | - | (1986) |
| Al Shourta |
0 | 1 | - | (1971) |
| Yangzee FC |
0 | 1 | - | (1969) |
 Selangor FC |
0 | 1 | - | (1968) |
Trivia
- The first goalkeeper scoring in Champions League is Fabio dos Santos of Dong Tam, in the match with Shanghai Shenhua, in 2006. Dong Tam lost to Shanghai Shenghua by the score of 2-4 in the match.
See also
External links
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See also: International women's club football | ||