AFC Champions League

The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition in Asian football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations.[1]

Not to be confused with Asian Cup.

AFC Champions League
Organising bodyAFC
Founded1967 (1967)
(rebranded in 2002)
RegionAsia
Number of teams40 (group stage)
Qualifier forFIFA Club World Cup
Related competitionsAFC Cup (2nd tier)
Current champions Al Hilal (4th title)
Most successful club(s) Al Hilal (4 titles)
WebsiteOfficial website
2022 AFC Champions League

Introduced in 1967 as the Asian Champion Club Tournament, the competition rebranded and took on its current name in 2002 as a result of the merger between the Asian Club Championship, the Asian Cup Winners' Cup and the Asian Super Cup.

A total of 40 clubs compete in the round-robin group stage of the competition. Clubs from Asia's strongest national leagues receive automatic berths, with clubs from lower-ranked nations eligible to qualify via the qualifying playoffs, and they are also eligible to participate in the AFC Cup. The winner of the AFC Champions League qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup.

The most successful club in the competition is Al-Hilal with a total of four titles. They are also the reigning champions after winning their fourth title in 2021.

History

1967–1972: Asian Champion Club Tournament

The competition started as the Asian Champion Club Tournament, a tournament for the champions of AFC nations, and had a variety of different formats, with the inaugural tournament staged as a straightforward knockout format and the following three editions consisting of a group stage.

While Israeli clubs dominated the first four editions of the competition, this was partly due to the refusal of Arab teams to face them. In 1970, Lebanese side Homenetmen refused to play against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the semi-final, giving Hapoel a forfeit into the final, while in 1971, Aliyat Al-Shorta of Iraq refused to play against Maccabi Tel Aviv on three occasions: in the preliminary round, the group stage, and the final itself.[2] The Iraqi media considered Aliyat Al-Shorta as the tournament's winners, and the team held an open top bus parade in Baghdad.[3] After the 1972 edition had to be cancelled by the AFC when two Arab teams refused to commit to playing against Israeli side Maccabi Netanya, the AFC discontinued the competition, and Israel were expelled from the confederation.

1985–2002: Return as the Asian Club Championship

Asia's premier club tournament made its return in 1985 as the Asian Club Championship,[4] and in 1990, the Asian Football Confederation introduced the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, a tournament for the cup winners of each AFC nation. The 1995 season saw the introduction of the Asian Super Cup, where the winners of the Asian Club Championship and Asian Cup Winners' Cup played against each other.

2002–present: AFC Champions League
Japan's Kashima Antlers and Singapore's Warriors FC during a group stage game during the 2009 season at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

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 champions and cup winners would qualify for the qualifying playoffs with the best eight clubs from East Asia and the eight best clubs from West Asia progressing to the group stage. The first winners under the AFC Champions League name were Al-Ain, defeating BEC Tero Sasana 2–1 on aggregate. In 2004, 29 clubs from fourteen countries participated and the tournament schedule was changed to March–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 travel costs, and the groups were played on a home and away basis. The seven group winners along with the defending champions qualified to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals were played as a two-legged format, with away goals, extra time, and penalties used as tie-breakers.

Expansion

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. However, many blamed the low prize money at that time and expensive travel cost as some of the reasons. The Champions League was expanded to 32 clubs in 2009 with direct entry to the top ten Asian leagues. Each country received 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, professional league structure, marketability, financial status, as well as other criteria set by the AFC Pro-League Committee.[5] The assessment criteria and ranking for participating associations are revised by AFC every two years.[6]

FIFA president Gianni Infantino and around 100,000 others watching the 2018 AFC Champions League Final at Azadi Stadium.

The old format saw the eight group winners and eight runners-up qualify to the Round of 16, in which group winners played host to the runners-up in two-legged series, matched regionally, with away goals, extra time, and penalties used as tie-breakers. The regional restriction continues all the way until the final, although clubs from the same country couldn't face each other in the quarterfinals unless that country has three or more representatives in the quarterfinals. Since 2013, the final has also been held as a two-legged series, on a home and away basis.[7][8]

In 2021, the group stage was expanded from 32 to 40 teams, with both the West and East Regions having five groups of four teams. The slot allocation for the top six member associations in each region remained unchanged. The 10 group winners and top 3 runners-up per region are now seeded based on a combination table for the Round of 16, with the games still matched regionally until the Final.[9]

On 25 February 2022, it was announced that the AFC Champions League will go back to an inter-year (autumn to spring) schedule starting with the 2023–24 season. This will be the first time Asia's premier club competition will be played in between years since 2002–03. In addition, the existing "3+1" rule for foreign players during matches (3 foreign players and 1 Asian foreigner) will be expanded to be "5+1" (5 foreign players and 1 Asian foreigner).[10]

Women's rights in Iranian football

By 2021, the problems from Iranian sides were attracting media attention. International Arabic and English-language media reported the violation of women's rights in the stadiums of Iranian sides. On top of that, Iranian women were banned from football stadiums for about 40 years, by the Iranian government.[11][12] In 2019, Iranian women were first allowed to watch football at stadiums but not during ACL games.[12][13] Before that, FIFA pressured Iran to let women into the stadiums in the ACL. Iran relented, but capped the number of women to watch the 2018 final.[12][14] In 2021, AFC investigated the matter, in their hopes to allow unrestricted attendance whenever Iranian clubs are involved.[15]

Format

Qualification
Map of AFC countries whose teams reached the group stage of the AFC Champions League
  AFC member country that has been represented in the group stage
  AFC member country that has not been represented in the group stage

As of the 2021 edition of the tournament, the AFC Champions League has commenced with a double round-robin group stage of 40 teams, which is preceded by qualifying matches for teams that do not receive direct entry to the competition proper. Teams are also split into east and west zones to progress separately in the tournament.

The number of teams that each association enters into the AFC Champions League is determined annually through criteria as set by the AFC Competitions Committee.[16] The criteria, which is a modified version of the UEFA coefficient, measures such thing as marketability and stadia to determine the specific number of berths that an association receives. The higher an association's ranking as determined by the criteria, the more teams represent the association in the Champions League, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in.

Tournament

The tournament proper begins with a group stage of 40 teams, divided into ten groups. Seeding is used whilst making the draw for this stage, with teams from the same country not being drawn into groups together. The group stage is divided into two zones; the first zone is the five East Asian groups and the other zone is the five West Asian groups. Each team meets the others in its group home and away in a round-robin format. The winning team and the runners-up from each group then progress to the next round.

For this stage, the winning team from one group plays against the runners-up from another group from their zone of the group stage. The tournament uses the away goals rule: if the aggregate score of the two games is tied after 180 minutes, then the team who scored more goals at their opponent's stadium advances. If still tied the clubs play extra time, where the away goals rule is no longer applied. If still tied after extra time, the tie shall be decided by a penalty shootout. East and West zones continue to be kept part until the final.[16]

The group stage and Round of 16 matches are played through the first half of the year (February–May), whilst the knock-out stage thereafter is played during the second half of the year (August–November). The knock-out ties are played in a two-legged format, including the final.

Allocation

Teams from only 19 AFC countries have reached the group stage of the AFC Champions League. The allocation of teams by member countries is listed below; asterisks represent occasions where at least one team was eliminated in qualification prior to the group stage. 32 AFC countries have had teams participate in qualification, and countries that have never had teams reach the group stage are not shown.

Associations Entrants
2002–03 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
East Asia
Australia Part of OFC 2 2 2 2 2 3 1* 3 2* 2* 3 2* 2* 3 0 2*
China PR 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3* 4 4 4 2* 2
Hong Kong 0* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 1* 1* 0* 0* 1 1
Indonesia 0* 2 2 0 2 0 1* 1* 1* 0* 0 0 0* 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0 0
Japan 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3* 4 4
South Korea 2 2 2 2 3 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Malaysia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0* 1* 1* 1 1
Philippines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0* 2 1*
Singapore 0* 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 1 1
Thailand 2 2 2 0 1 2 0* 0* 0* 1* 2 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 4 2*
Vietnam 0* 2 2 2 1 2 0 0* 0 0 0 0* 1* 1* 0* 0* 0* 0* 1 1
Total 8 12 12 8 13 13 16 16 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 20 19
West Asia
Bahrain 0* 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 0 0 0* 0 0* 0* 0
India 0* 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 1 1
Iran 2 2 2 2 1 2 4 4 4 3* 3* 4 4 3* 4 4 3* 4 4 2
Iraq 1* 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0 0 0 0 1* 1* 2* 1*
Jordan 0* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 0* 1 1
Kuwait 0* 1 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 0 0 0 0* 0* 0* 0
Qatar 1* 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 2* 2* 2* 4 3* 2* 3* 4
Saudi Arabia 1* 2 3 3 2 2 4 4 4 3* 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 4 3* 4
Syria 0* 0 2 2 2 2 0 0* 0* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0*
Tajikistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0* 0* 1 1
Turkmenistan 1* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
United Arab Emirates 1* 3 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 3* 2* 3* 4 4 3* 4 3* 3*
Uzbekistan 1* 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3* 2* 1* 4 4 2* 2* 2* 1* 2 2
Total 8 14 17 17 15 16 16 16 17 17 17 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 20 20
Total
Finals 16 26 29 25 28 29 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 40 39
Qualifying 53 26 29 25 28 29 35 37 36 37 35 47 49 45 47 46 51 52 45 46

Prize money
Tournament's trophy since 2009, following the logo redesign.

The prize money for the 2021 AFC Champions League:[17]

Phase Purse
(USD)		 Travel Subsidy
(USD per match)
Preliminary stage N/A $30,000
Playoff stage N/A $30,000
Group stages Win: $50,000
Draw: $10,000		 $45,000
Round of 16 $100,000 $45,000
Quarter-finals $150,000 $45,000
Semi-finals $250,000 $45,000
Final Champions: $4,000,000
Runners-up: $2,000,000		 $90,000

Marketing

Sponsorship

Like the FIFA World Cup, the AFC Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to the single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues.

The tournament's current main sponsors are:

Video game

The current license holder for the AFC Champions League video game is Konami with the Pro Evolution Soccer series.[21] The license also includes the competing teams.

Records and statistics

Overall performances by club
Performances in the Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League by club
Club		 Title(s) Runners-up Seasons won Seasons runner-up
Al-Hilal 4 4 1991, 1999–2000, 2019, 2021 1986, 1987, 2014, 2017
Pohang Steelers 3 1 1996–97, 1997–98, 2009 2021
Esteghlal 2 2 1970, 1990–91 1991, 1998–99
Seongnam FC 2 2 1995, 2010 1996–97, 2004
Al-Ittihad 2 1 2004, 2005 2009
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 1 2006, 2016 2011
Urawa Red Diamonds 2 1 2007, 2017 2019
Maccabi Tel Aviv1 2 0 1969, 1971 —
Al-Sadd 2 0 1988–89, 2011 —
Thai Farmers Bank2 2 0 1993–94, 1994–95 —
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2 0 2000–01, 2001–02 —
Ulsan Hyundai 2 0 2012, 2020 —
Guangzhou 2 0 2013, 2015 —
Júbilo Iwata 1 2 1998–99 1999–2000, 2000–01
Al-Ain 1 2 2002–03 2005, 2016
Hapoel Tel Aviv1 1 1 1967 1970
Liaoning2 1 1 1989–90 1990–91
Busan IPark 1 0 1985–86 —
JEF United Chiba 1 0 1986 —
Tokyo Verdy 1 0 1987 —
PAS Tehran2 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
FC Seoul 0 2 — 2001–02, 2013
Persepolis 0 2 — 2018, 2020
Selangor 0 1 — 1967
Yangzee2 0 1 — 1969
Aliyat Al-Shorta 0 1 — 1971
Al-Rasheed2 0 1 — 1988–89
Yokohama F. Marinos 0 1 — 1989–90
Al-Shabab 0 1 — 1992–93
Oman Club 0 1 — 1993–94
Al-Arabi 0 1 — 1994–95
Al-Nassr 0 1 — 1995
Dalian Shide2 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

1 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.
2 Teams that no longer exist.

Overall performances by nation
Performances in finals by nation
Nation		 Titles Runners-up Total
 South Korea 12 7 19
 Japan 7 4 11
 Saudi Arabia 6 9 15
 Iran 3 6 9
 China 3 2 5
 Israel 3 1 4
 Qatar 2 1 3
 Thailand 2 1 3
 United Arab Emirates 1 3 4
 Australia 1 1 2
 Iraq 0 2 2
 Malaysia 0 1 1
 Oman 0 1 1
 Syria 0 1 1

Performances by region
Federation (Region) Titles Total
EAFF (East Asia) East Zone 22 25
AFF (Southeast Asia) 3
WAFF (West Asia) West Zone 9 12
CAFA (Central Asia) 3
SAFF (South Asia) 0

Note: Israeli clubs, winners of the 1967, 1969 and 1971 editions, are not included.

Awards

Most Valuable Player
YearPlayerClubRef.
1996–97 An Ik-soo Pohang Steelers [22]
1997–98 Ahmed Al-Dokhi Al Hilal [23]
1998–99 Seydou Traoré Al-Ain [24]
1999–2000 Sérgio Ricardo Al Hilal [25]
2000–01 Zoltan Sabo Suwon Samsung Bluewings [26]
2001–02—
2002–03 Therdsak Chaiman BEC Tero Sasana [27]
2004 Redha Tukar Al-Ittihad [28]
2005 Mohammed Noor Al-Ittihad [29]
2006 Choi Jin-cheul Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors [30]
2007 Yuichiro Nagai Urawa Red Diamonds
2008 Yasuhito Endō Gamba Osaka
2009 No Byung-jun Pohang Steelers [31]
2010 Sasa Ognenovski Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma [32]
2011 Lee Dong-gook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors [33]
2012 Lee Keun-ho Ulsan Hyundai [34]
2013 Muriqui Guangzhou Evergrande [35]
2014 Ante Covic Western Sydney Wanderers [36]
2015 Ricardo Goulart Guangzhou Evergrande [37]
2016 Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain [38]
2017 Yōsuke Kashiwagi Urawa Red Diamonds [39]
2018 Yuma Suzuki Kashima Antlers [40]
2019 Bafétimbi Gomis Al-Hilal [41]
2020 Yoon Bit-garam Ulsan Hyundai [42]
2021 Salem Al-Dawsari Al-Hilal [43]

Top scorers
YearPlayerClubGoals
2002–03 Hao Haidong Dalian Shide9
2004 Kim Do-hoon Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma9
2005 Mohamed Kallon Al-Ittihad6
2006 Magno Alves Gamba Osaka8
2007 Mota Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma7
2008 Nantawat Tansopa Krung Thai Bank9
2009 Leandro Gamba Osaka10
2010 Jose Mota Suwon Samsung Bluewings9
2011 Lee Dong-gook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors9
2012 Ricardo Oliveira Al-Jazira12
2013 Muriqui Guangzhou Evergrande13
2014 Asamoah Gyan Al-Ain12
2015 Ricardo Goulart Guangzhou Evergrande8
2016 Adriano FC Seoul13
2017 Omar Kharbin Al-Hilal10
2018 Baghdad Bounedjah Al-Sadd13
2019 Bafétimbi Gomis Al-Hilal11
2020 Abderrazak Hamdallah[44] Al Nassr7
2021 Michael Olunga[45] Al-Duhail9

Fair Play Award winners
YearClub
2007 Urawa Red Diamonds
2008 Gamba Osaka
2009 Pohang Steelers
2010 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
2011 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2012 Ulsan Hyundai
2013 FC Seoul
2014 Al-Hilal
2015 Guangzhou Evergrande
2016 Al-Ain
2017 Urawa Red Diamonds
2018 Persepolis
2019 Urawa Red Diamonds
2020 Ulsan Hyundai[42]
2021 Al-Hilal[46]

See also
  • AFC Cup
  • AFC Women's Club Championship
  • Asian Cup Winners' Cup
  • Asian Super Cup
  • Continental football championships
  • List of association football competitions

References
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