The AFC Champions League Elite is a seasonal football competition established in 1967. It 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. 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. In 2024, the competition rebranded again, and was renamed as the AFC Champions League Elite.
Al-Hilal hold the record for the most victories, with four wins since the competition's inception. Thai Farmers Bank, Pohang Steelers, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are the five teams that have won the competition consecutively. Al-Hilal has contested the most finals, nine, winning four and losing five, while Yokohama F. Marinos, FC Seoul and Persepolis are the only three clubs to reach the finals more than once without winning. Overall, 25 clubs have won the competition since its inception in 1967. Clubs from South Korea have won the most titles with twelve, while Japanese and Saudi Arabian clubs are second with eight wins each. The current champions are Al-Ahli, who beat Machida Zelvia 1–0 in the 2026 final.
List of finals +Key#Finals not playedTies decided on away goalsMatches won after extra time*Matches decided on penalties
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. Finals are listed in the order they were played.
Asian Champion Club Tournament era (1967–1972)YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendance1967Hapoel Tel Aviv 2–1 SelangorSupachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok1969Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0 Yangzee FCSupachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok1970Taj Tehran 2–1 Hapoel Tel AvivAmjadieh Stadium, Tehran35,000 1971Maccabi Tel Aviv w/o# Aliyat Al-ShortaSupachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok1972CancelledAsian Club Championship era (1985–2002)1985–86Daewoo Royals 3–1 Al-AhliAbdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah1986Furukawa Electric RR Al-HilalN/AYearHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttendance1987Al-Hilal w/o Yomiuri FCFaisal bin Fahd Stadium, RiyadhN/AYomiuri FC w/o Al-HilalAjinomoto Field Nishigaoka, TokyoN/AYomiuri FC won the title.#1988–89Al-Rasheed 3–2 Al-SaddAl-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad10,000Al-Sadd 1–0 Al-RasheedJassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha5,000Al-Sadd won 3–3 on away goals.1989–90Nissan Yokohama FC 1–2 LiaoningMitsuzawa Stadium, YokohamaLiaoning 1–1 Nissan Yokohama FCTiexi New District Sports Center, ShenyangLiaoning won 3–2 on aggregate.YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendance1990–91Esteghlal 2–1 LiaoningBangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka1991Al-Hilal 1–1* EsteghlalKhalifa International Stadium, Doha1992–93PAS Tehran 1–0 Al-ShababAl Ahli Stadium, Manama1993–94Thai Farmers Bank 2–1 Oman ClubSupachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok1994–95Thai Farmers Bank 1–0 Al-ArabiSupachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok1995Ilhwa Chunma 1–0 Al-NassrKing Fahd Stadium, Riyadh1996–97Pohang Steelers 2–1 Cheonan Ilhwa ChunmaBukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala LumpurPohang Steelers 0–0* Dalian WandaHong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong1998–99Júbilo Iwata 2–1 EsteghlalAzadi Stadium, Tehran121,0001999–2000Al-Hilal 3–2 Júbilo IwataKing Fahd Stadium, Riyadh40,0002000–01Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–0 Júbilo IwataSuwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon2001–02Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0–0* Anyang LG CheetahsAzadi Stadium, TehranAFC Champions League era (2002–2024)YearHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttendance2002–03Al Ain 2–0 BEC Tero SasanaTahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al AinBEC Tero Sasana 1–0 Al AinRajamangala Stadium, BangkokAl Ain won 2–1 on aggregate.2004Al-Ittihad 1–3 Seongnam Ilhwa ChunmaAbdullah Al Faisal Stadium, JeddahSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma 0–5 Al-IttihadSeongnam Stadium, SeongnamAl-Ittihad won 6–3 on aggregate.2005Al Ain 1–1 Al-IttihadTahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium, Al AinAl-Ittihad 4–2 Al AinAbdullah Al Faisal Stadium, JeddahAl-Ittihad won 5–3 on aggregate.2006Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–0 Al-KaramahJeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju25,830Al-Karamah 2–1 Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsKhaled bin Walid Stadium, Homs40,000Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–2 on aggregate.2007Sepahan 1–1 Urawa Red DiamondsFoolad Shahr Stadium, Fuladshahr30,000Urawa Red Diamonds 2–0 SepahanSaitama Stadium 2002, Saitama59,034Urawa Red Diamonds won 3–1 on aggregate.2008Gamba Osaka 3–0 Adelaide UnitedOsaka Expo '70 Stadium, Suita, Osaka21,000Adelaide United 0–2 Gamba OsakaHindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide17,000Gamba Osaka won 5–0 on aggregate.YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendance2009Pohang Steelers 2–1 Al-IttihadNational Stadium, Tokyo25,7432010Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3–1 Zob AhanNational Stadium, Tokyo27,3082011Al-Sadd Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsJeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju41,8052012Ulsan Hyundai 3–0 Al-AhliUlsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan42,153YearHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttendance2013FC Seoul 2–2 Guangzhou EvergrandeSeoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul 55,501Guangzhou Evergrande 1–1 FC SeoulTianhe Stadium, Guangzhou 55,8473–3 on aggregate, Guangzhou Evergrande won on away goals.20141–0 Al-HilalParramatta Stadium, Sydney 20,053Al-Hilal 0–0 Western Sydney WanderersKing Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh 66,225Western Sydney Wanderers won 1–0 on aggregate.2015Al-Ahli 0–0 Guangzhou EvergrandeAl-Rashid Stadium, Dubai 9,480Guangzhou Evergrande 1–0 Al-AhliTianhe Stadium, Guangzhou 42,499Guangzhou Evergrande won 1–0 on aggregate.2016Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–1 Al AinJeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju36,158Al Ain 1–1 Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsHazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain23,239Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–2 on aggregate.2017Al-Hilal 1–1 Urawa Red DiamondsKing Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh59,136Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 Al-HilalSaitama Stadium 2002, Saitama57,727Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.2018Kashima Antlers 2–0 PersepolisKashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima35,022Persepolis 0–0 Kashima AntlersAzadi Stadium, Tehran100,000Kashima Antlers won 2–0 on aggregate.2019Al-Hilal 1–0 Urawa Red DiamondsKing Saud University Stadium, Riyadh22,549Urawa Red Diamonds 0–2 Al-HilalSaitama Stadium 2002, Saitama58,109Al-Hilal won 3–0 on aggregate.YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendance2020Ulsan Hyundai 2–1 PersepolisAl Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah8,5172021Al-Hilal 2–0 Pohang Steelers King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh50,171YearHome teamScoreAway teamVenueAttendance2022Al-Hilal 1–1 Urawa Red DiamondsKing Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh50,881Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 Al-HilalSaitama Stadium 2002, Saitama53,574Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.2023–24Yokohama F. Marinos 2–1 Al AinNissan Stadium, Yokohama53,704Al Ain 5–1 Yokohama F. MarinosHazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain24,826Al Ain won 6–3 on aggregate.AFC Champions League Elite era (2024–present)YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendance2024–25Al-Ahli 2–0 Kawasaki FrontaleKing Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah58,2812025–26Al-Ahli 1–0 Machida ZelviaKing Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah58,984
Performances
By club
By nation
See also List of Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League Elite winning managers List of Asian Cup Winner's Cup finals
Notes
A. The final was scratched and Maccabi Tel Aviv were awarded the championship after Aliyat Al-Shorta refused to play the Israeli side for political reasons.
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 field a team after several of their starting players were selected for the Saudi national team's preparation camp, which clashed with the first leg.
D. Score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Al-Hilal won the penalty-shootout 4–3.
E. Score was 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time. Pohang Steelers won the penalty-shootout 6–5.
F. Score was 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time. Suwon Samsung Bluewings won the penalty-shootout 4–2.
G. Score was 2–2 after 90 minutes and extra time. Al-Sadd won the penalty-shootout 4–2.
References