Which clubs have won the AFC Champions League?

The AFC Champions League will rebranded from the upcoming edition.

The AFC Champions League (ACL) is considered as one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in Asia. It’s a tournament that teams all across Asia aspire to win and fight for. Introduced first in 1967, it has been known as the AFC Champions League since its rebrand in 2002.

However the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has decided to tweak the format of the ACL going forward from the 2024-25 season. It will now be known as AFC Champions League Elite. The amount of participating teams will now only be 24, as compared to the 40 teams that took part in the 2023-24 season. This is a decision made by the AFC to ensure that only the ‘top’ Asian teams can fight for this championship in an attempt to make it even more lucrative.

As a result, the 2023-24 AFC Champions League marks the end of this brand – with the winners of the final between Al-Ain and Yokohama F. Marionos become the final team to win the competition in this format.

However, the AFC Champions League has already provided a number of glittering memories in its near-six decade-long history. It was initially started as the Asian Champion Club Tournament in 1967 and held the same name till 1973. After a long gap, it was restarted as the Asian Club Championship from 1985 until the rebrand to AFC Champions League in 2002.

Over the years, a number of teams have won the championship multiple times and the East Asian teams have been extremely dominant throughout its history. Indeed, the AFC Champions League has been won 23 times by teams in East Asia and nine times by West Asian clubs. South Korea boast the most winners, with 12 of the total titles being won by clubs from the country.

With that being said, it’s actually Saudi Arabia heavyweights Al Hilal to have won the most number of AFC Champions League titles so far. The Saudi giants have been extremely dominant in the ACL, winning four different championships in three different decades; they have come up as the runners-up five times as well!

There are quite a few teams to have won the lucrative title multiple times. In this article, we look at all the winners of the AFC Champions League in its entire history, including the period when it was called the Asian Champion Club Tournament and the Asian Club Championship.

• Al Hilal (4 times) – 1991, 2000, 2019, 2021
• Pohang Steelers (3 times) – 1997, 1998, 2009
• Urawa Red Diamonds (3 times) – 2007, 2017, 2022
• Esteghlal (2 times) – 1970, 1991
• Seongnam FC (2 times) – 1995, 2010
• Al Ittihad (2 times) – 2004, 2005
• Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (2 times) – 2006, 2016
• Maccabi Tel Aviv (2 times) – 1969, 1971
• Al-Sadd (2 times) – 1989, 2011
• Thai Farmers Bank (2 times) – 1994, 1995
• Suwon Samsung Bluewings (2 times) –  2001, 2002
• Ulsan HD (2 times) – 2012, 2020
• Guangzhou Evergrande (2 times) – 2013, 2015
• Jubilo Iwata (1) – 1999
• Al-Ain (1) – 2003
• Happoel Tel Aviv (1) – 1967
• Liaoning (1) – 1990
• Busan IPark (1) – 1985/86
• JEF United Chiba (1) – 1986
• Tokyo Verdy (1) – 1987
• PAS Tehran (1) – 1993
• Gamba Osaka (1) – 2008
• Western Sydney Wanderers (1) – 2014
• Kashima Antlers (1) – 2018

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