Australian soccer clubs have entered Asian and Oceania competitions (AFC Champions League, OFC Champions League and the now defunct Oceania Cup Winners' Cup) since 1987 where Adelaide City entered the competition as the Australian representative. Since 2007, Australian clubs have participated in this league. For their first five competitions, the A-League was given two spots in the league- one for the champions (grand final winners) and one for the premiers (regular season winners- or the losing grand finalist if the champions and premiers were the same team). For the 2012 competition, another half a spot was added, with the highest placed team on the A-League table which has not already qualified for the AFC Champions League entering a playoff to enter the competition.
The Western Sydney Wanderers are the only Australian side to win the competition, while Adelaide United are the only Australian side to have made the final and lost.
For the 2013 competition the AFC reduced the number of A-League qualification spots to 1.5.[1] The Premiers (regular season winners) directly qualified for the Asian Champions League. The Champions (winners of grand final) entered a play off to qualify for the competition. The AFC ruled that the A-League did not meet the criteria for full participation in the tournament, including the lack of promotion and relegation within a tiered league system was a major reason, and that the A-league was not run as a separate entity to the FFA.[2][3]
From the 2014 AFC Champions League until the 2016 edition, the allocation of two spots in the group stage and one qualifying play-off spot returned and in 2017, the qualifying play-off spot dropped back to a place in the preliminary round 2.
From the 2023–24 AFC Champions League season, Australian clubs will be allocated one spot in the group stage, and two spots in the 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage.
Australian soccer clubs have entered Asian and Oceania competitions (AFC Champions League, OFC Champions League and the now defunct Oceania Cup Winners' Cup). Australian clubs have also taken part in the FIFA Club World Cup and the Pan-Pacific Championship which however, were not won by any Australian club.
Who qualifies for AFC competitions edit
| Competition | Who qualifies |
|---|---|
| AFC Champions League group stage | A-League Men Premiers |
| AFC Cup group stage | A-League Men 2nd place |
| Australia Cup winners |
From 2023–24 onwards edit
| Competition | Who qualifies |
|---|---|
| AFC Champions League Elite group stage | A-League Men Premiers |
| AFC Champions League Two group stage | Australia Cup winners |
Winners of Asian, Oceania and worldwide competitions from Australia edit
| Team | Number of Wins | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide City | 1 | 1987 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 1 | 2023–24 |
| Hakoah Sydney City East | 1 | 1987 |
| South Melbourne | 1 | 1999 |
| Sydney FC | 1 | 2005 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 1 | 2014 |
| Wollongong Wolves | 1 | 2001 |
Asian, Oceania and world competition winners edit
| AFC Champions League | AFC Cup | OFC Champions League | Cup Winners' Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 – Western Sydney Wanderers | 2023–24 – Central Coast Mariners | 2005 – Sydney FC | 1987 – Hakoah Sydney City East |
| 2001 – Wollongong Wolves | |||
| 1999 – South Melbourne | |||
| 1987 – Adelaide City |
Full Australian record for Australian soccer clubs edit
AFC Champions League edit
Australian teams have won the competition 1 time and been in the final on 2 occasions as of 1 November 2014.
AFC Cup edit
| Year | Team[4] | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | Central Coast Mariners | Winners | 1–0 |  Al Ahed
|
Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman |
| Macarthur FC | Zonal final | 2–3 (a.e.t.) |  Macarthur FC
|
Campbelltown Sports Stadium |
OFC Champions League edit
Australian teams have won the competition 4 times and been in the final on 4 occasions as of 10 June 2005.
| Year | Team[5] | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Adelaide City | Winners | 1–1 (4–1 p) |  University-Mount Wellington
|
Hindmarsh Stadium |
| 1999 | South Melbourne | Winners | 5–1 |  Nadi
|
Prince Charles Park |
| 2001 | Wollongong Wolves | Winners | 1–0 |  Tafea
|
Lloyd Robson Stadium |
| 2005 | Sydney FC | Winners | 2–0 |  AS Magenta
|
Stade Pater |
Oceania Cup Winners' Cup edit
| Year | Team[5] | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Sydney City | Winners | 2–0 | North Shore United
|
Fuji Film Stadium |
Performance summary by competition edit
AFC Champions League edit
GS: Group stage, R16: Round of 16, QF: Quarter-Finals, SF: Semi-Finals, RU: Runners-Up, W: Winners,
| Team | Qualified | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 23–24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 3 times | W | GS | GS | ||||||||||||||
| Adelaide United | 5 times | GS | RU | R16 | QF | GS | ||||||||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 8 times | GS | GS | GS | GS | R16 | GS | GS | R16 | |||||||||
| Sydney FC | 7 times | GS | GS | R16 | GS | GS | GS | GS | ||||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 4 times | GS | GS | R16 | GS | |||||||||||||
| Newcastle Jets | 1 time | R16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane Roar | 3 times | GS | GS | GS | ||||||||||||||
| Perth Glory | 1 time | GS | ||||||||||||||||
| Melbourne City | 2 times | GS | GS |
AFC Cup edit
| Team | Qualified | 23–24 |
|---|---|---|
| Central Coast Mariners | 1 time | W |
| Macarthur FC | 1 time | ZF |
FIFA Club World Cup edit
| Year | Team | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | South Melbourne | 4th in group stage | N/A |  Manchester United,  Necaxa,  Vasco da Gama
|
Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 2005 | Sydney FC | 5th | 2–1 |  Al Ahly
|
National Stadium. Tokyo, Japan |
| 2008 | Adelaide United | 5th | 1–0 | Al Ahly
|
International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan |
| 2014 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 6th | 2–2 (4–5 p) |  ES Sétif
|
Stade de Marrakech. Marrakesh, Morocco |
Pan-Pacific Championship edit
| Year | Team | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Sydney FC | Semi-finals | 0–3 |  Houston Dynamo
|
Aloha Stadium, Halawa, United States |
See also edit
- Chinese clubs in the AFC Champions League
- Indian football clubs in Asian competitions
- Indonesian football clubs in Asian competitions
- Iranian clubs in the AFC Champions League
- Iraqi clubs in the AFC Champions League
- Japanese clubs in the AFC Champions League
- Myanmar clubs in the AFC Champions League
- Qatari clubs in the AFC Champions League
- Saudi Arabian clubs in the AFC Champions League
- South Korean football clubs in Asian competitions
- Thai clubs in the AFC Champions League
- Vietnamese clubs in the AFC Champions League
References edit
- ^ "AFC cuts Champions League slots". Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ Micallef, Philip. "AFC ruling clouds A-League finals". The World Game. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ "A-League misses out on automatic ACL spot". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ a b "AFC Champions League Summary". aleaguestats.com.
- ^ a b "Oceania Club Cups – Overview File". RSSSF.