Australian soccer clubs in international competitions
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 repersenative. 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.
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
From the 2020–21 season, the various permutations allow for a maximum of 1 Australian club to qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage and 2 for the play-off stage.
Competition | Who qualifies |
---|---|
AFC Champions League group stage | A-League 1st |
AFC Champions League play-off | A-League champions |
FFA Cup champions |
Winners of Asian, Oceania and worldwide competitions from Australia
Team | Number of Wins | Year(s) |
---|---|---|
Adelaide City | 1 | 1987 |
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
AFC Champions League | OFC Champions League | Cup Winners' Cup |
---|---|---|
2014 – Western Sydney Wanderers | 2005 – Sydney FC | 1987 – Hakoah Sydney City East |
2001 – Wollongong Wolves | ||
1999 – South Melbourne | ||
1987 – Adelaide City |
Full Australian record for Australian soccer clubs
AFC Champions League
Australian teams have won the competition 1 time and been in the final on 2 occasions as of 1 November 2014.
OFC Champions League
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
Year | Team[5] | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Sydney City | Winners | 2–0 | North Shore United | Fuji Film Stadium |
Performance summary by competition
Performance record and ranking of A-League clubs in AFC Champions League
Rank | Football Club | Best Result | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Western Sydney Wanderers | W | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | W | GS | • | GS | • | • | • | • |
2 | Adelaide United | RU | GS | RU | • | R16 | • | QF | • | • | • | PO | GS | • | • | • | • |
3 | Melbourne Victory | R16 | • | GS | • | GS | GS | • | • | GS | • | R16 | • | GS | GS | R16 | • |
4 | Sydney FC | R16 | GS | • | • | • | GS | • | • | • | • | R16 | • | GS | GS | GS | GS |
5 | Central Coast Mariners | R16 | • | • | GS | • | • | GS | R16 | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
6 | Newcastle Jets | R16 | • | • | R16 | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | PO | • | • |
7 | Brisbane Roar | GS | • | • | • | • | • | GS | PO | • | GS | • | GS | PR2 | • | • | PO |
8 | Perth Glory | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | • |
9 | Melbourne City | - | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | PO |
FIFA Club World Cup
Year | Team | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | South Melbourne | 4th in group stage | N/A | Manchester United, Necaxa, Vasco da Gama | Maracanã Stadium |
2005 | Sydney FC | 5th | 2–1 | Al Ahly | National Stadium |
2008 | Adelaide United | 5th | 1–0 | Al Ahly | International Stadium Yokohama |
2014 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 6th | 2–2 (4–5 p) | ES Sétif | Stade de Marrakech |
Pan-Pacific Championship
Year | Team | Progress | Score | Opponents | Venue(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Sydney FC | Semi-finals | 0–3 | Houston Dynamo | Aloha Stadium |
See also
- 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
- "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". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- "AFC Champions League Summary". aleaguestats.com.
- "Oceania Club Cups – Overview File". RSSSF.