The AFC Asian Cup is a prestigious football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

It is considered to be the world’s second oldest continental football championship after Copa América.

Since the inception of the AFC Asian Cup in 1956, it was staged every four years until the 2004 edition in China.

The subsequent edition was later held in 2007 due to a crowded football calendar that included the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship in 2008. It was co-hosted by four countries in Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Since then, the AFC Asian Cup has again been held every four years. However, the 2023 tournament was postponed due to the high summer temperatures and Qatar's participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2023.

South Korea won the first two editions of the AFC Asian Cup in 1956 and 1960. Israel won the third edition in 1964. They were later expelled from the AFC confederation and have since joined UEFA.

Australia joined the Asian confederation in 2007 and later won the tournament at home in 2015.

In 2019, the competition was expanded from 16 teams to 24 teams.

Qatar are the defending champions of the AFC Asian Cup after beating Jordan 3-1 in the 2023 final. Meanwhile, Japan are the most successful team in the tournament’s history with four titles. Get AFC Asian Cup winners list.

AFC Asian Cup winners list

Year

Host

Winner

Runner-up

1956

Hong Kong

South Korea

Israel

1960

South Korea

South Korea

Israel

1964

Israel

Israel

India

1968

Iran

Iran

Burma

1972

Thailand

Iran

South Korea

1976

Iran

Iran

Kuwait

1980

Kuwait

Kuwait

South Korea

1984

Singapore

Saudi Arabia

China

1988

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

South Korea

1992

Japan

Japan

Saudi Arabia

1996

UAE

Saudi Arabia

UAE

2000

Lebanon

Japan

Saudi Arabia

2004

China

Japan

China

2007

Indonesia

 Malaysia

 Thailand

 Vietnam

Iraq

Saudi Arabia

2011

Qatar

Japan

Australia

2015

Australia

Australia

South Korea

2019

UAE

Qatar

Japan

2023

Qatar

Qatar Jordan

Most successful teams in AFC Asian Cup: Titles won by each nation

Team

Titles

Winning year(s)

Japan

4

1992, 2000, 2004, 2011

Iran

3

1968, 1972, 1976

Saudi Arabia

3

1984, 1988, 1996

South Korea

2

1956, 1960

Qatar

2

2019, 2023

Israel

1

1964

Kuwait

1

1980

Iraq

1

2007

Australia

1

2015

Photo credit: Alamy