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