The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an Asian football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-Asian club competition organised by Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament was started in 1990–91 and ran for 12 seasons, with the final edition held in 2001–02, after which it was discontinued and merged into the Asian Club Championahip to form the AFC Champions League.
 | |
| Organising body | AFC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Abolished | 2002 |
| Region | Asia |
| Last champions |  Al-Hilal (2 titles) |
| Most successful club(s) | Al-Hilal Yokohama F. Marinos(2 titles each) |
| Website | the-afc.com |
The winners of the Cup Winners' Cup used to contest the Asian Super Cup against the winners of the Asian Club Championship.
The most successful clubs in the competition are Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia and Yokohama F. Marinos from Japan.
History edit
The competition was founded at the beginning of 1990 by the Asian Football Confederation, following the example of UEFA in Europe, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. For the first edition, seventeen teams took part registered and it was the Iranian club of Persepolis who were the first winners, after defeating the Bahraini Al-Muharraq in the final. Al-Hilal won the last championship in 2001–02, defeating Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. In 2002, Asian Club Championship, Asian Cup Winners' Cup and Asian Super Cup tournaments combined to form the AFC Champions League and after that, the domestic cup winners entered the AFC Champions League.
Records and statistics edit
Performances by club edit
| Club | Title(s) | Runners-up | Seasons won | Seasons runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Hilal | 2 | 0 | 1996–97, 2001–02 | — |
| Yokohama F. Marinos1 | 2 | 0 | 1991–92, 1992–93 | — |
 Persepolis | 1 | 1 | 1990–91 | 1992–93 |
| Al-Nassr | 1 | 1 | 1997–98 | 1991–92 |
| Al-Qadisiyah | 1 | 0 | 1993–94 | — |
| Yokohama Flügels2 | 1 | 0 | 1994–95 | — |
| Shonan Bellmare | 1 | 0 | 1995 | — |
| Al-Ittihad | 1 | 0 | 1998–99 | — |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 1 | 0 | 1999–2000 | — |
| Al-Shabab | 1 | 0 | 2000–01 | — |
 Al-Muharraq | 0 | 1 | — | 1990–91 |
 South China | 0 | 1 | — | 1993–94 |
 Al-Shaab | 0 | 1 | — | 1994–95 |
 Al-Talaba | 0 | 1 | — | 1995 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 0 | 1 | — | 1996–97 |
 Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 0 | 1 | — | 1997–98 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 0 | 1 | — | 1998–99 |
| Al-Zawraa | 0 | 1 | — | 1999–2000 |
 Dalian Shide | 0 | 1 | — | 2000–01 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0 | 1 | — | 2001–02 |
1 including Nissan FC.
2 Yokohama Flügels was merged with Yokohama Marinos to Yokohama F. Marinos in 1999.
Performances by nation edit
| Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Japan | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Iran | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| South Korea | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Iraq | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bahrain | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| China | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| United Arab Emirates | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Performances by manager edit
The following table lists the winning managers of the Asian Cup Winners' Cup.
