Contents. State of Play

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1 MATCH PRESS KIT Group A Matchday 5 Contents 1 State of play 6 Team facts 2 Match facts 7 Domestic results & standings 3 Competition fixtures & standings 8 Roll of honour 4 Squad information 9 AFC information 5 Coach profiles This press kit includes information relating to this AFC Champions League match. State of Play Al Ahli FC of the United Arab Emirates and Iran s Esteghlal FC go head-to-head in a game that could determine which of the two teams takes top spot in Group A of the 2017 AFC Champions League. A win for either side in Tehran paired with a draw in Al Taawoun FC s meeting with PFC Lokomotiv from Uzbekistan would see the victorious team not only securing their place in the next phase of the competition, but also guaranteeing pole position. Should such a scenario unfold, victory would be enough for Al Ahli to seal first place while Esteghlal would have to win by two goals or more to cancel out the 2-1 loss they suffered the last time the teams met, in Dubai on Matchday One. A pair of Makhete Diop goals delivered the win for Al Ahli in that game and the Senegalese striker added another two goals to his tally in the group phase on Matchday Four when the club from Dubai defeated Saudi Arabia s Al Taawoun 3-1. Tournament debutants Al Taawoun, currently seventh in the Saudi league, will be eliminated from this year s competition should they lose to Lokomotiv, who will endure the same fate should they suffer a defeat in a high stakes game between the pair. Lokomotiv, who reached the quarter-finals of last year s competition, have four points from their first four games but trail Al Taawoun due to their inferior head-to-head record following their 1-0 loss to the team from Buraidah on Matchday One The club from Tashkent, who lead the Uzbekistan league by a point, looked set to pick up only their second win of the group phase against Esteghlal in the previous round of matches, only for Kaveh Rezaei to claim an equaliser three minutes from time after Marat Bikmaev had given Lokomotiv an early lead.

2 Match facts Esteghlal FC vs Al Ahli FC Al Ahli FC beat Esteghlal FC 2-1 in the first AFC Champions League meeting between the clubs in February. Esteghlal are taking part in the competition for the eighth time while Al Ahli are making their seventh appearance. Esteghlal FC Esteghlal can advance to the AFC Champions League knockout stage for the first time since 2013 if they beat Al Ahli. They could even secure first place in Group A if they win by at least two goals and Al Taawoun do not beat Lokomotiv in the other game. They have only one win in their previous six ACL home matches against United Arab Emirates clubs, a 2-0 victory over Al Ain in They have lost once and drawn the other four including a 2-2 stalemate with Al Jazira in the most recent game in The Iranian giants rescued a 1-1 draw at Lokomotiv in their last game with a late equaliser by Kaveh Rezaei. It was the second goal in this season s competition by the striker who also scored twice for Zobahan in last year s tournament. Ali Ghorbani, Behnam Barzay, Robson Januario, Khosro Heydari, Milad Zakipurkinji and Jaber Ansari have one yellow card each and face suspensions if they are booked again during the group stage. Domestic form Esteghlal were overtaken by Tractorsazi in the Persian Gulf League after they lost 1-0 to the Tabriz club last Thursday. They are now in third place, two points behind Tractorsazi in the race for the runners-up spot with two games left in the season. Al Ahli FC Al Ahli s 3-1 at Al Taawoun two weeks ago put them at the top of Group A and within touching distance of the AFC Champions League knockout stage. The 2015 runners-up will advance if they beat Esteghlal, or if they draw and Al Taawoun beat Lokomotiv in the other game. They could seal top spot in Group A if they beat Esteghlal and Lokomotiv lose to Al Taawoun. The win at Al Taawon was their first ACL victory in Saudi Arabia and just their fourth win in 24 away matches in the competition. In their five previous visits to Iran, they have lost twice, drawn once and won two games including a 1-0 victory over Naft Tehran in the 2015 quarter-finals. Senegalese forward Makhete Diop netted a brace against Al Taawoun to join Al Ahli Saudi FC s Omar Al Soma and Suwon Samsung Bluewings Johnathan at the top of the tournament scoring chart with four goals. Domestic form Al Ahli remained second in the Arabian Gulf League after a 2-1 win at Al Wahda on 15 April. They trail leaders Al Jazira by eight points with three games left in the season.

3 PFC Lokomotiv vs Al Taawoun FC Al Taawoun marked their AFC Champions League debut with a 1-0 win in February against PFC Lokomotiv, who are appearing in the group stage for a third consecutive year. PFC Lokomotiv Lokomotiv missed a chance to move up to second in Group A when they let in a late goal to draw 1-1 with Esteghlal on Matchday Four. They remained in last place in the group and they could be eliminated from contention for a spot in the knockout stage if they lose to Al Taawoun at home. They have hosted Saudi clubs on three previous occasions in the AFC Champions League, losing 2-1 to Al Hilal in 2015, and drawing 1-1 with Al Ittihad in the group stage and beating Al Hilal 2-1 in the round of 16 last year. Striker Marat Bikmaev scored Lokomotiv s goal in the 1-1 draw with Esteghlal. The 31- year-old Uzbekistan international has netted two of his club s three goals in this season s competition. Kakhi Makharadze and Sherzod Fayziyev were cautioned against Esteghlal to join Mohamed Kone on one yellow card each and facing suspensions if they are booked again during the group stage. Domestic form Lokomotiv won 2-1 at Pakhtakor last Friday as they regained top spot in the Uzbek league. They have a one-point lead over Kokand 1912 with a game in hand. Al Taawoun FC After beating Lokomotiv 1-0 on their AFC Champions League debut in February, Al Taawoun have struggled in Group B, managing only one point and one goal in their last three games. Their hopes of reaching the knockout stage could be ended if they lose the return match against Lokomotiv in Tashkent. With only two goals in four games, the Saudi club are tied with Brisbane Roar as the joint-third lowest scorers in the competition. Only Al Jazira and Eastern SC, with one goal each, have scored fewer goals so far. Al Taawoun s only goal since their opening game was a penalty converted by French forward Alassane N Diaye in the 3-1 loss to Al Ahli on Matchday Four. They have yet to score an away goal in the competition. Jose Gomes returned as Al Taawoun s coach in March when he replaced Constantin Galca. However, with the exception of a penalty shootout win against Al Ettifaq in the King s Cup, the club have yet to win a game in the Portuguese coach s second spell. Talal Al Absi, Ricardo Machado, Naif Mousa, Madallah Olayan, Mahmood Moaaz and Lucian Sanmartean have each received a yellow card in Al Taawoun s previous games. Domestic form Al Taawoun are winless in their last three games in the Saudi Pro League after a 0-0 draw with Al Khaleej last Thursday which saw them drop to seventh in the standings.

4 Competition fixtures & standings GROUP A GP W D L GF GA +/- Pts AL AHLI FC (UAE) * ESTEGHLAL FC (IRN) * AL TAAWOUN FC (KSA) * PFC LOKOMOTIV (UZB) * * The standings are based on points, head-to-head, goal-difference and number of goals of the teams tied 20 February AL AHLI FC (UAE) 2-1 ESTEGHLAL FC (IRN) (AAFC: Makhete Diop 45+1, 90; EFC: Omid Ebrahami 74) AL TAAWOUN FC (KSA) 1-0 PFC LOKOMOTIV (UZB) (ATFC: Talal Al Absi 67) 27 February ESTEGHLAL FC (IRN) 3-0 AL TAAWOUN FC (KSA) (EFC: Kaveh Rezaei 1, Mohsen Karimi 70, Leandro Padovani 89) PFC LOKOMOTIV (UZB) 2-0 AL AHLI FC (UAE) (PFCL: Salamat Kutibaev 1, Marat Bikmaev 57) 13 March ESTEGHLAL FC (IRN) 2-0 PFC LOKOMOTIV (UZB) (EFC: Farshid Esmaeili 37, Ghorban Ali 84) AL AHLI FC (UAE) 0-0 AL TAAWOUN FC (KSA) 11 April PFC LOKOMOTIV (UZB) 1-1 ESTEGHLAL FC (IRN) (PFCL: Marat Bikmaev 13; EFC: Kaveh Rezaei 87) AL TAAWOUN FC (KSA) 1-3 AL AHLI FC (UAE) (ATFC: Alassane N Diaye 63-pen; AAFC: Makhete Diop 37, 59, Everton Ribeiro 45) 25 April ESTEGHLAL FC (IRN) AL AHLI FC (UAE) at Azadi Stadium, 20:15 PFC LOKOMOTIV (UZB) AL TAAWOUN FC (KSA) at Lokomotiv Stadium, 17:00 09 May AL AHLI FC (UAE) PFC LOKOMOTIV (UZB) at Rashid Stadium, 19:50 AL TAAWOUN FC (KSA) ESTEGHLAL FC (IRN) at Al Ahli SC Stadium, Doha, 18:50 Kick-off times are subject to change

5 Al Ahli FC Squad information No Pos Player Name Date of Birth Nat Pl Gs YC RC 1 GK AHMED MUBARAK UAE 2 DF SALMIN KHAMIS UAE 4 3 FW ASAMOAH GYAN GHA 2 (1) 4 MF HABIB AL FARDAN UAE DF WALID ABBAS UAE 4 7 MF ISMAIL AL HAMMADI UAE 2 (1) 10 MF EVERTON RIBEIRO BRA FW AHMED KHALIL UAE 2 13 MF KHAMIS ESMAEEL UAE 3 (1) 17 MF WALEED AMBAR UAE (1) 19 DF ADEL AL HAMMADI UAE 20 FW SAEED AL BLOUSHI UAE (2) 1 24 DF MOHAMED JABER UAE (2) 26 DF ABDULAZIZ HAIKAL UAE 3 (1) 28 DF EISA AHMED UAE 33 GK SAIF YOUSEF UAE 42 DF FAISAL YOUSUF SAQER UAE 55 GK MAJED NASER UAE DF MOHAMED SEBIL UAE 1 (1) 62 DF ABDELAZIZ SANQOUR UAE 4 70 MF WALED HUSAIN UAE 1 (1) 82 MF SUHAIL AL ZADJALI UAE 88 MF MAJED HASSAN UAE 2 91 GK MAYED MUHSIN UAE 92 FW SAEED JASSIM UAE (1) 97 MF AHMED MOOSA UAE 99 FW MAKHETE DIOP SEN KEY: No: Pos: Pl: Gs: YC: RC: Squad Number Position Matches Started (substitute appearances in brackets) Goals scored (when goalkeeper refers to goals conceded) Yellow Cards Red Cards

6 Al Taawoun FC No Pos Player Name DOB Nat Pl Gs YC RC 1 GK YAZEED AL SAYYAH KSA 3 DF ABDULLAH KANO KSA 2 (1) 4 DF RICARDO MACHADO POR DF TALAL AL ABSI KSA MF ABDULRAHMAN AL BARAKAH KSA 4 7 FW MOUSA AL SHAMMARI KSA 1 (1) 10 MF JEHAD AL HUSSEIN SYR 3 11 FW SAQER OTAYF KSA 13 DF IBRAHIM AL ZUBAIDI KSA 1 (1) 14 MF MOHAMMED ABU SABAAN KSA 4 16 MF NAIF MOUSA KSA 3 (1) 1 17 DF MAHMOOD MOAAZ KSA MF MADALLAH AL OLAYAN KSA (1) 1 19 FW ALASSANE N DIAYE FRA GK MUATAZ AL BAGAWI KSA 22 GK FAHAD AL SHAMMARI KSA GK SULTAN AL GHAMDI KSA MF SAEED AL DOSARI KSA 1 (2) 28 DF ABDULLAH AL SHAMMARI KSA 2 29 MF LUCIAN SANMARTEAN ROU GK FAIZ AL SUBAIEI KSA 37 MF ABDULAZIZ AL SHARID KSA (1) 49 MF AHMED AL ZAIN KSA 3 (1) 70 DF MOHAMMED AL SAIARI KSA (3) 80 MF ABDULMAJEED AL SUWAIT KSA KEY: No: Pos: Pl: Gs: YC: RC: Squad Number Position Matches Started (substitute appearances in brackets) Goals scored (when goalkeeper refers to goals conceded) Yellow Cards Red Cards

7 Esteghlal FC No Pos Player Name DOB Nat Pl Gs YC RC 1 GK MAHDI RAHMATI IRN MF KHOSRO HEIDARI IRN 3 (1) 1 3 DF ROBSON JANUARIO BRA MF OMID EBRAHAMI IRN DF YAGHOUB KARIMI IRN 9 FW KAVEH REZAEI IRN FW JABER ANSARI IRN 1 (1) 1 13 MF MIAD YAZDANI BEJARSARI IRN 14 MF FARSHID BAGHERI IRN 1 (2) 15 DF HRAYR MKOYAN ARM 17 FW ALI GHORBANI IRN 3 (1) DF MILAD ZAKIPOURKINJI IRN GK ARSHIA AGHABABAZADEH IRN 21 DF VORYA GHAFOURI IRN 2 (1) 22 GK SEYED HOSSEIN HOSSEINI IRN 24 DF OMID NORAKFAN IRN 3 28 MF MOHSEN KARIMI IRN 2 (1) 1 30 DF AZIM GOOG IRN 33 DF MAJID HOSSEINI IRN (1) 74 MF MOJTABA HAGHDOOST IRN (1) 77 MF BEHNAM BARZAY IRN 2 (2) 1 88 MF FARSHID ESMAEILI IRN 3 (1) 1 90 DF LEANDRO PADOVANI BRA MF ALIREZA SAYYAR IRN KEY: No: Pos: Pl: Gs: YC: RC: Squad Number Position Matches Started (substitute appearances in brackets) Goals scored (when goalkeeper refers to goals conceded) Yellow Cards Red Cards

8 PFC Lokomotiv No Pos Player Name Date of Birth Nat Pl Gs YC RC 1 GK IGNATIY NESTEROV UZB DF BOBURBEK YULDASHOV UZB 2 5 MF KAKHI MAKHARADZE GEO FW GNOHERE KRIZO CIV (3) 8 MF SALAMAT KUTIBAEV UZB 2 (1) 1 9 MF IKROMJON ALIBAEV UZB 1 10 FW MARAT BIKMAEV UZB 3 (1) 2 11 MF SADRIDDIN ABDULLAEV UZB 1 12 GK MAMUR IKRAMOV UZB 15 MF SARDOR MIRZAYEV UZB 4 17 DF SALIM MUSTAFAEV UZB 1 18 MF TIMUR KAPADZE UZB 3 20 DF ISLOM TUKHTAKHUJAEV UZB 4 21 FW TIMUR USMANOV UZB 22 FW BOBOJONOV MURODBEK UZB (1) 28 DF SHUKHRAT MUKHAMMADIEV UZB 3 29 DF KUVONDIK RUZIEV UZB (4) 33 MF OLEG ZOTEEV UZB 4 37 DF SHERZOD FAYZIYEV UZB (2) 42 DF MOHAMED GNONTCHA KONE CIV DF SERGEY PROKHOROV UZB 69 DF VOKHIDJON YUNUSOV UZB 72 DF SHOKHRUKH MUMINKULOV UZB 77 MF DIYORJON TURAPOV UZB 1 80 DF FARRUKHJON IBROKHIMOV UZB 78 MF AZIZBEK AMONOV UZB 81 MF BEK ABULLAEV UZB 96 GK RUSTAM NARTADJIEV UZB 97 DF RUSTAM KHAMRAEV UZB 99 MF JALOLIDDIN MASHARIPOV UZB 4 KEY: No: Pos: Pl: Gs: YC: RC: Squad Number Position Matches Started (substitute appearances in brackets) Goals scored (when goalkeeper refers to goals conceded) Yellow Cards Red Cards

9 Team coach profiles Al Ahli FC Cosmin Olaroiu A former defender who ended his playing career with spells at Korea Republic s Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Japan s JEF United, Cosmin Olaroiu went into coaching in his native Romania before finding much success in the Middle East over the past decade. He joined Saudi Arabia s Al Hilal in 2007 and led them to Saudi League and the Saudi Crown Prince Cup title before joining Al Sadd and winning the Qatar Stars Cup in The 47-year-old then won back-to-back UAE league titles with Al Ain in 2012 and 2013 before moving to their rivals Al Ahli where he won two more league championships and led them to the 2015 AFC Champions League final. Al Taawoun FC Jose Gomes Following the dismissal of Romanian coach Constantin Galca in March, Al Taawoun reappointed Portuguese tactician Jose Gomes for his second spell in charge of the Buraidah club. The 46-year-old began his coaching career in his early 20s and after spells at several clubs in his native Portugal, Spain, Greece and Hungary, he was appointed by Al Taawoun in 2014 and led them to fourth place in the Saudi League in the season, their highestever league finish. He left the club last summer but has returned after short, ill-fated stints at Saudi rivals Al Ahli and UAE side Baniyas. Esteghlal FC Alireza Mansourian A former Iran international midfielder, Alireza Mansourian was in the Team Melli side that finished third in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup and appeared in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After retiring with Esteghlal in 2008, he started coaching their youth teams before taking charge of Pas Hamedan for a short spell. He went on to work as an assistant coach with the national team and managed Iran s U23 national team for three years before he became head coach of Naft Tehran in 2014, leading them to third place in the league and the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League. The 45-year-old returned to Esteghlal as their head coach last June. PFC Lokomotiv Andrey Miklyaev A former Uzbekistan international defender, Andrey Miklyaev retired as a player in 2001 and worked for Uzbek clubs NBU-Asia, Qizilqum, Almalyk and Lokomotiv, where he became an assistant coach under Vadim Abramov in The 49-year-old was elevated to the head coaching position at the start of the 2016 season and he duly led Lokomotiv to their first-ever Uzbek league title and the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League.

10 Team facts Al Ahli FC After failing to qualify for the AFC Champions League last year, Al Ahli FC secured their return to the continental tournament in style by winning the Arabian Gulf League title in the season, finishing nine points clear of runners-up Al Ain. The Dubai club failed to get past the group stage in their first five appearances in the AFC Champions League but went all the way to the final in 2015, narrowly losing 1-0 on aggregate to China s Guangzhou Evergrande. AFC Champions League record 2015 Runners-up 2014 Group stage 2010 Group stage 2009 Group stage 2005 Group stage th qualifying round Overall AFC Champions League record (including play-off games) Pl W D L GF GA Overall Home Away Biggest wins Home: 3-0 vs Neftchi, 2005, group stage Away: 3-1 vs Al Taawoun, 2017, group stage Heaviest defeats Home: 0-5 vs Al Sadd, 2010, group stage Away: 0-3 vs Neftchi, 2005, group stage

11 Al Taawoun FC Based in the central Saudi city of Buraidah, Al Taawoun were formed in 1956 but have spent much of their history in the lower divisions. However, they have made steady progress since winning promotion to the top flight for a second time in 2010 and secured their highest-ever league placing last season when they finished fourth. It earned them a place in the AFC Champions League playoffs but with third-placed Al Ittihad failing to meet the AFC Club Licensing Criteria, they were instead given a slot in the group stage. First AFC Champions League appearance Overall AFC Champions League record (including playoff games) P W D L GF GA Overall Home Away Biggest wins Home: 1-0 vs Lokomotiv, 2017, group stage Heaviest defeats Home: 1-3 vs Al Ahli (UAE), 2017, group stage Away: 0-3 vs Esteghlal, 2017, group stage

12 Esteghlal FC Esteghlal FC missed out on silverware last season after finishing third in Iran s Persian Gulf Pro League and losing on penalties to Zobahan FC in the Hazfi Cup final. However, they qualified for the AFC Champions League playoffs and secured their place in Group A by beating Qatari side Al Sadd FC in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw. The Tehran club won the Asian Club Championship in 1970 and 1991 and have made seven previous appearances in the AFC Champions League with their best performance coming in 2013 when they reached the semi-finals. AFC Champions League record 2014 Group stage 2013 Semi-finals 2012 Round of Group stage 2010 Round of Group stage 2003 Group stage Overall AFC Champions League record (including play-off games) P W D L GF GA Overall Home Away Neutral Biggest wins Home: 3-0 vs Al Gharafa, 2010, group stage vs Al Rayyan, 2012, group stage vs Al Rayyan, 2013, group stage vs Al Taawoun, 2017, group stage (at Muscat) Away: 4-2 vs Al Shabab Al Arabi, 2013, round of vs Nasaf, 2012 group stage Heaviest defeats Home: 1-2 vs Al Jazira, 2012, group stage 0-1 vs Al Hilal, 2013, group stage vs Al Shabab, 2014, group stage Away: 1-3 vs Al Ain, , group stage 0-2 vs Sepahan, 2012, round of 16 vs FC Seoul, 2013, semi-final

13 PFC Lokomotiv After missing out on the Uzbek League title by just a single point in 2015, PFC Lokomotiv made no mistake last year as they romped to their first-ever league championship, finishing 11 points ahead of closest rivals Bunyodkor and Nasaf. They completed the double with a 1-0 win over Nasaf in the Uzbek Cup final. The Tashkent club also went past the group stage of the AFC Champions League for the first time before going out 1-0 on aggregate to Al Ain in the quarter-finals. AFC Champions League record 2016 Quarter-finals 2015 Group stage 2014 Playoffs 2013 Playoffs Overall AFC Champions League record (including playoff games) P W D L GF GA Overall Home Away Biggest wins Home: 5-0 vs Al Sadd, 2015, group stage Away: 2-0 vs Sepahan, 2016, group stage Heaviest defeats Home: 1-3 vs Kuwait SC, 2014, playoffs 1-2 vs Al Hilal, 2015, group stage Away: 2-6 vs Al Sadd, 2015, group stage

14 Al Ahli FC Domestic results & standings Most recent games Comp. Date Opponent Res. League 04/03/17 Al Jazira (H) 2-1 League 08/03/17 Al Dhafra (A) 2-0 League Cup 01/04/17 Al Shabab (A) 2-0 Final League 06/04/17 Al Wasl (H) 0-0 League 15/04/17 Al Wahda (A) 2-1 UAE Arabian Gulf League current standings (top five) Pos. Club Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Al Jazira Al Ahli Al Wasl Al Ain Al Wahda Al Taawoun FC Most recent games Comp. Date Opponent Res. League 09/03/17 Al Ettifaq (H) 1-0 King s Cup 30/03/17 Al Ettifaq (A) 2-2 Q-finals. Won 5-3 on penalties League 06/04/17 Al Faisaly (A) 0-1 League 15/04/17 Al Nassr (A) 1-2 League 20/04/17 Al Khaleej (H) 0-0 Saudi Pro League - current standings (top five) Pos. Club Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Al Hilal Al Ittihad Al Nassr Al Ahli Al Raed Al Taawoun

15 Esteghlal FC Most recent games Comp. Date Opponent Res. League 08/03/17 Saipa (A) 2-1 League 01/04/17 Foolad Khouzestan (H) 1-0 League 06/04/17 Gostaresh (A) 1-1 League 15/04/17 Saba Qom (H) 2-1 League 20/04/17 Tractorsazi (A) 0-1 Iran Persian Gulf Pro League current standings (top six) Pos. Club Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Persepolis Tractorsazi Esteghlal Zobahan Sepahan PFC Lokomotiv Most recent games Comp. Date Opponent Res. League 08/03/17 Sogdiana (H) 3-0 League 31/03/17 Olmaliq (H) 5-0 League 06/04/17 Shortan (A) 0-2 League 15/04/17 Nasaf (H) 2-1 League 20/04/17 Pakhtakor (A) 2-1 Uzbek Professional Football League current standings (top five) Pos. Club Pld W D L GF GA Pts 1 Lokomotiv Kokand Dinamo Samarkand Nasaf Mashal

16 Roll of Honour Year Winners Runners-up Score 2016 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (KOR) Al Ain (UAE) 3-2 (agg) 2015 Guangzhou Evergrande (CHN) Al Ahli (UAE) 1-0 (agg) 2014 Western Sydney Wanderers (AUS) Al Hilal (KSA) Guangzhou Evergrande (CHN) FC Seoul (KOR) 3-3 (agg)* 2012 Ulsan Hyundai (KOR) Al Ahli (KSA) Al Sadd (QAT) Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (KOR) 2-2 ** 2010 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (KOR) Zobahan (IRN) Pohang Steelers (KOR) Al Ittihad (KSA) Gamba Osaka (JPN) Adelaide United (AUS) 5-0 (agg) 2007 Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN) Sepahan (IRN) 3-1 (agg) 2006 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (KOR) Al Karama (SYR) 3-2 (agg) 2005 Al Ittihad (KSA) Al Ain (UAE) 5-3 (agg) 2004 Al Ittihad (KSA) Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (KOR) 6-3 (agg) Al Ain (UAE) BEC Tero Sasana (THA) 2-1 (agg) * Guangzhou Evergrande won on away goals ** Al Sadd won 4-2 on penalties Asian Football Confederation information The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of football in Asia, including Australia with a total of 47 members. The organisation was founded on 8 May 1954 in Manila and is one of FIFA s six continental confederations. The headquarters is at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the President is Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain. The AFC organised the first continental championship the Asian Cup in 1956, and introduced the first continental club competition the Asian Club Championship in In 1990, they introduced the Asian Cup Winners Cup, and in 1995, the winners of the Asian Club Championship and Asian Cup Winners Cup began to meet annually in the Asian Super Cup. In 2002, all three club competitions were merged into the AFC Champions League, which featured domestic league and cup winners from throughout Asia. More than 40 teams took part in the inaugural tournament but the format was streamlined in 2004 to include the defending champions and 28 other teams from 14 countries. The competition was revamped in 2009 as the group stage was expanded to 32 teams, a round of 16 was added and the final became a single championship game. However, the format was tweaked again in 2013 with the final reverting to two legs.