22nd edition of premier club football tournament organized by the AFC
2002–03 AFC Champions League Dates 13 August – 27 November 2002 (qualifying rounds) 9 March – 11 October 2003 (group & final stages)Teams 16 (group stage) Champions Al-Ain (1st title) Runners-up BEC Tero Sasana Matches played 30 Goals scored 104 (3.47 per match) Top scorer(s) Hao Haidong (9 goals)Best player(s) Therdsak Chaiman ←
2001–02 (Asian Club Championship)
International football competition
The 2002–03 AFC Champions League was the twenty-second edition of Asia's premier football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation , and the first edition under the AFC Champions League title.
Sixteen teams competed in this edition as they went through qualifying before going into four groups of four with only the winner of the group qualifying to the knockout-stage which went to two-legs instead of the single leg that the previous year competition had. In the final it was Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates beating BEC Tero Sasana F.C. of Thailand 2–1 on aggregate.
Qualification Round
West Asia
Central and Southern Asia
East Asia
ASEAN
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knock-out stage
Bracket
Semi-finals
First leg
Second leg
BEC Tero Sasana won 3–2 on aggregate.
Al-Ain won 7–6 on aggregate.
Final
First leg
Second leg
Al-Ain won 2–1 on aggregate.
Top scorers
9
4
3
Notes
^ Matches was postponed from 22 April 2003 to 30 August 2003 due to SARS outbreak in China.
External links
Asian Champion Club Tournament era, 1967–1972
Seasons
Asian Club Championship era, 1985–2002
Seasons
AFC Champions League era, 2002–2024
Seasons Finals
AFC Champions League Elite era, since 2024
Seasons Finals
League competitions
Cup competitions
AFC competitions
Related to national teams
League competitions
Cup competitions
AFC competitions
Related to national teams