Football at the Asian Games
Football · Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)
Football has been played at every Asian Games since the first, New Delhi 1951, where India won the men's tournament; the women's tournament began at Beijing 1990.
- Next
- Doha 2030
- Most golds (men)
- South Korea, 7 (two of them shared, 1970 and 1978)
- Most golds (women)
- Japan, 4 (2010, 2018, 2022, 2026)
- India
- Men's gold in 1951 and 1962, bronze in 1970, fourth in 1958
- Cycle
- Every four years
Men's tournament
India on the podium
2026Gold3rdSilverGold: South KoreaFinal: 1-0 · Silver: Japan · Host: Aichi–Nagoya
- Bronze
- China
- Third-place match
- 2-2 (4-3 pens)
- Fourth
- Uzbekistan
- Teams
- 15
2022GoldSilver3rdGold: South KoreaFinal: 2-1 · Silver: Japan · Host: Hangzhou
- Bronze
- Uzbekistan
- Third-place match
- 4-0
- Fourth
- Hong Kong
- Teams
- 21
2018GoldSilver3rdGold: South KoreaFinal: 2-1 (a.e.t.) · Silver: Japan · Host: Jakarta–Palembang
- Bronze
- United Arab Emirates
- Third-place match
- 1-1 (4-3 pens)
- Fourth
- Vietnam
- Teams
- 25
2014Gold3rdSilverGold: South KoreaFinal: 1-0 (a.e.t.) · Silver: North Korea · Host: Incheon
- Bronze
- Iraq
- Third-place match
- 1-0
- Fourth
- Thailand
- Teams
- 29
20103rdGoldSilverGold: JapanFinal: 1-0 · Silver: United Arab Emirates · Host: Guangzhou
- Bronze
- South Korea
- Third-place match
- 4-3
- Fourth
- Iran
- Teams
- 24
20063rdSilverGoldGold: QatarFinal: 1-0 · Silver: Iraq · Host: Doha
- Bronze
- Iran
- Third-place match
- 1-0 (a.e.t.)
- Fourth
- South Korea
- Teams
- 28
20023rdGoldSilverGold: IranFinal: 2-1 · Silver: Japan · Host: Busan
- Bronze
- South Korea
- Third-place match
- 3-0
- Fourth
- Thailand
- Teams
- 24
1998Gold3rdSilverGold: IranFinal: 2-0 · Silver: Kuwait · Host: Bangkok
- Bronze
- China
- Third-place match
- 3-0
- Fourth
- Thailand
- Teams
- 23
1994Silver3rdGoldGold: UzbekistanFinal: 4-2 · Silver: China · Host: Hiroshima
- Bronze
- Kuwait
- Third-place match
- 2-1
- Fourth
- South Korea
- Teams
- 18
19903rdGoldSilverGold: IranFinal: 0-0 (a.e.t.) (4-1 pens) · Silver: North Korea · Host: Beijing
- Bronze
- South Korea
- Third-place match
- 1-0
- Fourth
- Thailand
- Teams
- 14
1986Gold3rdSilverGold: South KoreaFinal: 2-0 · Silver: Saudi Arabia · Host: Seoul
- Bronze
- Kuwait
- Third-place match
- 5-0
- Fourth
- Indonesia
- Teams
- 18
1982GoldSilver3rdGold: IraqFinal: 1-0 · Silver: Kuwait · Host: New Delhi
- Bronze
- Saudi Arabia
- Third-place match
- awarded 2-0
- Fourth
- North Korea
- Teams
- 16
1978Gold3rdGoldGold: North Korea and South Korea (shared)Final: 0-0 (a.e.t.) · Host: Bangkok
- Bronze
- China
- Third-place match
- 1-0
- Fourth
- Iraq
- Teams
- 14
1974GoldSilver3rdGold: IranFinal: 1-0 · Silver: Israel · Host: Tehran
- Bronze
- Malaysia
- Third-place match
- 2-1
- Fourth
- North Korea
- Teams
- 15
19703rdGoldGoldGold: Burma and South Korea (shared)Final: 0-0 (a.e.t.) · Host: Bangkok
- Bronze
- India
- Third-place match
- 1-0
- Fourth
- Japan
- Teams
- 10
1966SilverGold3rdGold: BurmaFinal: 1-0 · Silver: Iran · Host: Bangkok
- Bronze
- Japan
- Third-place match
- 2-0
- Fourth
- Singapore
- Teams
- 11
1962GoldSilver3rdGold: IndiaFinal: 2-1 · Silver: South Korea · Host: Jakarta
- Bronze
- Malaya
- Third-place match
- 4-1
- Fourth
- South Vietnam
- Teams
- 8
1958Silver3rdGoldGold: Republic of ChinaFinal: 3-2 · Silver: South Korea · Host: Tokyo
- Bronze
- Indonesia
- Third-place match
- 4-1
- Fourth
- India
- Teams
- 14
1954Silver3rdGoldGold: Republic of ChinaFinal: 5-2 · Silver: South Korea · Host: Manila
- Bronze
- Burma
- Third-place match
- 5-4
- Fourth
- Indonesia
- Teams
- 12
1951GoldSilver3rdGold: IndiaFinal: 1-0 · Silver: Iran · Host: New Delhi
- Bronze
- Japan
- Third-place match
- 2-0
- Fourth
- Afghanistan
- Teams
- 6
The 1970 and 1978 titles were shared after goalless finals. In 1982 Saudi Arabia were awarded the third-place match by default after North Korea were suspended for assaulting officials at the end of their semi-final.
India at the Asian Games
| Year | Result | Final or match |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Gold | Beat Iran 1-0 in the final, at home in New Delhi |
| 1958 | Fourth | Lost the third-place match to Indonesia 1-4 |
| 1962 | Gold | Beat South Korea 2-1 in the final, in Jakarta |
| 1970 | Bronze | Beat Japan 1-0 in the third-place match |
India's women have not reached the top four. At Hangzhou 2022 India's men reached the round of 16 (lost 0-2 to Saudi Arabia, 9th) and India's women went out in the group (lost to Chinese Taipei 1-2 and Thailand 0-1). India's competitors list for Aichi–Nagoya 2026 has no football.
More about this tournament
Women's tournament
| No. | Year | Host | Gold | Final | Silver | Bronze | Third-place match | Fourth | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1990 | Beijing | China | no final (round robin) | Japan | North Korea | none | Chinese Taipei | 6 |
| 2 | 1994 | Hiroshima | China | 2-0 | Japan | Chinese Taipei | none | South Korea | 4 |
| 3 | 1998 | Bangkok | China | 1-0 (golden goal) | North Korea | Japan | 2-1 | Chinese Taipei | 8 |
| 4 | 2002 | Busan | North Korea | no final (round robin) | China | Japan | none | South Korea | 6 |
| 5 | 2006 | Doha | North Korea | 0-0 (a.e.t.) (4-2 pens) | Japan | China | 2-0 | South Korea | 8 |
| 6 | 2010 | Guangzhou | Japan | 1-0 | North Korea | South Korea | 2-0 | China | 7 |
| 7 | 2014 | Incheon | North Korea | 3-1 | Japan | South Korea | 3-0 | Vietnam | 11 |
| 8 | 2018 | Jakarta–Palembang | Japan | 1-0 | China | South Korea | 4-0 | Chinese Taipei | 11 |
| 9 | 2022 | Hangzhou | Japan | 4-1 | North Korea | China | 7-0 | Uzbekistan | 16 |
| 10 | 2026 | Aichi–Nagoya | Japan | 2-2 (a.e.t.) (5-3 pens) | North Korea | South Korea | 1-0 | China | 12 |
"No final" and "none" are where the source says "No playoffs".
Medal table (men and women, top 10)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| 2 | Japan | 5 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
| 3 | North Korea | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 |
| 4 | Iran | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | China | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | Chinese Taipei | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | India | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Myanmar | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Iraq | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
The medal table counts the Republic of China's golds (1954, 1958) under Chinese Taipei and Burma's under Myanmar.
History
How it began
Football was played at the first Asian Games, New Delhi 1951, with six teams; India beat Iran 1-0 in the final. The women's tournament was added at Beijing 1990.
Champions by era
Iran won four men's titles between 1974 and 2002; South Korea have won every men's title since 2014. China won the first three women's tournaments and Japan four of the last five.
India's story
India won the first tournament at home in 1951 and the second of its titles in Jakarta in 1962; its last top-four finish was the bronze of 1970.
Firsts and facts
- First tournament: New Delhi 1951, won by India.
- Two titles were shared: 1970 (Burma, South Korea) and 1978 (North Korea, South Korea).
- South Korea won four men's titles in a row, 2014 to 2026.