Al Ain first contested in the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup were they lost to Kazma SC 1–6 on aggregate. Al Ain won their first international title in the 2001 GCC Champions League after finishing first in a round-robin tournament, however only two years later Al Ain would win its first major international title after beating BEC Tero Sasana 2–1 on aggregate, Al Ain became the first Emirati team to win the Asian Cup and is by far the only UAE side to do so in present time. Al Ain would qualify for the final of the ACL twice only to lose both finals. Al Ain also qualified for the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final were they lost to Real Madrid CF 1–4.