2016 AFC Cup

The 2016 AFC Cup was the 13th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq defeated India's Bengaluru in the final to win their first AFC Cup title, becoming the first Iraqi team to win the competition. Johor Darul Ta'zim, the defending champions, were eliminated in the semi-finals by Bengaluru.

Association team allocation The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014, which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014. The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2014 rankings: The associations are split into West Zone and East Zone, with 23 associations in each zone: West Zone consists of the associations from West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, except India and Maldives East Zone consists of the associations from ASEAN and East Asia, plus India and Maldives In each zone, there are a total of 12 direct slots in the group stage, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs. All associations which do not receive direct slots in the AFC Champions League group stage are eligible to enter the AFC Cup. The associations ranked 7th to 16th in each zone get at least one direct slot in the group stage (including losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off), while the remaining associations get only play-off slots: The associations ranked 7th and 8th each get two direct slots. The associations ranked 9th to 12th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in play-off round). The associations ranked 13th to 16th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in preliminary round). The associations ranked 17th or below each get one play-off slot (in qualifying round).

The AFC Competitions Committee decided on the participation of member associations in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC Cup on 28 November 2014.

The following table shows the slot allocation for the 2016 AFC Cup, which are adjusted accordingly since some of the slots are unused.

Participation for 2016 AFC CupParticipatingNot participating

+West ZoneRankMemberAssociationPointsSlotsACLGroupstageroundQualif.round 610 Iraq47.1060200 711 Kuwait45.4230000 812 Jordan44.3091100 914 Oman30.58602001016 Bahrain25.54701101117 Lebanon25.04301101219 Syria22.88301101325 Palestine15.91101101428 Tajikistan11.76101101529 Afghanistan11.46400001630 Turkmenistan10.55401101732 Kyrgyzstan 8.76100111835 Yemen 5.24900001936 Sri Lanka 4.07100002038 Nepal 3.26800002139 Pakistan 2.73200012246 Bhutan 0.0000001Total1117322

+East ZoneRankMemberAssociationPointsSlotsACLGroupstageroundQualif.round 718 Indonesia25.0040000 820 Hong Kong20.0771100 921 Myanmar18.94911001022 Malaysia18.15311001123 India16.75611001224 Singapore16.09711001326 Maldives15.88402001427 Philippines12.26802001531 North Korea 9.00000001633 Laos 7.55401001734 Guam 5.94600001837 Bangladesh 3.64300011939 East Timor 2.73200002041 Macau 2.62500012142 Cambodia 2.46400002243 Chinese Taipei 2.08900002344 Mongolia 1.55400012445 Brunei 0.8040000Total5100318

Notes

Teams The following 40 teams from 23 associations entered the competition.

+West ZoneTeamQualifying methodAppLast AppGroup stage direct entrants (Groups A–D) Naft Al-Wasat2014–15 Iraqi Premier League champions1stnone Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya2014–15 Iraqi Premier League runners-up1stnone Al-Wehdat2014–15 Jordan League champions9th2015 Al-Faisaly2014–15 Jordan FA Cup winners8th2013 Al-Orouba2014–15 Oman Professional League champions and 2014–15 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners4th2012 Fanja2014–15 Oman Professional League runners-up4th2015 Al-Muharraq2014–15 Bahrain First Division League champions5th2009 Al-Ahed2014–15 Lebanese Premier League champions7th2012 Al-Jaish2014–15 Syrian Premier League champions6th20152014–15 West Bank Premier League champions2nd2014 Istiklol2015 Tajik League champions and 2015 Tajik Cup winners2nd2015 Altyn Asyr2015 Ýokary Liga champions and 2015 Turkmenistan Cup winners2nd2015Entering in qualifying play-off (play-off round) Al-Hidd2015 Bahraini King's Cup winners3rd2015 Tripoli2014–15 Lebanese FA Cup winners2nd2004 Al-Wahda2015 Syrian Cup winners5th2015 Ahli Al-Khaleel2014–15 Palestine Cup winners1stnone Khujand2015 Tajik League runners-up1stnone Balkan2015 Ýokary Liga runners-up4th2007 Alay Osh2015 Kyrgyzstan League champions2nd2014

+East ZoneTeamQualifying methodAppLast AppGroup stage direct entrants (Groups E–H) Kitchee2014–15 Hong Kong Premier League champions6th2015 South China2014–15 Hong Kong season play-off winners7th2015 Yangon United2015 Myanmar National League champions4th2014 Ayeyawady United2015 General Aung San Shield winners4th20152015 Malaysia Super League champions3rd2015 Selangor2015 Malaysia Super League runners-up5th2014 Mohun Bagan2014–15 I-League champions3rd2009 Bengaluru2014–15 Indian Federation Cup winners2nd2015 Tampines Rovers2015 S.League runners-up8th2014 Balestier Khalsa2015 S.League 4th place2nd2015 New Radiant2015 Dhivehi Premier League champions8th2015 Maziya2015 Maldives President's Cup winners4th2015 Ceres2015 UFL Division 1 champions2nd2015 Kaya2015 UFL Cup winners1stnone Lao Toyota2015 Lao Premier League champions2nd2015

TeamQualifying methodAppLast AppEntering in qualifying round(teams not split into zones for qualifying round) Alga2014 Kyrgyzstan League 3rd place1stnone Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi2013–14 Bangladesh Football Premier League champions1stnone K-Electric2014–15 Pakistan Premier League champions1stnone Benfica de Macau2015 Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol champions1stnone Khoromkhon2014 Mongolian Premier League champions1stnone Druk United2014 Bhutan National League champions1stnone

Notes

Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

StageRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifying stageQualifying round29 June 201511–15 August 2015Play-off stagePlay-off roundNo draw9 February 2016Group stageMatchday 110 December 201523–24 February 2016Matchday 28–9 March 2016Matchday 315–16 March 2016Matchday 412–13 April 2016Matchday 526–27 April 2016Matchday 610–11 May 2016Knockout stageRound of 1624–25 May 2016Quarter-finals9 June 201613–14 September 201620–21 September 2016Semi-finals27–28 September 201618–19 October 2016Final5 November 2016 at Suheim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha

Qualifying round

Group A

Group B

Qualifying play-off

Play-off round

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Knockout stage

Bracket

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Awards AwardPlayerTeamMost Valuable Player Hammadi Ahmed Al-Quwa Al-JawiyaTop Goalscorer Hammadi Ahmed Al-Quwa Al-JawiyaFair Play Award— Bengaluru FC

Top scorers RankPlayerTeam Total1 Hammadi Ahmed Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya212123111 11162 Adrián Gallardo Ceres1211 3 8 Mohd Safiq Rahim Johor Darul Ta'zim312 1 184 Christopher Chizoba Ayeyawady United 3 2 1 6 Jorge Pereyra Díaz Johor Darul Ta'zim1 1 1111 6 Mouhamadou Dramé Al-Ahed 121 2 6 Jeje Lalpekhlua Mohun Bagan212 1 6 Juan Martín Lucero Johor Darul Ta'zim2 3 1 6 Raja Rafe Al-Wahda1 4 1 6 Rufino Kitchee1 2 21 6

See also 2016 AFC Champions League

References

External links AFC Cup, the-AFC.com