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2018 AFC Cup

The 2018 AFC Cup was the 15th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[1]

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq won the title for the third consecutive year, defeating Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan in the final.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee recommended a new format for the AFC Cup starting from 2017 which was played in the AFC's five zones: West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, ASEAN, and East Asia, with the winner of the West Asia Zone and the winner of an inter-zone play-off between the other four zones playing in the final, hosted on a rotational basis at venues in the East and West.[2] The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) were 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 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.2):[3]

For the 2018 AFC Cup, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016,[4] which took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings between 2013 and 2016.[3][5]

Notes
  1. ^
    Afghanistan (AFG): Afghanistan did not implement the club licensing system.[6]
  2. ^
    Brunei (BRU): Brunei did not implement the club licensing system.[6]
  3. ^
    Chinese Taipei (TPE): Chinese Taipei had only one entry, as only one team obtained an AFC licence.[6]
  4. ^
    Guam (GUM): Guam did not comply with the AFC Cup club licensing system.[6]
  5. ^
    Iraq (IRQ): Iraq entered the AFC Cup instead of the AFC Champions League as they did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system.[7]
  6. ^
    Kuwait (KUW): Kuwait could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association at the entry deadline.[8]
  7. ^
    Laos (LAO): Laos originally had one entry: Lao Toyota, the 2017 Lao Premier League champions. However, on 14 December 2017, the AFC announced that they were ruled ineligible to play in the 2018 AFC Cup due to match manipulation during the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup.[9] As they were the only team from Laos which obtained an AFC licence, no other teams were eligible to replace them.[6] Lao Toyota appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and on 17 January 2018, CAS ruled Lao Toyota would be eligible to participate.[10]
  8. ^
    Macau (MAC): Macau had only one entry, as only one team obtained an AFC licence.[6]
  9. ^
    Malaysia (MAS): Malaysia had only one entry as Pahang, the 2017 Malaysia Super League runners-up, which would have entered the group stage, decided not to participate in the AFC Cup after obtaining an AFC licence, and as a result, the second group stage slot for Malaysia was annulled and could not be filled by any other team from Malaysia (Entry Manual 12.12).[3][7][11][12][13]
  10. ^
    Nepal (NEP): Nepal did not comply with the AFC Cup club licensing system.[6]
  11. ^
    Pakistan (PAK): Pakistan could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Pakistan Football Federation at the entry deadline.[14]
  12. ^
    Sri Lanka (SRI): Sri Lanka did not comply with the AFC Cup club licensing system.[6]
  13. ^
    Timor-Leste (TLS): Timor-Leste did not implement the club licensing system.[6]
  14. ^
    Yemen (YEM): Yemen did not implement the club licensing system.[6]

Teams

The following 44 teams from 26 associations entered the competition.

Notes
  1. ^
    AFC Champions League (ACL): Teams played in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage. Had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would not have played in the AFC Cup and would have been replaced in the AFC Cup group stage by the standby team from the same association if such team was available.
  2. ^
    Bangladesh (BAN): Sheikh Jamal, the 2017–18 Bangladesh Premier League runners-up, failed to obtain an AFC license. As a result, Saif, the league 4th place and the highest-placed team with an AFC license not yet qualified, entered the qualifying play-offs.[15]
  3. ^
    Chinese Taipei (TPE): Tatung and Taipower, the 2017 Taiwan Premier League champions and runners-up, failed to obtain an AFC license. As a result, Hang Yuen, the league 3rd place and the only team with an AFC license, entered the group stage.[16][6]
  4. ^
    Indonesia (IDN): Bhayangkara and PSM Makassar, the 2017 Liga 1 champions and 3rd place, failed to obtain an AFC license. As a result, Persija Jakarta, the league 4th place, entered the group stage.[17]
  5. ^
    Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2017 S.League champions and 2017 Singapore Cup winners, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Home United, the league 3rd place, entered the group stage.
  6. ^
    Vietnam (VIE): Quảng Nam, the 2017 V.League 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, FLC Thanh Hóa, the league runners-up, entered the group stage.[18]
  7. ^
    North Korea (PRK): Sobaeksu, 2017 Hwaebul Cup winners, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, Hwaebul, the league runners-up, entered the group stage.
    8. class=notpageimage|
    Location of teams of the 2018 AFC Cup.
    West Asia Zone
    Central Asia Zone
    South Asia Zone
    ASEAN Zone
    East Asia Zone
    (p) Qualifying play-off participants

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).

Qualifying play-offs

In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3). The five winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 31 direct entrants.[1]

The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg.[19]

Preliminary round

Play-off round

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2017, 14:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[20][19] The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone could not be drawn into the same group.

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advanced to the knockout stage:

Group A

Source: AFC

Group B

Source: AFC

Group C

Source: AFC

Group D

Source: AFC

Group E

Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. ^ Head-to-head results: Aizawl 0–3 Abahani Limited Dhaka, Abahani Limited Dhaka 1–1 Aizawl.

Group F

Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Home United 1–1 Ceres–Negros, Ceres–Negros 0–2 Home United.

Group G

Source: AFC

Group H

Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Sông Lam Nghệ An 2–0 Johor Darul Ta'zim, Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–2 Sông Lam Nghệ An.

Group I

Source: AFC

Ranking of second-placed teams

West Asia Zone

Source: AFC

ASEAN Zone

Source: AFC

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 11 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, except the final which was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).[1]

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, which was held on 23 May 2018, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[21][22][23]

Zonal semi-finals

In the Zonal semi-finals, the four qualified teams from the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) played in two ties, and the four qualified teams from the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H) played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs determined by the group stage draw and the identity of the best runners-up.

Zonal finals

The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 23 May 2018.[23] In the Zonal finals, the two winners of West Asia Zonal semi-finals played each other, and the two winners of ASEAN Zonal semi-finals played each other, with the order of legs decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 23 May 2018.[23] In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone played in two ties, i.e., the winners of the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the winners of the South Asia Zone (Group E), the winners of the East Asia Zone (Group I), and the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final (whose identity was not known at the time of the draw), with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding.

Inter-zone play-off final

In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals played each other, with the order of legs determined by the Inter-zone play-off semi-final draw. The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.

Final

In the final, the winners of the West Asia Zonal final and the winners of the Inter-zone play-off final played each other, with the host team (winners of the West Asia Zonal final) alternated from the previous season's final.[24]

Basra Sports City, Basra
Attendance: 24,665
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

Awards

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).[1]

Source: AFC[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "2018 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  2. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020" (PDF). AFC.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "AFC MA Ranking (as of 30 November 2016)" (PDF). AFC.
  5. ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking Mechanics (2016 version)" (PDF). AFC.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "List of Licensed Clubs for AFC Cup 2018" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b "List of Licensed Clubs for AFC Champions League 2018" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  8. ^ "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Lao Toyota FC ineligible for AFC Cup 2018 because of match manipulation". AFC. 14 December 2017.
  10. ^ "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) declares Lao Tractor Football Club eligible to participate in the 2018 AFC Cup" (PDF). CAS. 17 January 2018.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "PAHANG SAH TIDAK SERTAI PIALA AFC 2018". fam.org.my (in Malay). Football Association of Malaysia. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Piala AFC: FMLLP bertanggungjawab tentukan pasukan". Stadium Astro (in Malay). 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Pahang tolak slot ke Piala AFC". Astro Awani. 21 November 2017.
  14. ^ "FIFA suspends the Pakistan Football Federation". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Abahani get AFC Cup finals ticket". Dhaka Tribune. 6 December 2017.
  16. ^ "台甲季軍航源出戰明年亞洲足總盃 宣示台足職業化起步". ETT Today. 7 December 2017.
  17. ^ "PSSI Tolak Banding Klub Terkait Lisensi AFC" [PSSI reject club appeals related to AFC license] (in Indonesian). Goal.com. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  18. ^ "AFC: FLC THANH HÓA THAY QUẢNG NAM ĐÁ AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE". Goal.com. 30 November 2017.
  19. ^ a b "AFC Cup 2018 draw confirmed". AFC. 6 December 2017.
  20. ^ "AFC Cup 2018 Official Group Stage Draw". YouTube. 6 December 2017.
  21. ^ "Exciting ties on the cards". AFC. 22 May 2018.
  22. ^ "AFC Cup 2018 Knockout Stage Official Draw". YouTube. 23 May 2018.
  23. ^ a b c "AFC Cup 2018 knockout stage draw confirmed". AFC. 23 May 2018.
  24. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
  25. ^ "Ahmed wants more". AFC. 27 October 2018.
  26. ^ "4.25 SC's An Il-bom takes Top Scorer Award". AFC. 27 October 2018.
  27. ^ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2018 AFC Cup (Group Stage, Zonal Semi-finals, Knock-out Stage)". the-afc.com. AFC.

External links