AFC_Cup_2017

2017 AFC Cup

2017 AFC Cup

14th secondary club football tournament organized by the


The 2017 AFC Cup was the 14th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[1]

Quick Facts Tournament details, Dates ...

Defending champions Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya defeated Istiklol in the final to win their second AFC Cup title.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee recommended a new format for the AFC Cup starting from 2017 which is 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 among 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) 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 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.2):[3]

  • The associations are split into five zones:
  • All associations which do not receive direct slots in the AFC Champions League group stage are eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
  • In each zone, the number of groups in the group stage is determined based on the number of entries, with the number of slots filled through play-offs same as the number of groups:
    • In the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, there are three groups in the group stage, including a total of 9 direct slots, with the 3 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
    • In the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, there is one group in the group stage, including a total of 3 direct slots, with the 1 remaining slot filled through play-offs.
  • The top associations participating in the AFC Cup in each zone as per the AFC rankings get at least one direct slot in the group stage (including losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs), while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
    • For the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN zone:
      • The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each get two direct slots.
      • The associations ranked 4th to 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
      • The associations ranked 7th or below each get one play-off slot.
    • For the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia zone:
      • The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
      • The associations ranked 4th or below each get one play-off slot.
  • The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
  • If any association gives up its direct slots, they are redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of two direct slots.
  • If any association gives up its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.
  • If the number of teams in the play-offs in any zone is fewer than twice the number of group stage slots filled through play-offs, the play-off teams of the highest eligible associations are given byes to the group stage.

For the 2017 AFC Cup, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016,[4] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2013 and 2016.[3][5]

The slot allocation was announced on 7 December 2016.[6] The final slot allocation, after unused slots were redistributed, was announced on 12 December 2016.[7][8]

More information Participation for 2017 AFC Cup ...
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Notes
  1. ^
    Bangladesh (BAN): Bangladesh submitted only one entry, despite being eligible to submit two (one direct slot and one play-off slot).
  2. ^
    Brunei (BRU): Brunei did not submit any entry.
  3. ^
    Cambodia (CAM): Cambodia were initially eligible to submit only one entry, but were given one additional play-off slot as per a decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[8][9]
  4. ^
    Chinese Taipei (TPE): Chinese Taipei submitted two entries (one direct slot and one play-off slot). However, their two teams withdrew from the group stage and qualifying play-offs respectively after the draw.
  5. ^
    Guam (GUM): Guam submitted only one entry, despite being eligible to submit two (one direct slot and one play-off slot). However, their team withdrew from the group stage after the draw.
  6. ^
    Indonesia (IDN): Indonesia did not submit any entry.
  7. ^
    Iraq (IRQ): Iraq entered the AFC Cup instead of the AFC Champions League as they did not fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
  8. ^
    Kuwait (KUW): Kuwait could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association at the entry deadline.[10]
  9. ^
    Laos (LAO): Laos submitted two entries (one direct slot and one play-off slot). However, their first team withdrew from the group stage after the draw.
  10. ^
    Macau (MAC): Macau did not submit any entry.
  11. ^
    Nepal (NEP): Nepal did not submit any entry.
  12. ^
    Pakistan (PAK): Pakistan did not submit any entry.
  13. ^
    Timor-Leste (TLS): Timor-Leste did not submit any entry.
  14. ^
    Yemen (YEM): Yemen did not submit any entry.

Teams

The following 47 teams from 27 associations entered the competition proper.[7] Only 43 teams from 25 associations competed after the withdrawal of four teams.

More information Team, Qualifying method ...
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. ^
    ASEAN Zone (ASZ): Lanexang United (Laos) withdrew from the group stage after the draw (originally drawn in Group H), and were not replaced, and only 11 teams competed in the ASEAN Zone group stage.[11]
  3. ^
    East Asia Zone (EAZ): Rovers (Guam) and Taipower (Chinese Taipei) withdrew from the group stage after the draw (both originally drawn in Group I), and Tatung (Chinese Taipei) withdrew from the qualifying play-offs,[12] and thus Kigwancha (North Korea) and Erchim (Mongolia) advanced directly from the play-off round and preliminary round respectively to the group stage to replace them, and only three teams competed in the East Asia Zone group stage, and the East Asia Zone qualifying play-offs were not played.
  4. ^
    Cambodia (CAM): Phnom Penh Crown, the 2015 Cambodian League champions, were originally to compete in the 2017 AFC Cup qualifying round, but were refused entry by the AFC due to match-fixing claims. After an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, they were allowed to enter the 2017 AFC Cup, but by that time the qualifying round had already finished, so they were allowed to enter the qualifying play-offs as an additional entry.[9]
  5. ^
    Oman (OMA): Fanja, the 2015–16 Oman Professional League champions, did not enter the AFC Cup. As a result, Saham, the 2015–16 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners, entered the group stage instead of the qualifying play-offs, while Al-Suwaiq, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
  6. ^
    Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2016 S.League champions and 2016 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, Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up, entered the group stage instead of the qualifying play-offs, while Home United, the league 4th place, entered the qualifying play-offs, since Brunei DPMM, the league 3rd place, is a team managed by the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions.
  7. ^
    Sri Lanka (SRI): The 2016 Sri Lanka Football League was postponed and thus the 2015 Sri Lanka Football League champions, Colombo, entered the 2017 AFC Cup.[13]
Location of teams of the 2017 AFC Cup competition proper.
West Asia Zone
Central Asia Zone
South Asia Zone
ASEAN Zone
East Asia Zone
(p) Qualifying play-off participants
Withdrawn teams

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).[14] Starting from 2017, matches in the West Asia Zone were played on Mondays and Tuesdays instead of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.[15]

More information Stage, Round ...

Qualifying round

The following nine teams from nine associations entered the qualifying round.[16] Teams were not split into zones for the qualifying round.

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count all those since the 2004 season (including both competition proper and qualifying rounds).

The draw for the qualifying round was held on 17 June 2016, 11:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[17] The nine teams were drawn into three groups of three.[18] In the qualifying round, each group was played on a single round-robin basis at the pre-selected hosts. The winners of each group advanced to the qualifying play-offs.

Group A

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Group B

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Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. The All Nepal Football Association failed to register Three Star Club by the competition deadline for the qualifying play-offs.[19]

Group C

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Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. The Bhutan Football Federation registered Thimphu City, instead of Tertons, as their representative for the qualifying play-offs.

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 would 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 29 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. Teams from the same association in the ASEAN Zone could not be placed into the same play-off.[8]

Preliminary round

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Play-off round

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Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 13 December 2016, 14:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the Hilton Petaling Jaya in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.[7][20][21] 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.[8]

Due to the withdrawal of teams in the ASEAN Zone and the East Asia Zone after the draw, only 34 teams competed in the group stage, with Groups H and I having only three teams. In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advanced to the knockout stage:

  • The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advanced to the Zonal semi-finals.
  • The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.
More information Tiebreakers ...

Group A

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Source: AFC

Group B

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Source: AFC

Group C

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Source: AFC

Group D

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Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Dordoi 1–0 Alay Osh, Alay Osh 5–4 Dordoi (Dordoi won on away goals).

Group E

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Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Maziya 0–1 Bengaluru FC, Bengaluru FC 1–0 Maziya.

Group F

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Source: AFC

Group G

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Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Hà Nội 1–1 Ceres–Negros, Ceres–Negros 6–2 Hà Nội.

Group H

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Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Than Quảng Ninh 1–1 Yadanarbon, Yadanarbon 0–3 Than Quảng Ninh.

Group I

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Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: April 25 1–1 Kigwancha, Kigwancha 2–2 April 25 (April 25 won on away goals).

Ranking of second-placed teams

West Asia Zone

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Source: AFC

ASEAN Zone

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Source: AFC
Note: Due to Group H having only three teams, the results against the fourth-placed teams in Groups F and G are not considered for this ranking.

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 11 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the five zones until the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals. 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 would 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 knockout stage, which was held on 6 June 2017, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[8][22][23][24]

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 identity of the best runner-up.[8]

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Zonal finals

The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 6 June 2017. 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.[22][23][24] The winner of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winner of the ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

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Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 6 June 2017. 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 winner of the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the winner of the South Asia Zone (Group E), the winner of the East Asia Zone (Group I), and the winner 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.[22][23][24]

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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.[22] The winner of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.

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Final

The draw for the final was held on 6 June 2017. In the final, the winner of the West Asia Zonal final and the winner of the Inter-zone play-off final played each other, with the host team decided by draw.[22][23][24]

More information Istiklol, 0–1 ...

Awards

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Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
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Note: Goals scored in the qualifying round and qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).[1]

Source: AFC[28]

See also


References

  1. "2017 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.[permanent dead link]
  2. "Stage set for AFC Cup 2017 draw". AFC. 12 December 2016.
  3. "AFC Cup 2017 Draw Mechanism" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  4. "Lanexang United pull out of AFC Cup". Fox Sport Asia. 24 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  5. "Stage set for 2017 AFC Cup Playoff Qualifiers draw". AFC. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016.
  6. "AFC Cup 2017: Official Draw". YouTube. 13 December 2016.
  7. "AFC Cup 2017 - Official Draw". YouTube. 6 June 2017.
  8. "Ceres-Negros wins AFC Fair Play Award". Ceres FC. 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2017.

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