2016 AFC Champions League| Tournament details |
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| Dates |
27 January – 26 November 2016 |
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| Teams |
45 (from 17 associations) |
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| Tournament statistics |
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| Matches played |
13 |
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| Goals scored |
45 (3.46 per match) |
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| Attendance |
177,122 (13,625 per match) |
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|
The 2016 AFC Champions League is the 35th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande are the defending champions.
The winners will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup. As Japan is the host nation for the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup, if a team from Japan wins the AFC Champions League, the runners-up will also qualify (in place of the winners of the 2016 J1 League).[1]
Association team allocation
The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014,[2] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014.[3] 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:[4]
- The associations are split into West Zone and East Zone, with 23 associations in each zone:
- In each zone, there are a total of 12 direct slots in the group stage, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
- The top 12 associations in each zone as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
- The top six associations in each zone get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
- The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot (in play-off round).
- The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots (one in play-off round, one in preliminary round 2).
- The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots (both in preliminary round 2).
- The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in preliminary round 2).
- The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot (in preliminary round 1).
- The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of clubs in the top division (e.g., Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots as there are only nine Australia-based clubs in the A-League).
The AFC Competitions Committee finalised the slot allocation for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC Champions League based on the criteria, including the AFC rankings and the implementation of club licensing regulations, on 28 November 2014.[5][6][7]
The following table shows the slot allocation for the 2016 AFC Champions League, which are adjusted accordingly since some of the slots are unused.
| Participation for 2016 AFC Champions League[8] |
|
Fulfills participation criteria |
|
Does not fulfill participation criteria |
- Notes
- ^ United Arab Emirates had their fourth team entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2 due to unused slots.
- ^ Qatar had their third and fourth teams entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2 due to unused slots.
- ^ Iraq were allocated two preliminary round 2 slots, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
- ^ Kuwait were allocated one preliminary round 1 slot, but could not participate due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
- ^ Jordan had their team entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 1 due to unused slots.
- ^ a b c d Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon and Syria were allocated one preliminary round 1 slot, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
- ^ Indonesia were allocated one preliminary round 2 slot, could not participate in the AFC Champions League due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
- ^ a b Myanmar and Malaysia had their team entering the preliminary round 2 instead of the preliminary round 1 due to unused slots.
Teams
The following 45 teams from 17 associations entered the competition.[8]
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.
- Notes
Location of teams of the
2016 AFC Champions League.
West Zone
East Zone
(p) Qualifying play-off participants
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).[10]
| Stage |
Round |
Draw date |
First leg |
Second leg |
| Preliminary stage |
Preliminary round 1 |
No draw |
27 January 2016 |
| Preliminary round 2 |
2 February 2016 |
| Play-off stage |
Play-off round |
9 February 2016 |
| Group stage |
Matchday 1 |
10 December 2015[8] |
23–24 February 2016 |
| Matchday 2 |
1–2 March 2016 |
| Matchday 3 |
15–16 March 2016 |
| Matchday 4 |
5–6 April 2016 |
| Matchday 5 |
19–20 April 2016 |
| Matchday 6 |
3–4 May 2016 |
| Knock-out stage |
Round of 16 |
17–18 May 2016 |
24–25 May 2016 |
| Quarter-finals |
TBA |
23–24 August 2016 |
13–14 September 2016 |
| Semi-finals |
27–28 September 2016 |
18–19 October 2016 |
| Final |
19 November 2016 |
26 November 2016 |
Qualifying play-off
In the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The winners of each tie in the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 automatic qualifiers. All losers in each round which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.[1]
The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match. Teams from the same association could not be placed in the same play-off.[11]
Preliminary round 1
Preliminary round 2
Play-off round
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[8] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four.[12] Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.[13]
In the group stage, each group is played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advance to the round of 16.[1]
| Tiebreakers |
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order (Regulations Article 11.5):[1]
- Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Greater number of away goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- If, after applying criteria 1 to 4, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
- Goal difference in all the group matches;
- Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
- Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
- Team who belongs to the member association with the higher AFC ranking.
|
Group A
First match(es) will be played on 23 February 2016. Source:
AFCGroup B
First match(es) will be played on 23 February 2016. Source:
AFCGroup C
First match(es) will be played on 24 February 2016. Source:
AFCGroup D
First match(es) will be played on 24 February 2016. Source:
AFCGroup E
First match(es) will be played on 23 February 2016. Source:
AFCGroup F
First match(es) will be played on 23 February 2016. Source:
AFCGroup G
First match(es) will be played on 24 February 2016. Source:
AFCGroup H
First match(es) will be played on 24 February 2016. Source:
AFCKnock-out stage
In the knock-out stage, the 16 teams play a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. Each tie is 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 are used to decide the winner if necessary.[1]
Bracket
The entire knock-out stage bracket will be determined after the quarter-final draw.
Round of 16
In the round of 16, the winners of one group play the runners-up of another group from the same zone, with the group winners hosting the second leg.
Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals will be held after the round of 16 is completed. The four teams from the West Zone are drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone are drawn into the other two ties. There is no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association can be drawn into the same tie.
Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the two teams from the West Zone play each other, and the two teams from the East Zone play each other.
Final
In the final, the order of legs is either decided by a draw or determined by the AFC, to be confirmed prior to the quarter-final draw.
Controversies
On 25 January 2016, the AFC announced changes to the group stage schedule due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to play in Iran.[14] After the changes, all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia (including possible play-off winners) are now played on matchdays 5 and 6 (19–20 April and 3–4 May). The venues of these matches will be decided after an evaluation deadline of 15 March 2016. If there has not been a return to normal relations between the two countries by then, the AFC has accepted the Saudi Arabian Football Federation's proposal of playing all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia in neutral venues. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation supports its clubs who refuse to travel to Iran.[15] The Iranian Football Federation has stated that it could withdraw from the AFC Champions League due to the venue changes.[16]
See also
References
External links
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