Remove ads
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).[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying round: 11–15 August 2015 Competition proper: 9 February – 5 November 2016 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 40 (from 23 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Bengaluru FC |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 127 |
| Goals scored | 361 (2.84 per match) |
| Attendance | 394,183 (3,104 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Hammadi Ahmed (16 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Hammadi Ahmed |
| Fair play award | Bengaluru FC |
← 2015 2017 → | |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq defeated India's Bengaluru FC in the final to win their first AFC Cup title, becoming the first Iraqi team to win the competition.[2] Johor Darul Ta'zim, the defending champions, were eliminated in the semi-finals by Bengaluru FC.
Remove ads
The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014,[3] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014.[4] 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:[5]
- 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.[6][7][8]
The following table shows the slot allocation for the 2016 AFC Cup, which are adjusted accordingly since some of the slots are unused.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Notes
- ^ Iraq were given special permission to participate in the AFC Cup, since they were not allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
- ^ Kuwait were allocated one AFC Champions League play-off slot and one group stage slot, but could not participate due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
- ^ Oman were not allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements, so their champions directly entered the AFC Cup group stage. They also had their second team directly entering the group stage instead of the play-off round due to unused slots.
- ^ a b c Bahrain, Lebanon and Syria were not allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements, so their champions directly entered the AFC Cup group stage.
- ^ a b c Palestine, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan all had their second team entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round due to unused slots.
- ^ Afghanistan were allocated one group stage slot and one preliminary round slot, but did not enter a team.
- ^ Kyrgyzstan were originally allocated one qualifying round slot, but were given an additional play-off round slot.
- ^ Yemen, Sri Lanka and Nepal were allocated one qualifying round slot, but did not enter a team.
- ^ Indonesia were allocated one AFC Champions League play-off slot and one group stage slot, but could not participate due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
- ^ a b c d Myanmar, Malaysia, India and Singapore all had their second team directly entering the group stage instead of the play-off round due to unused slots.
- ^ a b Maldives and Philippines both had their second team directly entering the group stage instead of the preliminary round due to unused slots.
- ^ North Korea were allocated one group stage slot and one preliminary round slot, but did not enter a team.
- ^ Laos were allocated one group stage slot and one preliminary round slot, but entered only one team as Lao Toyota FC is the only team in Laos eligible to play in AFC Cup.
- ^ Guam, East Timor, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei and Brunei were allocated one qualifying round slot, but did not enter a team.
- ^ Bangladesh was originally in the West Zone, but was moved to the East Zone due to lack of teams in the East Zone.
Remove ads
The following 40 teams from 23 associations entered the competition.[9]
| Team | Qualifying method | App | Last App |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entering in qualifying round (teams not split into zones for qualifying round)[10] | |||
 Alga |
2014 Kyrgyzstan League 3rd place | 1st | none |
 Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi |
2013–14 Bangladesh Football Premier League champions | 1st | none |
 K-Electric |
2014–15 Pakistan Premier League champions | 1st | none |
 Benfica de Macau |
2015 Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol champions | 1st | none |
 Khoromkhon |
2014 Mongolia Premier League champions | 1st | none |
 Druk United |
2014 Bhutan National League champions | 1st | none |
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f AFC Champions League (ACL): Teams played in the 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage (had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would have been replaced in the AFC Cup group stage by another team from the same association).
- ^ Malaysia (MAS): Since LionsXII, the 2015 Malaysia FA Cup winners, is a team managed by the Football Association of Singapore and thus ineligible to represent Malaysia in AFC club competitions, their place was taken by Selangor, the 2015 Malaysia Super League runners-up.
- ^ Singapore (SIN): Since Brunei DPMM, the 2015 S.League champions, is a team managed by the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions, their place was taken by Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up. Moreover, since Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2015 Singapore Cup winners and league 3rd place, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions, their place was taken by Balestier Khalsa, the league 4th place.
Jordan
Lebanon
Syria
Palestine
Khujand (p)
Balkan (p)
Alay Osh (p)
Alga (q)
K-Electric (q)
Druk United (q)
Sheikh Jamal (q)
Khoromkhon (q)
Benfica (q)
Location of teams of the 2016 AFC Cup.
West Zone
East Zone
(p) Qualifying play-off participants
(q) Qualifying round participants
West Zone
East Zone(p) Qualifying play-off participants
(q) Qualifying round participants
Remove ads
The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).[11]
| Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying stage | Qualifying round | 29 June 2015 | 11–15 August 2015 | |
| Play-off stage | Play-off round | No draw | 9 February 2016 | |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 10 December 2015[9] | 23–24 February 2016 | |
| Matchday 2 | 8–9 March 2016 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 15–16 March 2016 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 12–13 April 2016 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 26–27 April 2016 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 10–11 May 2016 | |||
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 | 24–25 May 2016 | ||
| Quarter-finals | 9 June 2016 | 13–14 September 2016 | 20–21 September 2016 | |
| Semi-finals | 27–28 September 2016 | 18–19 October 2016 | ||
| Final | 5 November 2016 | |||
Remove ads
The draw for the qualifying round was held on 29 June 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The six teams were drawn into two groups of three.[10] 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 either the qualifying play-off or the group stage (depending on number of teams in each zone and geographical location).
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KEL | DRU | KHO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K-Electric |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | Qualifying play-off | — | 3–3 | — | |
| 2 | Druk United (H) |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | — | — | 0–0 | ||
| 3 | Khoromkhon |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 1 | 0–1 | — | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SJD | ALG | BEN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | Group stage[a] | — | — | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Alga (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 | 1–1 | — | — | ||
| 3 | Benfica de Macau |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 | — | 0–2 | — |
Remove ads
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 (Regulations Article 10.2). The four winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 28 direct entrants.[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.[12][13]
Play-off round
Remove ads
The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[9] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.[12][13] In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.[1]
| Tiebreakers |
|---|
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations Article 11.5):[1]
|
Group A
Source: AFC
Group B
Source: AFC
Group C
Source: AFC
Notes:
Notes:
- The Al-Wahda v Shabab Al-Dhahiriya match on matchday 2 (9 March 2016) was not played as scheduled. It was awarded 3–0 to Al-Wahda by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 28 April 2016, as it found Shabab Al-Dhahiriya as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[14][15] The decision was reversed and awarded 3–0 to Shabab Al-Dhahiriya by the AFC Appeal Committee on 24 June 2016, as it found Al-Wahda as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[16][17]
Group D
Source: AFC
Notes:
Notes:
- The Ahli Al-Khaleel v Al-Jaish match on matchday 2 (9 March 2016) was delayed to 3 or 4 May 2016, but was not played as scheduled. It was awarded 3–0 to Al-Jaish by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 13 May 2016, as it found Ahli Al-Khaleel as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[18][19]
Group E
Source: AFC
Group F
Source: AFC
Group G
Source: AFC
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | JDT | BFC | AYE | LAO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Johor Darul Ta'zim |
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 | +18 | 18 | Knockout stage | — | 3–0 | 8–1 | 3–0 | |
| 2 |  Bengaluru FC |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 9 | 0–1 | — | 5–3 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 |  Ayeyawady United |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 6 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 4–2 | ||
| 4 |  Lao Toyota FC |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 17 | −9 | 3 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 2–3 | — |
Source: AFC
Remove ads
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie 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 12.4).[1]
Starting from this season, the knockout stage was split between the two zones until the final, similar to the AFC Champions League (Regulations Article 12.3).[1]
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Al-Wehdat
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
| 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
 Al-Jaish
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Naft Al-Wasat
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Jaish
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
| 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| West Zone | |||||||||||||||||||
 Al-Ahed
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahed
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Wahda
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahed
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
 Al-Muharraq
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Al-Muharraq
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Faisaly
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru FC
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Ceres
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
 South China (a.e.t.)
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| South China
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim
| 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kaya
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| East Zone | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru FC
| 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Kitchee
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru FC
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru FC
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
 Tampines Rovers
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mohun Bagan
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tampines Rovers (a.e.t.)
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Round of 16
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.[13]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| West Zone | ||
| Al-Ahed |
4–0 | Al-Wahda |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
2–1 | Al-Wehdat |
| Naft Al-Wasat |
0–1 | Al-Jaish |
| Al-Muharraq |
1–0 | Al-Faisaly |
| East Zone | ||
| Ceres |
0–1 (a.e.t.) | South China |
| Mohun Bagan |
1–2 (a.e.t.) | Tampines Rovers |
| Kitchee |
2–3 | Bengaluru FC |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim |
7–2 | Kaya |
Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Zone were drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone were drawn into the other two ties, with the order of legs also decided by the draw.[20]
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[21] There was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.[20]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone | ||||
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
5–1 | Al-Jaish |
1–1 | 4–0 |
| Al-Ahed |
3–0 | Al-Muharraq |
1–0 | 2–0 |
| East Zone | ||||
| South China |
2–3 | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
1–1 | 1–2 |
| Bengaluru FC |
1–0 | Tampines Rovers |
1–0 | 0–0 |
Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.[20]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone | ||||
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
4–3 | Al-Ahed |
1–1 | 3–2 |
| East Zone | ||||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim |
2–4 | Bengaluru FC |
1–1 | 1–3 |
Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the host team decided by a draw, held after the quarter-final draw.[20]
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 1–0 | Bengaluru FC |
|---|---|---|
Ahmad  70' |
Report |
Remove ads
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Hammadi Ahmed[22] |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
| Top Goalscorer | Hammadi Ahmed[22] |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
| Fair Play Award | — | Bengaluru FC[23] |
| Rank | Player | Team | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | R16 | QF1 | QF2 | SF1 | SF2 | F | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hammadi Ahmed |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |
| 2 |  Adrián Gallardo |
Ceres |
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |||||||
| Mohd Safiq Rahim |
Johor Darul Ta'zim |
3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||||||||
| 4 |  Christopher Chizoba |
Ayeyawady United |
3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||
 Jorge Pereyra Díaz |
Johor Darul Ta'zim |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||||||
 Mouhamadou Dramé |
Al-Ahed |
1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
| Jeje Lalpekhlua |
Mohun Bagan |
2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||
| Juan Martín Lucero |
Johor Darul Ta'zim |
2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Raja Rafe |
Al-Wahda |
1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Rufino |
Kitchee |
1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-off are not counted when determining top scorer (see regulations, Article 77.4).[1]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads