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).[1]

2016 AFC Cup
Tournament details
DatesQualifying round:
11–15 August 2015
Competition proper:
9 February – 5 November 2016
TeamsCompetition proper: 32
Total: 40 (from 23 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsIraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (1st title)
Runners-upIndia Bengaluru FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played127
Goals scored361 (2.84 per match)
Attendance394,183 (3,104 per match)
Top scorer(s)Iraq Hammadi Ahmed (16 goals)
Best player(s)Iraq Hammadi Ahmed
Fair play awardIndia Bengaluru FC

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya defeated 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 were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by Bengaluru FC.

Association team allocation

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:
  • 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.

Participation for 2016 AFC Cup[9][10]
Participating
Not participating
Notes
  1. ^
    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.
  2. ^
    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.
  3. ^
    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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^
    Afghanistan were allocated one group stage slot and one preliminary round slot, but did not enter a team.
  7. ^
    Kyrgyzstan were originally allocated one qualifying round slot, but were given an additional play-off round slot.
  8. ^
    Yemen, Sri Lanka and Nepal were allocated one qualifying round slot, but did not enter a team.
  9. ^
    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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b
    Maldives and Philippines both had their second team directly entering the group stage instead of the preliminary round due to unused slots.
  12. ^
    North Korea were allocated one group stage slot and one preliminary round slot, but did not enter a team.
  13. ^
    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.
  14. ^
    Guam, East Timor, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei and Brunei were allocated one qualifying round slot, but did not enter a team.
  15. ^
    Bangladesh was originally in the West Zone, but was moved to the East Zone due to lack of teams in the East Zone.

Teams

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]
Kyrgyzstan Alga 2014 Kyrgyzstan League 3rd place 1st none
Bangladesh Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi 2013–14 Bangladesh Football Premier League champions 1st none
Pakistan K-Electric 2014–15 Pakistan Premier League champions 1st none
Macau Benfica de Macau 2015 Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol champions 1st none
Mongolia Khoromkhon 2014 Mongolia Premier League champions 1st none
Bhutan Druk United 2014 Bhutan National League champions 1st none
Notes
  1. ^ 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).
  2. ^
    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.
  3. ^
    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.
Location of teams of the 2016 AFC Cup.
West Zone
East Zone
(p) Qualifying play-off participants
(q) Qualifying round participants

Schedule

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

Qualifying round
Main article: 2016 AFC Cup qualifying round

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 Pakistan K-Electric 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1 4 Qualifying play-off — 3–3 —
2 Bhutan Druk United (H) 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 2 — — 0–0
3 Mongolia Khoromkhon 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 1 0–1 — —
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SJD ALG BEN
1 Bangladesh Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3 4 Group stage[lower-alpha 1] — — 4–1
2 Kyrgyzstan Alga (H) 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4 1–1 — —
3 Macau Benfica de Macau 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5 0 — 0–2 —
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi advanced directly to the group stage due to lack of teams in the East Zone.

Qualifying play-off
Main article: 2016 AFC Cup 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 (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
Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Al-Hidd Bahrain 2–0 Pakistan K-Electric
Tripoli Lebanon 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(7–6 p)		 Kyrgyzstan Alay Osh
Al-Wahda Syria 2–0 Turkmenistan Balkan
Ahli Al-Khaleel State of Palestine 1–0 Tajikistan Khujand

Group stage
Main article: 2016 AFC Cup group stage

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]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AHE WEH HID ALT
1 Lebanon Al-Ahed 6 4 0 2 14 9 +5 12 Knockout stage — 3–2 1–0 3–0
2 Jordan Al-Wehdat 6 2 2 2 10 12 −2 8 3–2 — 2–0 1–1
3 Bahrain Al-Hidd 6 2 1 3 11 12 −1 7 2–5 6–2 — 1–1
4 Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr 6 1 3 2 5 7 −2 6 2–0 0–0 1–2 —
Source: AFC

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NAF FAI TRI IST
1 Iraq Naft Al-Wasat 6 5 0 1 9 3 +6 15 Knockout stage — 1–0 1–0 2–0
2 Jordan Al-Faisaly 6 3 2 1 10 6 +4 11 2–1 — 3–1 4–2
3 Lebanon Tripoli 6 2 1 3 8 10 −2 7 1–3 1–1 — 2–1
4 Tajikistan Istiklol 6 0 1 5 4 12 −8 1 0–1 0–0 1–3 —
Source: AFC

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification QUW WAH DHA ORU
1 Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6 5 0 1 15 7 +8 15 Knockout stage — 1–0 4–1 2–1
2 Syria Al-Wahda 6 3 0 3 11 9 +2 9 5–2 — 0–3[lower-alpha 1] 2–1
3 State of Palestine Shabab Al-Dhahiriya 6 2 1 3 7 10 −3 7 0–2 0–3[lower-alpha 2] — 2–0
4 Oman Al-Oruba 6 1 1 4 5 12 −7 4 0–4 2–1 1–1 —
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. 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]
  2. The Shabab Al-Dhahiriya v Al-Wahda match on matchday 6 (11 May 2016) was not played as scheduled. It was awarded 3–0 to Al-Wahda by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 13 May 2016, as it found Shabab Al-Dhahiriya as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[18][19]

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MHQ JAI KHA FAN
1 Bahrain Al-Muharraq 6 5 1 0 9 3 +6 16 Knockout stage — 1–0 2–1 1–0
2 Syria Al-Jaish 6 3 1 2 5 3 +2 10 0–2 — 1–0 1–0
3 State of Palestine Ahli Al-Khaleel 6 1 2 3 7 11 −4 5 1–1 0–3[lower-alpha 1] — 2–1
4 Oman Fanja 6 0 2 4 5 9 −4 2 1–2 0–0 3–3 —
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. 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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CER TAM SEL SJD
1 Philippines Ceres 6 3 3 0 12 4 +8 12 Knockout stage — 2–1 2–2 5–0
2 Singapore Tampines Rovers 6 3 1 2 10 6 +4 10 1–1 — 1–0 4–0
3 Malaysia Selangor 6 2 2 2 8 8 0 8 0–0 0–1 — 2–1
4 Bangladesh Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi 6 1 0 5 7 19 −12 3 0–2 3–2 3–4 —
Source: AFC

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification KIT KAY BAL NRA
1 Hong Kong Kitchee 6 4 1 1 8 1 +7 13 Knockout stage — 1–0 4–0 0–0
2 Philippines Kaya 6 3 1 2 5 2 +3 10 0–1 — 1–0 1–0
3 Singapore Balestier Khalsa 6 2 1 3 6 10 −4 7 1–0 0–3 — 3–0
4 Maldives New Radiant 6 0 3 3 2 8 −6 3 0–2 0–0 2–2 —
Source: AFC

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MOH SCA YAN MAZ
1 India Mohun Bagan 6 3 2 1 14 9 +5 11 Knockout stage — 0–3 3–2 5–2
2 Hong Kong South China 6 3 0 3 9 9 0 9 0–4 — 2–1 2–0
3 Myanmar Yangon United 6 2 2 2 10 10 0 8 1–1 2–1 — 3–2
4 Maldives Maziya 6 1 2 3 8 13 −5 5 1–1 2–1 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JDT BFC AYE LAO
1 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 6 6 0 0 21 3 +18 18 Knockout stage — 3–0 8–1 3–0
2 India Bengaluru FC 6 3 0 3 9 10 −1 9 0–1 — 5–3 2–1
3 Myanmar Ayeyawady United 6 2 0 4 12 20 −8 6 1–2 0–1 — 4–2
4 Laos Lao Toyota FC 6 1 0 5 8 17 −9 3 1–4 2–1 2–3 —
Source: AFC

Knockout stage
Main article: 2016 AFC Cup knockout stage

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
            
Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2
Jordan Al-Wehdat 1
Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1 4 5
Syria Al-Jaish 1 0 1
Iraq Naft Al-Wasat 0
Syria Al-Jaish 1
Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1 3 4
West Zone
Lebanon Al-Ahed 1 2 3
Lebanon Al-Ahed 4
Syria Al-Wahda 0
Lebanon Al-Ahed 1 2 3
Bahrain Al-Muharraq 0 0 0
Bahrain Al-Muharraq 1
Jordan Al-Faisaly 0
Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1
India Bengaluru FC 0
Philippines Ceres 0
Hong Kong South China (a.e.t.) 1
Hong Kong South China 1 1 2
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1 2 3
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 7
Philippines Kaya 2
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1 1 2
East Zone
India Bengaluru FC 1 3 4
Hong Kong Kitchee 2
India Bengaluru FC 3
India Bengaluru FC 1 0 1
Singapore Tampines Rovers 0 0 0
India Mohun Bagan 1
Singapore 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 Lebanon 4–0 Syria Al-Wahda
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq 2–1 Jordan Al-Wehdat
Naft Al-Wasat Iraq 0–1 Syria Al-Jaish
Al-Muharraq Bahrain 1–0 Jordan Al-Faisaly
East Zone
Ceres Philippines 0–1 (a.e.t.) Hong Kong South China
Mohun Bagan India 1–2 (a.e.t.) Singapore Tampines Rovers
Kitchee Hong Kong 2–3 India Bengaluru FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia 7–2 Philippines 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.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Zone
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq 5–1 Syria Al-Jaish 1–1 4–0
Al-Ahed Lebanon 3–0 Bahrain Al-Muharraq 1–0 2–0
East Zone
South China Hong Kong 2–3 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1–1 1–2
Bengaluru FC India 1–0 Singapore 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.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Zone
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq 4–3 Lebanon Al-Ahed 1–1 3–2
East Zone
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia 2–4 India Bengaluru FC 1–1 1–3

Final
Main article: 2016 AFC Cup 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 Iraq1–0India Bengaluru FC
Ahmad 70' Report
Attendance: 5,806

Awards
Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player Iraq Hammadi Ahmed[22] Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Top Goalscorer Iraq Hammadi Ahmed[22] Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Fair Play Award — India Bengaluru FC[23]

Top scorers
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 R16 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2   F   Total
1 Iraq Hammadi Ahmed Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 21212311111 16
2 Spain Adrián Gallardo Philippines Ceres 12113 8
Malaysia Mohd Safiq Rahim Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 31211 8
4 Nigeria Christopher Chizoba Myanmar Ayeyawady United 321 6
Argentina Jorge Pereyra Díaz Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 111111 6
Senegal Mouhamadou Dramé Lebanon Al-Ahed 1212 6
India Jeje Lalpekhlua India Mohun Bagan 2121 6
Argentina Juan Martín Lucero Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 231 6
Syria Raja Rafe Syria Al-Wahda 141 6
Spain Rufino Hong Kong Kitchee 1221 6

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-off are not counted when determining top scorer (see regulations, Article 77.4).[1]

Source: the-AFC.com[24][25][26]

See also

References
  1. "2016 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 28 November 2015.
  2. "AFC President congratulates Air Force Club for historic". AFC. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. "Revamp of AFC competitions". AFC. 25 January 2014.
  4. "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
  5. "AFC MA Ranking as at 3 November 2014" (PDF). AFC.
  6. "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". AFC. 28 November 2014.
  7. "AFC Cup slots decided for 2015–2016 editions". AFC. 4 December 2014.
  8. "Slot allocation for AFC Cup 2015 – 2016" (PDF). AFC.
  9. "Stage set for 2016 AFC Cup draw". AFC. 4 December 2015.
  10. "Stage set for 2016 AFC Cup play-off qualifiers". AFC. 29 June 2015.
  11. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.
  12. "AFC Cup 2016 Group Stage draw". AFC. 10 December 2015.
  13. "AFC Cup 2016 Draw Results" (PDF). AFC.
  14. "AFC Disciplinary Committee decision regarding Al Wahda v Al Dharia match". AFC. 29 April 2016.
  15. "17th AFC Disciplinary Committee on 28 April 2016" (PDF). AFC. 28 April 2016.
  16. "AFC Appeal Committee decisions". AFC. 24 June 2016.
  17. "4th AFC Appeal Committee on 24 June 2016" (PDF). AFC. 24 June 2016.
  18. "AFC Cup 2016: Final standings in Groups C and D confirmed". AFC. 13 May 2016.
  19. "18th AFC Disciplinary Committee on 13 May 2016" (PDF). AFC. 13 May 2016.
  20. "Holders JDT set to face South China in AFC Cup quarter-finals". AFC. 9 June 2016.
  21. "Stage set for AFC Cup 2016 Knockout Stage draw". AFC. 8 June 2016.
  22. "Hot-shot Hammadi bags AFC Cup MVP and Top Scorer". AFC. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  23. "AFC Cup: Bengaluru FC win AFC's Fairplay award". www.goal.com. Goal. 6 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  24. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2016 AFC Cup Group Stage". the-afc.com. AFC.
  25. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2016 AFC Cup Round of 16". the-afc.com. AFC.
  26. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2016 AFC Cup Knockout Stage". the-afc.com. AFC.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.