2019 AFC Cup

2019 AFC Cup
Tournament details
Dates 5 February – 2 November 2019
Teams Maximum of 55 (from Maximum of 34 associations)

The 2019 AFC Cup will be the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[1]

Association team allocation

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 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):[2]

  • 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 2019 AFC Cup, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017,[3] 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 2014 and 2017.[2][4]

Participation for 2019 AFC Cup
Participating
Not participating

Teams

Teams in italics will play in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, and will play in the AFC Cup group stage if they fail to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage. Should they advance to the AFC Champions League group stage, they will not play in the AFC Cup and will be replaced by the standby team from the same association if such team is available. Only teams assured of a place (including standby teams) are displayed.

Notes
  1. ^ Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2018 Singapore Premier League champions and 2018 Singapore Cup winners, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. Moreover, DPMM, the 2018 Singapore Premier League 3rd place, is a team from Brunei and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Home United and Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up and 4th place respectively, will enter the group stage, and Warriors, the league 5th place, will be the standby team.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[5]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary round No draw 19–20 February 2019 (C, S, E) 26–27 February 2019 (C, S, E)
Play-off stage Play-off round 5–6 February 2019 (W, A),
5–6 March 2019 (C, S, E)		 12–13 February 2019 (W, A),
12–13 March 2019 (C, S, E)
Group stage Matchday 1 TBA December 2018 25–27 February 2019 (W, A), 2–3 April 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 2 11–13 March 2019 (W, A), 16–17 April 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 3 1–3 April 2019 (W, A), 30 April – 1 May 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 4 15–17 April 2019 (W, A), 14–15 May 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 5 29 April – 1 May 2019 (W, A), 18–19 June 2019 (C, S, E)
Matchday 6 13–15 May 2019 (W, A), 25–26 June 2019 (C, S, E)
Knockout stage Zonal semi-finals 17–19 June 2019 (W, A) 24–26 June 2019 (W, A)
Zonal finals TBA June/July 2019 30–31 July 2019 (A),
24 September 2019 (W)		 6–7 August 2019 (A),
1 October 2019 (W)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 20–21 August 2019 27–28 August 2019
Inter-zone play-off final 25 September 2019 2 October 2019
Final 2 November 2019

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2019 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  2. 1 2 3 "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020" (PDF). AFC.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "AFC Club Competitions Ranking (as of 15 December 2017)" (PDF). AFC.
  4. ↑ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking Mechanics (2017 version)" (PDF). AFC.
  5. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". AFC. 28 November 2017.
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