| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 January – 7 November 2020 |
| Teams | Maximum of 55 (from Maximum of 34 associations) |
The 2020 AFC Cup will be the 17th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Association team allocation edit
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):[1]
- The associations are split into five zones:
- West Asia Zone consists of the associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF).
- Central Asia Zone consists of the associations from Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).
- South Asia Zone consists of the associations from the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
- ASEAN Zone consists of the associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).
- East Asia Zone consists of the associations from the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
- 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.
- For the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN zone:
- 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 2020 AFC Cup, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017,[2] 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.[1][3]
| Participation for 2019 AFC Cup | |
|---|---|
| Participating | |
| Not participating | |
| NOTE: The following slot allocation is provisional, assuming that all eligible associations enter the allocated number of teams based on the entry manual.[1] The final slot allocation will be confirmed by the AFC by November/December 2019, based on the list of teams passing the club licensing requirements. |
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Teams edit
| NOTE: The following list of participating teams is provisional. The final list of participating teams will be confirmed by the AFC by November/December 2019, based on the slot allocation finalised by the AFC Competitions Committee and the list of teams passing the club licensing requirements. |
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.
Schedule edit
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[4]
| Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary stage | Preliminary round | No draw | 4–5 February 2020 (C, S, E) | 11–12 February 2020 (C, S, E) |
| Play-off stage | Play-off round | 21–22 January 2020 (W, A), 18–19 January 2020 (C, S, E) |
28–29 February 2020 (W, A), 25–26 February 2020 (C, S, E) | |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | TBA November/December 2019 | 10–12 February 2020 (W, A), 10–11 March 2020 (C, S, E) | |
| Matchday 2 | 24–26 February 2020 (W, A), 14–15 April 2020 (C, S, E) | |||
| Matchday 3 | 9–11 March 2020 (W, A), 28–29 April 2020 (C, S, E) | |||
| Matchday 4 | 13–15 April 2020 (W, A), 12–13 May 2020 (C, S, E) | |||
| Matchday 5 | 27–29 April 2020 (W, A), 26–27 May 2020 (C, S, E) | |||
| Matchday 6 | 11–13 May 2020 (W, A), 16–17 June 2020 (C, S, E) | |||
| Knockout stage | Zonal semi-finals | 25–27 May 2020 (W, A) | 15–17 June 2020 (W, A) | |
| Zonal finals | TBA June/July 2020 | 4–5 August 2020 (A), 29 September 2020 (W) |
11–12 August 2020 (A), 20 October 2020 (W) | |
| Inter-zone play-off semi-finals | 25–26 August 2020 | 15–16 September 2020 | ||
| Inter-zone play-off final | 30 September 2020 | 21 October 2020 | ||
| Final | 7 November 2020 | |||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020" (PDF). AFC.
- ^ a b c d e f "AFC Club Competitions Ranking (as of 15 December 2017)" (PDF). AFC.
- ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking Mechanics (2017 version)" (PDF). AFC.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar 2020". AFC. 6 April 2018.
External links edit
- AFC Cup, the-AFC.com