The 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off was played from 27 January to 9 February 2016.[1] A total of 21 teams competed in the qualifying play-off to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League.[2]

Teams

The following 21 teams (8 from West Zone, 13 from East Zone) entered the qualifying play-off, which consisted of three rounds (preliminary round 1, preliminary round 2, play-off round):[3]

Zone Teams entering in play-off round Teams entering in preliminary round 2 Teams entering in preliminary round 1
West Zone
East Zone

Format

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 eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.[2]

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.[1]

Round Match date
Preliminary round 1 27 January 2016
Preliminary round 2 2 February 2016
Play-off round 9 February 2016

Bracket

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.[4][5]

Play-off West 1

Al-Ittihad advanced to Group A.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 2
Jordan Al-Wehdat 1

Play-off West 2

El Jaish advanced to Group D.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
Iran Naft Tehran 0
Qatar El Jaish 2

Play-off West 3

Bunyodkor advanced to Group B.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
Uzbekistan Bunyodkor 2
United Arab Emirates Al-Shabab 0

Play-off West 4

Al-Jazira advanced to Group C.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira (p) 2 (5)
Qatar Al-Sadd 2 (4)

Play-off East 1

Pohang Steelers advanced to Group H.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
South Korea Pohang Steelers 3
Vietnam Hà Nội T&T 0
Vietnam Hà Nội T&T 1
Hong Kong Kitchee 0

Play-off East 2

FC Tokyo advanced to Group E.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
Japan FC Tokyo 9
Thailand Chonburi 0
Thailand Chonburi (a.e.t.) 3
Myanmar Yangon United 2

Play-off East 3

Shandong Luneng advanced to Group F.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
Australia Adelaide United 1
China Shandong Luneng 2
China Shandong Luneng 6
India Mohun Bagan 3 India Mohun Bagan 0
Singapore Tampines Rovers 1

Play-off East 4

Shanghai SIPG advanced to Group G.

Preliminary round 1 Preliminary round 2 Play-off round
China Shanghai SIPG 3
Thailand Muangthong United 0
Thailand Muangthong United (p) 0 (3)
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 0 (0)

Preliminary round 1

Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Zone
Mohun Bagan India 3–1 Singapore Tampines Rovers
Mohun Bagan India3–1Singapore Tampines Rovers
Lalpekhlua 6'
Glen 42'
Yusa 84'		 Report Hanapi 44'
Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata
Attendance: 12,640
Referee: Jarred Gillett (Australia)

Preliminary round 2

Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Zone
Hà Nội T&T Vietnam 1–0 Hong Kong Kitchee
Chonburi Thailand 3–2 (a.e.t.) Myanmar Yangon United
Shandong Luneng China 6–0 India Mohun Bagan
Muangthong United Thailand 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–0 p) 		Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shandong Luneng China6–0India Mohun Bagan
Montillo 24'
Tardelli 40'
Yang Xu 55', 69'
Zheng Zheng 76'
Wang Yongpo 88'		 Report
Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Jinan
Attendance: 15,109
Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)
Hà Nội T&T Vietnam1–0Hong Kong Kitchee
Marronkle 61' Report
Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)
Chonburi Thailand3–2 (a.e.t.)Myanmar Yangon United
Anderson 63'
Suttinan 81'
Kroekrit 105+1'		 Report Fernandes 19'
Kyaw Ko Ko 79'
Chonburi Stadium, Chonburi
Attendance: 3,886
Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)
Muangthong United Thailand0–0 (a.e.t.)Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Report
Penalties
Cleiton Silva soccer ball with check mark
Peerapat soccer ball with check mark
Sarach soccer ball with check mark		 3–0 soccer ball with red X Díaz
soccer ball with red X António
soccer ball with red X Harun
SCG Stadium, Nonthaburi
Attendance: 11,446
Referee: Kim Sang-woo (South Korea)

Play-off round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia 2–1 Jordan Al-Wehdat
Naft Tehran Iran 0–2 Qatar El Jaish
Bunyodkor Uzbekistan 2–0 United Arab Emirates Al-Shabab
Al-Jazira United Arab Emirates 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p) 		Qatar Al-Sadd
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Zone
Pohang Steelers South Korea 3–0 Vietnam Hà Nội T&T
FC Tokyo Japan 9–0 Thailand Chonburi
Adelaide United Australia 1–2 China Shandong Luneng
Shanghai SIPG China 3–0 Thailand Muangthong United

West Zone

Bunyodkor Uzbekistan2–0United Arab Emirates Al-Shabab
Shomurodov 2', 35' Report
Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent
Attendance: 9,485
Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)
Naft Tehran Iran0–2Qatar El Jaish
Report Hamdallah 63'
Romarinho 90+4'
Azadi Stadium, Tehran
Attendance: 3,860
Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)
Al-Jazira United Arab Emirates2–2 (a.e.t.)Qatar Al-Sadd
Jones 45'
Mabkhout 65'		 Report Sanhaji 22', 88'
Penalties
Mabkhout soccer ball with check mark
Juma soccer ball with check mark
Rashid soccer ball with red X
Al-Shamsi soccer ball with check mark
Neves soccer ball with red X
Park Jong-woo soccer ball with check mark
Mousa soccer ball with check mark		 5–4 soccer ball with red X Xavi
soccer ball with check mark Al-Haidos
soccer ball with check mark Pedro Miguel
soccer ball with red X Pouraliganji
soccer ball with check mark Belhadj
soccer ball with check mark Hassan
soccer ball with red X Sanhaji
Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Attendance: 13,340
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia2–1Jordan Al-Wehdat
Rivas 17'
Fallatah 45' (pen.)		 Report Elhadji Malick 11'
King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah
Attendance: 58,555
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

East Zone

Pohang Steelers South Korea3–0Vietnam Hà Nội T&T
Shim Dong-woon 35', 62', 84' Report
Pohang Steel Yard, Pohang
Attendance: 2,877
Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)
Adelaide United Australia1–2China Shandong Luneng
Cirio 90' Report Yang Xu 17'
Tardelli 39'
Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Attendance: 8,487
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)
FC Tokyo Japan9–0Thailand Chonburi
Careca 6' (o.g.)
Abe 9'
Higashi 34'
Maeda 54'
Yonemoto 55'
Mizunuma 61'
Kawano 73', 90+2' (pen.)
Chonlatit 84' (o.g.)		 Report
Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo
Attendance: 10,801
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
Shanghai SIPG China3–0Thailand Muangthong United
Wu Lei 45', 88'
Conca 83'		 Report
Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai
Attendance: 25,136
Referee: Peter Green (Australia)

References

  1. ^ a b "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.
  2. ^ a b "2016 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 28 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Champions Guangzhou Evergrande to learn ACL 2016 opponents". AFC. 4 December 2015.
  4. ^ "AFC Champions League 2016 Group Stage Draw". AFC. 10 December 2015.
  5. ^ "ACL 2016 Draw Results" (PDF). AFC.

External links

2016 in Asian football (AFC)
Category