This season was the last in an all-year-round (spring-to-autumn) schedule; from 2023 the competition was switched to an autumn-to-spring schedule.[2]
Bahraini club Al-Muharraq were the title holders, having won their second AFC Cup title in 2021. As they failed to obtain the AFC license, they did not defend their title. Al-Seeb of Oman won its first continental title. They automatically qualified for the 2023–24 AFC Champions League and entered the qualifying play-offs, since Omani teams were unable to qualify through their domestic performance.[3]
Association team allocation
The 47 AFC member associations were ranked based on their clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions (their national team's FIFA World Rankings no longer considered).[4] The slots were allocated according to the following criteria according to the Entry Manual:[5]
The associations were split into five zones (Article 5.1):
The AFC may reallocate one or more associations to another zone if necessary for sporting reasons.
Excluding the top five associations in each region for AFC Champions League slot allocation, all other associations were eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
The teams from associations ranked 6th, 11th and 12th which were eliminated in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, entered the AFC Cup group stage (Article 3.2). The following rules were applied:
The associations ranked 6th in both the West Region and the East Region, while allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage without taking away any direct slot from other associations, were not ranked in each zone for AFC Cup slot allocation (Article 5.3).[6]
If they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, the AFC Cup group stage slot would be filled by the standby team from their association if such team would be available (Article 5.12).
The rules above dud not apply to the AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders, which were allocated AFC Champions League play-off slots if they did not qualify for the tournament through domestic performance.
In the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, there are three groups in the group stage, including 9 direct slots, with the 3 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.2). The slots in each zone are distributed as follows:
The associations ranked 1st to 3rd were each allocated two direct slots.
The associations ranked 4th to 6th were each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
The associations ranked 7th or below were each allocated one play-off slot.
If any zone had an association ranked 6th for AFC Champions League slot allocation, they were allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage. There were 10 direct slots, with the 2 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs.
In the South Asia Zone, the Central Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, there was a single group in the group stage, including 3 direct slots, with the 1 remaining slot filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.2). The slots in each zone were distributed as follows:[7]
The associations ranked 1st to 3rd were each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
The associations ranked 4th or below were each allocated one play-off slot.
If any zone has an association ranked 6th for AFC Champions League slot allocation, they were allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage. There were 4 direct slots, and to ensure equal opportunity in each zone, another group was added to this zone in the group stage, with the 4 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.4.1).
If any zone had at least 7 play-off slots, to ensure equal opportunity in each zone, another group was added to this zone in the group stage, with the 5 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.4.2).
If any association with direct slots did not fulfill any one of the AFC Cup criteria, they had all their direct slots converted into play-off slots. The direct slots would be redistributed to the highest eligible association by the following criteria (Articles 5.7 and 5.8):
For each association, the maximum number of total slots would be two (Articles 3.4 and 3.5).
If any association was allocated one additional direct slot, one play-off slot was annulled and not redistributed.
If any association with only play-off slot(s), including those mentioned above, did not fulfill the minimum AFC Cup criteria, the play-off slot(s) would be annulled and not redistributed (Articles 5.10 and 5.11).
For each association, the maximum number of total slots was one-third of the total number of eligible teams (excluding foreign teams) in the top division (Article 5.6). Based on this rule, any direct slots given up would be redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.10).
All participating teams had to be granted an AFC Champions League or AFC Cup license, and (apart from cup winners) finish in the top half of their top division (Articles 7.1 and 9.5). If any association did not have enough teams which satisfied these criteria, any direct slots given up would be redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.9).
If any team granted a license refused to participate, their slot, either direct or play-off, is annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.11).
Association ranking
For the 2022 AFC Cup, the associations were allocated slots according to their AFC Club Competitions Ranking which was published on 29 November 2019,[8][9] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup during the period between 2016 and 2019.
Participation for 2022 AFC Cup
Participating
Not participating
(N)
Number of teams/associations originally entered, before withdrawal of teams from the competition after the draw
Bangladesh (BAN): Maldives' representative Valencia withdrew from the competition after the preliminary round 1. As a result, Bangladesh's representative Abahani Limited Dhaka directly advanced to the play-off round.[11]
Macau (MAC): Macau's indirect slot is annulled as Benfica Macau, the Liga de Elite runners-up, refuses to enter the AFC Cup (Entry Manual Article 9.11).
Myanmar (MYA): The teams from Myanmar which originally entered the AFC Cup, Shan United and Hantharwady United, withdrew from the competition after the draw.[12]
Philippines (PHI): Philippines are ranked 6th in the East Region for AFC Champions League allocation, and thus are allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage without taking away any direct slot from other associations.
Uzbekistan (UZB): Uzbekistan are ranked 6th in the West Region for AFC Champions League allocation, and thus are allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage without taking away any direct slot from other associations.
Location of teams of the 2021 AFC Cup. Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Pink: Group E; Green: Group F; Blue: Group G; Cyan: Group H; Turquoise: Group I; Purple: Group J; (H) Group stage hosts Qualifying play-offs Withdrawn teams
Nepal (NEP): Since the 2021–22 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League could not be completed in time, it was agreed that the table toppers after matchday 7 would qualify for the AFC Cup.
Turkmenistan (TKM1): Only Ahal (the Ýokary Liga runners-up) were granted an AFC Champions League license; so Altyn Asyr qualified for 2022 AFC Cup instead.[22][10]
Turkmenistan (TKM2):2021 Turkmenistan Cup winners[23] and 2021 Ýokary Liga 3rd place Şagadam were not granted an AFC Cup license. As a result, Köpetdag, the second best team granted an AFC Cup license and not an AFC Champions League license (2021 Ýokary Liga fourth place), qualified for the 2022 AFC Cup.[22][10]
Vietnam (VIE): Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, the 2021 V.League 1 and 2021 Vietnamese Cup were both abandoned by the Vietnam Football Federation. It was decided that the league's first placed team at the time of abandonment would take the AFC Champions League slot,[24] with the AFC Cup slots to go to the second and third placed teams.[25] Subsequently, third-placed team Than Quang Ninh were omitted from V-League competitions, after loss of their main sponsor and other financial difficulties.[26]Nam Dinh, who were fourth at the time of the suspension, should be given the AFC Cup slot but declined.
Schedule
The tournament ran from April to October 2022, so as not to clash with the World Cup.[27]
The final schedule of the competition was as follows:
Stage
Round
Draw dates
Match dates
Preliminary stage
Preliminary round 1
17 January 2022
5 April 2022 (S)
Preliminary round 2
12 April 2022 (S)
Play-off stage
Play-off round
19 April 2022 (S, E)
Group stage
Matchday 1
18 May 2022 (W, S), 24 June 2022 (C, A, E)
Matchday 2
21 May 2022 (W, S), 27 June 2022 (C, A, E)
Matchday 3
24 May 2022 (W, S), 30 June 2022 (C, A, E)
Knockout stage
Zonal semi-finals
9–10 August 2022 (A), 5–6 September 2022 (W)
Zonal finals
14 July 2022
17 August 2022 (C) 24 August 2022 (A), 4 October 2022 (W)
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[28]
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined based on each team's association ranking, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. The three winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 36 direct entrants.
The draw for the group stage was held on 17 January 2022 at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 39 teams were drawn into nine groups of four and one group of three (in the Central Asia Zone): three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups G–I), two groups in the Central Asia Zone (Groups E–F), and one group each in the South Asia Zone (Group D) and the East Asia Zone (Group J). For each zone, teams were seeded into four pots and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking and their seeding within their association, in consideration of technical balance between groups. Teams from the same association in zones with more than one group (West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, and ASEAN Zone) could not be drawn into the same group.
In the group stage, each group is played on a single round-robin basis in centralised venues. The following teams will advance to the knockout stage:
The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advance to the Zonal semi-finals.
The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone advance to the Zonal finals.
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 8.3):[28]
Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams(Not applicable since matches will be played in centralised venues);
If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches;
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams playing each other in the last round of the group are tied;
Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
The Zonal semi-finals were played over one leg, with the home team determined by the following tables based on which group runners-up qualified. The group winner hosts the match against a group runner-up. If two group winners played each other, one of the group winners hosted the match.
The Zonal finals were played over one leg, with the home team decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the Central Asia Zonal final and ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.
In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals played each other, with the home team determined by the Inter-zone play-off semi-final draw. The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.
^On 11 April 2022, the AFC announced that Valencia withdrew from the preliminary stage of the qualification, citing financial constraints. Abahani Limited Dhaka advanced to the play-off round.[11][29]
^On 19 January 2022, the AFC announced that the two teams from Myanmar, Shan United and Hanthawaddy United, withdrew from the group stage after the draw.[30] As a result, on 1 March 2022, the AFC decided to cancel the ASEAN zone play-off round match between Visakha FC and Young Elephants, and promote both the participating teams to the group stage to fill the vacant group stage spots.[31]
Al-Seeb (1st title)
Kuala Lumpur City
Paulo Josué
Jasur Hasanov (5 goals each)
