The 2022 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 5 to 19 April 2022.[1] A total of ten teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide three of the 39 places in the group stage of the 2022 AFC Cup.[2]

Teams

The following 10 teams, split into five zones (West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, ASEAN Zone, East Asia Zone), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of three rounds:

Zone Teams entering in play-off round Teams entering in preliminary round 2 Teams entering in preliminary round 1
West Asia Zone
None
South Asia Zone
Central Asia Zone
None
ASEAN Zone
East Asia Zone

Format

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.[2]

Schedule

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

Round Match date
Preliminary round 1 5 April 2022
Preliminary round 2 12 April 2022
Play-off round 19 April 2022

Bracket

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.

South Asia play-off

 
Preliminary round 1Preliminary round 2Play-off round
 
          
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
India ATK Mohun Bagan5
 
 
 
Sri Lanka Blue Star0
 
Nepal Machhindra1
 
 
 
Sri Lanka Blue Star2
 
India ATK Mohun Bagan3
 
 
Bangladesh Abahani Limited Dhaka1
 
 
 
 
 
Bangladesh Abahani Limited Dhakaw/o
 
 
 
Maldives Valencia
 
Maldives Valencia (a.e.t.)2
 
 
Bhutan Paro1
 

ASEAN play-off

 
Play-off round
 
  
 
 
 
 
Cambodia Visakha FC—
 
 
Laos Young Elephants—
 

East Asia play-off

 
Play-off round
 
  
 
 
 
 
Hong Kong Lee Man2
 
 
Mongolia Athletic 2201
 

Preliminary round 1

Summary

A total of four teams played in the preliminary round 1.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
South Asia Zone
Machhindra Nepal 1–2 Sri Lanka Blue Star
Valencia Maldives 2–1 (a.e.t.) Bhutan Paro

South Asia Zone

Machhindra Nepal1–2Sri Lanka Blue Star
 Report
  • Ihsan 24'
  • Sandesh 28'
Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu
Attendance: 2,369
Referee: Yousif Saeed Hassan (Iraq)
Valencia Maldives2–1 (a.e.t.)Bhutan Paro
 Report
  • Ellon 27'
National Football Stadium, Malé
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ahmad A'Qashah (Singapore)

Preliminary round 2

Summary

A total of four teams played in the preliminary round 2: two teams which entered in this round, and two winners of the preliminary round 1.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
South Asia Zone
ATK Mohun Bagan India 5–0 Sri Lanka Blue Star
Abahani Limited Dhaka Bangladesh Cancelled[note 1] Maldives Valencia

South Asia Zone

ATK Mohun Bagan India5–0Sri Lanka Blue Star
 Report
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata
Attendance: 25,948
Referee: Razlan Joffri Ali (Malaysia)
Abahani Limited Dhaka BangladeshCancelled[note 1]Maldives Valencia
Report
Sylhet District Stadium, Sylhet
Referee: Akhrol Riskullayev (Uzbekistan)

Play-off round

Summary

A total of six teams played in the play-off round: four teams which entered in this round, and two winners of the preliminary round 2.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
South Asia Zone
ATK Mohun Bagan India 3–1 Bangladesh Abahani Limited Dhaka
Team 1  Score  Team 2
ASEAN Zone
Visakha FC Cambodia Cancelled[note 2] Laos Young Elephants
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Zone
Lee Man Hong Kong 2–1 Mongolia Athletic 220

South Asia Zone

ATK Mohun Bagan India3–1Bangladesh Abahani Limited Dhaka
 Report
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata
Attendance: 31,925
Referee: Seyed Vahid Kazemi (Iran)

ASEAN Zone

Visakha FC CambodiaCancelled[note 2]Laos Young Elephants
Report
Visakha Stadium, Phnom Penh

East Asia Zone

Lee Man Hong Kong2–1Mongolia Athletic 220
 Report
MFF Football Centre, Ulaanbaatar[note 3]
Attendance: 482
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee (India)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c 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.[3][4]
  2. ^ a b c d e 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.[5] 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.[6]
  3. ^ After the 2021–22 Hong Kong Premier League season was cancelled on 25 February 2022, due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant spread in Hong Kong,[7] the Hong Kong clubs announced that they would train overseas for their respective Asian campaigns. Hence, Lee Man asked their playoff round match against Athletic 220 to be moved to a different venue, which was later decided to be Athletic 220's home venue MFF Football Centre in Ulaanbaatar.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Calendar 2022" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  2. ^ a b "AFC Cup 2022 Competition Regulations" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.
  3. ^ "Latest update on the AFC Cup 2022". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Uncertainty over Club Valencia's arrival". The Daily Star. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  5. ^ "AFC confirms the withdrawal of Myanmar clubs". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  6. ^ "AFC's decision on withdrawal of Myanmar clubs". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Arrangement of 2021-2022 BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League and cup matches". Hong Kong Football Association. 25 February 2022.
  8. ^ Chan, Kin-wa (1 March 2022). "Hong Kong side Lee Man follow Kitchee's lead, head overseas to train for AFC Cup campaign". South China Morning Post.

External links

2022–23 in Asian football (AFC)
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