2018 AFC Cup

Last updated
2018 AFC Cup
Tournament details
Dates22 January – 27 October 2018
Teams44 (from 26 associations)
Final positions
Champions Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (3rd title)
Runners-up Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altyn Asyr
Tournament statistics
Matches played143
Goals scored452 (3.16 per match)
Attendance827,013 (5,783 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of North Korea.svg An Il-bom (12 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Iraq.svg Hammadi Ahmad
2017
2019

The 2018 AFC Cup was the 15th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). [1]

Contents

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq won the title for the third consecutive year, defeating Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan in the final.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee recommended a new format for the AFC Cup starting from 2017 which was played in the AFC's five zones: West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, ASEAN, and East Asia, with the winner of the West Asia Zone and the winner of an inter-zone play-off between the other four zones playing in the final, hosted on a rotational basis at venues in the East and West. [2] The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) were 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 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.2): [3]

For the 2018 AFC Cup, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016, [4] which took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings between 2013 and 2016. [3] [5]

Participation for 2018 AFC Cup
Participated
Not participated
Notes
  1. ^
    Afghanistan (AFG): Afghanistan did not implement the club licensing system. [6]
  2. ^
    Brunei (BRU): Brunei did not implement the club licensing system. [6]
  3. ^
    Chinese Taipei (TPE): Chinese Taipei had only one entry, as only one team obtained an AFC licence. [6]
  4. ^
    Guam (GUM): Guam did not comply with the AFC Cup club licensing system. [6]
  5. ^
    Iraq (IRQ): Iraq entered the AFC Cup instead of the AFC Champions League as they did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system. [7]
  6. ^
    Kuwait (KUW): Kuwait could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association at the entry deadline. [8]
  7. ^
    Laos (LAO): Laos originally had one entry: Lao Toyota, the 2017 Lao Premier League champions. However, on 14 December 2017, the AFC announced that they were ruled ineligible to play in the 2018 AFC Cup due to match manipulation during the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup. [9] As they were the only team from Laos which obtained an AFC licence, no other teams were eligible to replace them. [6] Lao Toyota appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and on 17 January 2018, CAS ruled Lao Toyota would be eligible to participate. [10]
  8. ^
    Macau (MAC): Macau had only one entry, as only one team obtained an AFC licence. [6]
  9. ^
    Malaysia (MAS): Malaysia had only one entry as Pahang, the 2017 Malaysia Super League runners-up, which would have entered the group stage, decided not to participate in the AFC Cup after obtaining an AFC licence, and as a result, the second group stage slot for Malaysia was annulled and could not be filled by any other team from Malaysia (Entry Manual 12.12). [3] [7] [11] [12] [13]
  10. ^
    Nepal (NEP): Nepal did not comply with the AFC Cup club licensing system. [6]
  11. ^
    Pakistan (PAK): Pakistan could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Pakistan Football Federation at the entry deadline. [14]
  12. ^
    Sri Lanka (SRI): Sri Lanka did not comply with the AFC Cup club licensing system. [6]
  13. ^
    Timor-Leste (TLS): Timor-Leste did not implement the club licensing system. [6]
  14. ^
    Yemen (YEM): Yemen did not implement the club licensing system. [6]

Teams

The following 44 teams from 26 associations entered the competition.

Notes
  1. ^
    AFC Champions League (ACL): Teams played in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage. Had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would not have played in the AFC Cup and would have been replaced in the AFC Cup group stage by the standby team from the same association if such team was available.
  2. ^
    Bangladesh (BAN): Sheikh Jamal, the 2017–18 Bangladesh Premier League runners-up, failed to obtain an AFC license. As a result, Saif, the league 4th place and the highest-placed team with an AFC license not yet qualified, entered the qualifying play-offs. [15]
  3. ^
    Chinese Taipei (TPE): Tatung and Taipower, the 2017 Taiwan Premier League champions and runners-up, failed to obtain an AFC license. As a result, Hang Yuen, the league 3rd place and the only team with an AFC license, entered the group stage. [16] [6]
  4. ^
    Indonesia (IDN): Bhayangkara and PSM Makassar, the 2017 Liga 1 champions and 3rd place, failed to obtain an AFC license. As a result, Persija Jakarta, the league 4th place, entered the group stage. [17]
  5. ^
    Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2017 S.League champions and 2017 Singapore Cup winners, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Home United, the league 3rd place, entered the group stage.
  6. ^
    Vietnam (VIE): Quảng Nam, the 2017 V.League 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, FLC Thanh Hóa, the league runners-up, entered the group stage. [18]
  7. ^
    North Korea (PRK): Sobaeksu, 2017 Hwaebul Cup winners, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, Hwaebul, the league runners-up, entered the group stage.
  8. Location of teams of the 2018 AFC Cup.
    Red pog.svg West Asia Zone
    Yellow pog.svg Central Asia Zone
    Green pog.svg South Asia Zone
    Blue pog.svg ASEAN Zone
    Purple pog.svg East Asia Zone
    (p) Qualifying play-off participants

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).

StageRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
Preliminary stagePreliminary roundNo draw23 January 2018 (C, S)30 January 2018 (C, S)
Play-off stagePlay-off round22 January 2018 (W),
29 January 2018 (A),
13 February 2018 (C, S, E)
29 January 2018 (W),
2 February 2018 (A),
20 February 2018 (C, S, E)
Group stageMatchday 16 December 201710 & 12–14 February 2018 (W, A), 7 March & 5 April 2018(C, S, E)
Matchday 226–28 February 2018 (W, A), 13–14 March 2018 (C, S, E)
Matchday 35–7 March & 16 April 2018 (W, A), 10–11 April 2018 (C, S, E)
Matchday 412–14 March & 17 April 2018 (W, A), 25 April 2018 (C, S, E)
Matchday 59–11 April 2018 (W, A), 1–2 May 2018 (C, S, E)
Matchday 623–25 April 2018 (W, A), 16 May 2018 (C, S, E)
Knockout stageZonal semi-finals7–9 May 2018 (W, A)14–16 May 2018 (W, A)
Zonal finals23 May 20181 August 2018 (A),
18 September 2018 (W)
8 August 2018 (A),
2 October 2018 (W)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals21–22 August 201828–29 August 2018
Inter-zone play-off final19 September 20183 October 2018
Final27 October 2018

Qualifying play-offs

In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3). The five winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 31 direct entrants. [1] The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg. [19]

Preliminary round

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Central Asia Zone
Dordoi Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg 3–5 Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Ahal 1–3 2–2
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
South Asia Zone
Transport United Flag of Bhutan.svg 0–3 Flag of India.svg Bengaluru 0–0 0–3
Saif Flag of Bangladesh.svg 1–4 Flag of Maldives.svg TC Sports 0–1 1–3

Play-off round

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Hilal Al-Quds Flag of Palestine.svg 1–2 Flag of Oman.svg Al-Suwaiq 0–1 1–1
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Central Asia Zone
Ahal Flag of Turkmenistan.svg 3–0 Flag of Tajikistan.svg Khujand 1–0 2–0
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
South Asia Zone
TC Sports Flag of Maldives.svg 2–8 Flag of India.svg Bengaluru 2–3 0–5
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Boeung Ket Angkor Flag of Cambodia.svg 4–3 Flag of Laos.svg Lao Toyota 3–3 1–0
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
East Asia Zone
Erchim Flag of Mongolia.svg 0–7 Flag of North Korea.svg Hwaebul 0–4 0–3

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2017, 14:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [20] [19] The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone could not be drawn into the same group. In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The following teams advanced to the knockout stage:

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification JAZ QUW MAL SUW
1 Flag of Jordan.svg Al-Jazeera 6420136+714 Zonal semi-finals 1–1 1–0 4–0
2 Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6330117+412 2–2 1–1 2–0
3 Flag of Bahrain.svg Malkiya 62131110+17 1–2 3–4 4–1
4 Flag of Oman.svg Al-Suwaiq 6006416120 2–3 0–1 1–2
Source: AFC

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification AHE ZAW JAI MAN
1 Flag of Lebanon.svg Al-Ahed 6330115+612 Zonal semi-finals 1–1 1–1 3–1
2 Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Zawraa 624085+310 1–1 0–0 2–1
3 Flag of Syria.svg Al-Jaish 61414627 1–4 1–1 1–0
4 Flag of Bahrain.svg Manama 601531071 0–1 1–3 0–0
Source: AFC

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification FAI DHO ANS WAH
1 Flag of Jordan.svg Al-Faisaly 6411105+513 Zonal semi-finals 2–0 1–0 2–2
2 Flag of Oman.svg Dhofar 62224518 1–0 0–2 2–0
3 Flag of Lebanon.svg Al-Ansar 62136717 1–3 1–1 1–0
4 Flag of Syria.svg Al-Wahda 61235835 1–2 0–0 2–1
Source: AFC

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification ALT IST AHA ALA
1 Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altyn Asyr 6420177+1014 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 2–2 1–0 5–0
2 Flag of Tajikistan.svg Istiklol 6411107+313 2–3 1–0 1–0
3 Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Ahal 621385+37 0–0 0–1 5–0
4 Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg Alay Osh 6006723160 3–6 2–3 2–3
Source: AFC

Group E

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification BFC RAD ABD AIZ
1 Flag of India.svg Bengaluru 6501143+1115 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 1–0 1–0 5–0
2 Flag of Maldives.svg New Radiant 6402125+712 2–0 5–1 3–1
3 Flag of Bangladesh.svg Abahani Limited Dhaka 611451274 0–4 0–1 1–1
4 Flag of India.svg Aizawl 6114516114 [lower-alpha 1] 1–3 2–1 0–3
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Aizawl 0–3 Abahani Limited Dhaka, Abahani Limited Dhaka 1–1 Aizawl.

Group F

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification HOM CER BKA SHA
1 Flag of Singapore.svg Home United 6411156+913 [lower-alpha 1] Zonal semi-finals 1–1 6–0 3–2
2 Flag of the Philippines.svg Ceres–Negros 6411173+1413 [lower-alpha 1] 0–2 9–0 2–0
3 Flag of Cambodia.svg Boeung Ket Angkor 6204824166 3–2 0–4 1–2
4 Flag of Myanmar.svg Shan United 610551273 0–1 0–1 1–4
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Head-to-head results: Home United 1–1 Ceres–Negros, Ceres–Negros 0–2 Home United.

Group G

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification YAN GLO THA BAL
1 Flag of Myanmar.svg Yangon United 6411159+613 Zonal semi-finals 3–0 2–1 3–2
2 Flag of the Philippines.svg Global Cebu 622291018 2–1 3–3 1–1
3 Flag of Vietnam.svg FLC Thanh Hóa 613291126 3–3 1–0 0–0
4 Flag of Indonesia.svg Bali United 612381135 1–3 1–3 3–1
Source: AFC

Group H

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification PSJ SLN JDT TAM
1 Flag of Indonesia.svg Persija Jakarta 6411136+713 Zonal semi-finals 1–0 4–0 4–1
2 Flag of Vietnam.svg Sông Lam Nghệ An 631285+310 [lower-alpha 1] 0–0 2–0 2–1
3 Flag of Malaysia.svg Johor Darul Ta'zim 631289110 [lower-alpha 1] 3–0 3–2 2–1
4 Flag of Singapore.svg Tampines Rovers 601551491 2–4 0–2 0–0
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Head-to-head results: Sông Lam Nghệ An 2–0 Johor Darul Ta'zim, Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–2 Sông Lam Nghệ An.

Group I

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification APR BEN HWA HAN
1 Flag of North Korea.svg April 25 6600232+2118 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 8–0 1–0 5–1
2 Flag of Macau.svg Benfica de Macau 64021315212 0–2 3–0 3–2
3 Flag of North Korea.svg Hwaebul 620491016 0–2 2–3 6–1
4 Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Hang Yuen 6006624180 1–5 1–4 0–1
Source: AFC

Ranking of second-placed teams

West Asia Zone

PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 A Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6330117+412 Zonal semi-finals
2 B Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Zawraa 624085+310
3 C Flag of Oman.svg Dhofar 62224518
Source: AFC

ASEAN Zone

PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 F Flag of the Philippines.svg Ceres–Negros 6411173+1413 Zonal semi-finals
2 H Flag of Vietnam.svg Sông Lam Nghệ An 631285+310
3 G Flag of the Philippines.svg Global Cebu 622291018
Source: AFC

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 11 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, except the final which was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3). [1]

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, which was held on 23 May 2018, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [21] [22] [23]

Zonal semi-finals

In the Zonal semi-finals, the four qualified teams from the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) played in two ties, and the four qualified teams from the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H) played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs determined by the group stage draw and the identity of the best runners-up.

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Al-Jazeera Flag of Jordan.svg 2–1 Flag of Jordan.svg Al-Faisaly 1–1 1–0
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Flag of Iraq.svg 5–3 Flag of Lebanon.svg Al-Ahed 3–1 2–2
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Home United Flag of Singapore.svg 6–3 Flag of Indonesia.svg Persija Jakarta 3–2 3–1
Ceres–Negros Flag of the Philippines.svg 6–5 Flag of Myanmar.svg Yangon United 4–2 2–3

Zonal finals

The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 23 May 2018. [23] In the Zonal finals, the two winners of West Asia Zonal semi-finals played each other, and the two winners of ASEAN Zonal semi-finals played each other, with the order of legs decided by draw. The winners of the West Asia Zonal final advanced to the final, while the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Al-Jazeera Flag of Jordan.svg 1–4 Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 0–1 1–3
Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
ASEAN Zone
Ceres–Negros Flag of the Philippines.svg 1–3 Flag of Singapore.svg Home United 1–1 0–2

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 23 May 2018. [23] In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone played in two ties, i.e., the winners of the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the winners of the South Asia Zone (Group E), the winners of the East Asia Zone (Group I), and the winners of the ASEAN Zonal final (whose identity was not known at the time of the draw), with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding.

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Home United Flag of Singapore.svg 1–11 Flag of North Korea.svg April 25 0–2 1–9
Bengaluru Flag of India.svg 2–5 Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altyn Asyr 2–3 0–2

Inter-zone play-off final

In the Inter-zone play-off final, the two winners of the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals played each other, with the order of legs determined by the Inter-zone play-off semi-final draw. The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
April 25 Flag of North Korea.svg 3–3 (a) Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altyn Asyr 2–2 1–1

Final

In the final, the winners of the West Asia Zonal final and the winners of the Inter-zone play-off final played each other, with the host team (winners of the West Asia Zonal final) alternated from the previous season's final. [24]

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Flag of Iraq.svg 2–0 Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altyn Asyr
  • Ahmad Soccerball shade.svg22'
  • Bayesh Soccerball shade.svg57'
Live Report
Stats Report
Basra Sports City, Basra
Attendance: 24,665
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

Awards

AwardPlayerTeam
Most Valuable Player [25] Flag of Iraq.svg Hammadi Ahmad Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Top Goalscorer [26] Flag of North Korea.svg An Il-bom Flag of North Korea.svg April 25

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
RankPlayerTeamMD1MD2MD3MD4MD5MD6ZSF1ZSF2ZF1ZF2ISF1ISF2IF1IF2FTotal
1 Flag of North Korea.svg An Il-bom Flag of North Korea.svg April 25 1222112112
2 Flag of Spain.svg Bienvenido Marañón Flag of the Philippines.svg Ceres–Negros 21132110
Flag of Guinea.svg Sekou Sylla Flag of Myanmar.svg Yangon United 221221
4 Flag of Croatia.svg Marko Šimić Flag of Indonesia.svg Persija Jakarta 34119
Flag of South Korea.svg Song Ui-young Flag of Singapore.svg Home United 111111111
6 Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altymyrat Annadurdyýew Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Altyn Asyr 312118
Flag of Iraq.svg Hammadi Ahmad Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1111121
8 Flag of Lebanon.svg Ahmad Zreik Flag of Lebanon.svg Al-Ahed 1121117
Flag of Macau.svg Carlos Leonel Flag of Macau.svg Benfica de Macau 223
10 Flag of Maldives.svg Ali Ashfaq Flag of Maldives.svg New Radiant 3126
Flag of Iraq.svg Amjad Radhi Flag of Iraq.svg Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2121
Flag of North Korea.svg Kim Yu-song Flag of North Korea.svg April 25 411
Flag of Jordan.svg Musa Al-Taamari Flag of Jordan.svg Al-Jazeera 111111

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4). [1]

Source: AFC [27]

See also

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