2019 AFC Cup

2019 AFC Cup

Tournament details
Dates	Qualifying: 5 February – 13 March 2019 Competition proper: 25 February – 4 November 2019
Teams	Competition proper: 36 Total: 43 (from 26 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Al-Ahed (1st title)
Runners-up	April 25
Tournament statistics
Matches played	127
Goals scored	386 (3.04 per match)
Attendance	428,416 (3,373 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Bienvenido Marañón (10 goals)
Best player(s)	Mehdi Khalil
Fair play award	Al-Ahed
← 2018 2020 →

The 2019 AFC Cup was the 16th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). ^[1]

Al-Ahed from Lebanon won the title for the first time, defeating April 25 from North Korea in the final. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were the title holders, having won the previous three editions of the tournament. However, they were unable to defend the title as Iraqi teams played in the AFC Champions League instead of the AFC Cup in the 2019 edition.

Association team allocation

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): ^[2]

• 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.
• 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.

Association ranking

For the 2019 AFC Cup, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017, ^[3] 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, between 2014 and 2017. ^{[2] [4]}

Participation for 2019 AFC Cup
	Participating
	Not participating

West Asia Zone Rank Member Association Points [3] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 16   Syria 28.983 2 0 0 2 18   Jordan 25.649 2 0 0 3 19   Kuwait 24.798 2 0 0 4 20   Bahrain 24.337 2 0 0 5 22   Lebanon 21.367 2 0 0 6 27   Oman 13.921 1 1 0 7 29   Palestine 10.552 0 1 0 — 34   Yemen [YEM] 3.358 0 0 0 Total 11 2 0 2 13 Central Asia Zone Rank Member Association Points [3] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 12   Tajikistan 30.725 1 1 0 2 26   Turkmenistan 14.163 1 0 1 3 31   Kyrgyzstan 5.680 1 0 1 — 37   Afghanistan [AFG] 2.454 0 0 0 Total 3 1 2 3 6 South Asia Zone Rank Member Association Points [3] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 15   India 29.291 1 1 0 — 28   Maldives [MDV] 11.970 0 0 0 2 33   Bangladesh [BAN] 3.365 1 0 0 3 38     Nepal 1.228 1 0 0 4 39   Bhutan 0.875 0 0 1 5 44   Sri Lanka 0.325 0 0 1 — 46   Pakistan [PAK] 0.188 0 0 0 Total 3 1 2 3 6

ASEAN Zone Rank Member Association Points [3] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 17   Vietnam 27.426 2 0 0 2 21   Philippines 21.405 2 0 0 3 23   Singapore 17.084 2 0 0 4 24   Indonesia 16.871 2 0 0 5 25   Myanmar 14.753 2 0 0 6 32   Laos [LAO] 3.439 1 0 0 7 35   Cambodia 3.312 1 0 0 — 41   Brunei [BRU] 0.564 0 0 0 — 43   East Timor [TLS] 0.401 0 0 0 Total 12 0 0 0 12 East Asia Zone Rank Member Association Points [3] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 14   Hong Kong 29.300 1 1 0 2 30   North Korea 7.797 1 0 1 3 36   Chinese Taipei [TPE] 2.769 1 0 0 — 40   Macau [MAC] 0.815 0 0 0 — 42   Guam [GUM] 0.539 0 0 0 4 45   Mongolia 0.213 0 0 1 Total 3 1 2 3 6

Notes

1. ^
   Afghanistan (AFG): Afghanistan did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system. ^[5]
2. ^
   Bangladesh (BAN): The 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League was not completed in time for the 2019 AFC Cup, so Bangladesh could only get one total slot, where they were represented by the 2018 Bangladesh Federation Cup winners. ^[6]
3. ^
   Brunei (BRU): Brunei did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system. ^[5]
4. ^
   Chinese Taipei (TPE): Chinese Taipei had only one team which had an AFC Cup license. ^[5]
5. ^
   Guam (GUM): Guam did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system. ^[5]
6. ^
   Laos (LAO): Laos had only one team which had an AFC Cup license and finished in the top half of the league to meet the sporting criteria (Entry Manual 12.6). ^{[2] [5]}
7. ^
   Macau (MAC): Macau did not have any teams which had an AFC Cup license. ^[5]
8. ^
   Maldives (MDV): Maldives did not submit the list of licensed teams to the AFC. ^{[7] [5]}
9. ^
   Pakistan (PAK): Pakistan did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system. ^[5]
10. ^
    Timor-Leste (TLS): Timor-Leste did not submit the list of licensed teams to the AFC. ^[5]
11. ^
    Yemen (YEM): Yemen did not implement the AFC Cup club licensing system. ^[5]

Teams

The following 43 teams from 26 associations entered the competition.

West Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–C) Team Qualifying method App (Last) Al-Jaish 2017–18 Syrian Premier League champions and 2018 Syrian Cup winners 9th (2018) Al-Ittihad 2017–18 Syrian Premier League runners-up 4th (2012) Al-Wehdat 2017–18 Jordanian Pro League champions [Note ACL] 11th (2017) Al-Jazeera 2017–18 Jordan FA Cup winners 2017–18 Jordanian Pro League runners-up 3rd (2018) Al-Kuwait 2017–18 Kuwaiti Premier League champions [Note ACL] and 2017–18 Kuwait Emir Cup winners 8th (2015) Al-Qadsia 2017–18 Kuwaiti Premier League runners-up 7th (2015) Al-Najma 2017–18 Bahraini Premier League runners-up 2017–18 Bahraini King's Cup winners 2nd (2008) Malkiya 2017–18 Bahraini Premier League 4th place [Note BHR] 2nd (2018) Al-Ahed 2017–18 Lebanese Premier League champions and 2017–18 Lebanese FA Cup winners 9th (2018) Nejmeh 2017–18 Lebanese Premier League runners-up 9th (2017) Al-Suwaiq 2017–18 Oman Professional League champions 7th (2018) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Al-Nasr 2017–18 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners 2nd (2006) Hilal Al-Quds 2017–18 West Bank Premier League champions 3rd (2018) Central Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group D) Team Qualifying method App (Last) Istiklol 2018 Tajik League champions [Note ACL] and 2018 Tajik Cup winners 5th (2018) Altyn Asyr 2018 Ýokary Liga champions 5th (2018) Dordoi 2018 Kyrgyzstan League champions and 2018 Kyrgyzstan Cup winners 4th (2018) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Khujand 2018 Tajik League runners-up 3rd (2018) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Ahal 2018 Ýokary Liga runners-up [Note TKM] 3rd (2018) Alay 2018 Kyrgyzstan League runners-up 5th (2018) South Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group E) Team Qualifying method App (Last) Minerva Punjab 2017–18 I-League champions [Note ACL] 1st Abahani Limited Dhaka 2018 Bangladesh Federation Cup winners 3rd (2018) Manang Marshyangdi Club 2018–19 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League champions 1st Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Chennaiyin 2017–18 Indian Super League champions 1st Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Transport United 2018 Bhutan National League champions 2nd (2018) Colombo 2017–18 Sri Lanka Champions League champions 2nd (2017)

ASEAN Zone Group stage direct entrants (Groups F–H) Team Qualifying method App (Last) Hà Nội 2018 V.League 1 champions [Note ACL] 4th (2017) Becamex Bình Dương 2018 Vietnamese Cup winners 3rd (2010) Ceres–Negros 2018 Philippines Football League champions [Note ACL] 5th (2018) Kaya–Iloilo 2018 Copa Paulino Alcantara winners 2nd (2016) Home United 2018 Singapore Premier League runners-up [Note ACL] [Note SIN] 10th (2018) Tampines Rovers 2018 Singapore Premier League 4th place [Note SIN] 11th (2018) Persija Jakarta 2018 Liga 1 champions [Note ACL] 2nd (2018) PSM Makassar 2018 Liga 1 runners-up 1st Yangon United 2018 Myanmar National League champions [Note ACL] and 2018 General Aung San Shield winners 6th (2018) Shan United 2018 Myanmar National League runners-up 2nd (2018) Lao Toyota 2018 Lao Premier League champions 5th (2018) Nagaworld 2018 Cambodian League champions 2nd (2017) East Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group I) Team Qualifying method App (Last) Kitchee 2017–18 Hong Kong Premier League champions [Note ACL] and 2017–18 Hong Kong FA Cup winners 7th (2016) April 25 2017–18 DPR Korea Premier League champions 3rd (2018) Hang Yuen 2018 Taiwan Football Premier League 3rd place [Note TPE] 2nd (2018) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Tai Po 2017–18 Hong Kong Premier League runners-up 2nd (2010) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Ryomyong 2018 Hwaebul Cup winners 1st Erchim 2018 Mongolian Premier League champions 3rd (2018)

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 play in the AFC Cup, and would be replaced by the standby team from the same association if such team were available.
2. ^
   Bahrain (BAH): Al-Muharraq, the 2017–18 Bahraini Premier League champions, did not have an AFC Cup license. As a result, Malkiya, the league 4th place, entered the group stage. ^[8]
3. ^
   Chinese Taipei (TPE): Tatung and Taipower, the 2018 Taiwan Premier League champions and runners-up, did not have an AFC Cup license. As a result, Hang Yuen, the league 3rd place, entered the group stage. ^[9]
4. ^
   Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2018 Singapore Premier League champions and 2018 Singapore Cup winners, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. Moreover, DPMM, the 2018 Singapore Premier League 3rd place, is a team from Brunei and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Home United and Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up and 4th place respectively, entered the group stage.
5. ^
   Turkmenistan (TKM): Köpetdag, the 2018 Turkmenistan Cup winners, did not have an AFC Cup license. As a result, Ahal, the 2018 Ýokary Liga runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs. ^[10]

Al-Jaish

Al-Ittihad

Jordan

Teams from Jordan:
Al-Wehdat
Al-Jazeera

Al-Kuwait
Al-Qadsia

Al-Najma
Malkiya

Lebanon

Teams from Lebanon:
Al-Ahed
Nejmeh

Al-Suwaiq

Al-Nasr (p)

Hilal Al-Quds (p)

Istiklol

Khujand (p)

Altyn Asyr
Ahal (p)

Dordoi

Alay (p)

Minerva Punjab

Chennaiyin (p)

Abahani Limited Dhaka

MMC

Transport U (p)

Colombo (p)

Hà Nội

Becamex Bình Dương

Ceres–Negros

Kaya–Iloilo

Home U
Tampines R

Persija

PSM

Yangon U

Shan U

Lao Toyota

Nagaworld

Kitchee
Tai Po (p)

April 25
Ryomyong (p)

Hang Yuen

Erchim (p)

class=notpageimage|

Location of teams of the 2019 AFC Cup.
West Asia Zone
Central Asia Zone
South Asia Zone
ASEAN Zone
East Asia Zone
(p) Qualifying play-off participants

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone). ^[11]

Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round	No draw	20 February 2019 (C, S, E)	27 February 2019 (C, S, E)
Play-off stage	Play-off round		5 February 2019 (W), 6 March 2019 (C, S, E)	12 February 2019 (W), 13 March 2019 (C, S, E)
Group stage	Matchday 1	22 November 2018	25–27 February 2019 (W, A), 3 April 2019 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 2		11–13 March 2019 (W, A), 17 April 2019 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 3		1–3 April & 3 May 2019 (W, A), 30 April – 1 May 2019 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 4		15–17 & 23 April & 6 May 2019 (W, A), 15 May 2019 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 5		29 April – 1 May 2019 (W, A), 19 June 2019 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 6		13–15 May 2019 (W, A), 26 June 2019 (C, S, E)
Knockout stage	Zonal semi-finals		17–19 June 2019 (W, A)	24–26 June 2019 (W, A)
	Zonal finals	2 July 2019	31 July 2019 (A), 24 September 2019 (W)	7 August 2019 (A), 1 October 2019 (W)
	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		20–21 August 2019	27–28 August 2019
	Inter-zone play-off final		25 September 2019	2 October 2019
	Final		2 November 2019

Qualifying play-offs

Main article: 2019 AFC Cup 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 four winners of the play-off round (one each from West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, East Asia Zone) advanced to the group stage to join the 32 direct entrants. ^[1] The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone, determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg, was officially announced by the AFC prior to the group stage draw on 22 November 2018. ^[12]

Preliminary round

Central Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Alay	1–3	Ahal	1–2	0–1

South Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Colombo	9–2	Transport United	7–1	2–1

East Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Erchim	0–6	Ryomyong	0–3	0–3

Play-off round

West Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Hilal Al-Quds	3–1	Al-Nasr	2–1	1–0

Central Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Ahal	1–1 (a)	Khujand	1–1	0–0

South Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Colombo	0–1	Chennaiyin	0–0	0–1

East Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Ryomyong	0–0 (3–5 p)	Tai Po	0–0	0–0 (a.e.t.)

Group stage

Main article: 2019 AFC Cup group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 22 November 2018, 14:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^[12] 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 cannot 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:

• The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advanced to the Zonal semi-finals.
• The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

The teams were 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 10.5): [1] Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were 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 were 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); Association ranking.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		WEH	JAI	HAQ	NEJ
1	Al-Wehdat	6	4	1	1	12	4	+8	13	Zonal semi-finals		—	1–1	2–0	1–0
2	Al-Jaish	6	2	4	0	6	4	+2	10			1–0	—	1–1	2–2
3	Hilal Al-Quds	6	2	2	2	7	11	−4	8			2–6	0–0	—	2–1
4	Nejmeh	6	0	1	5	4	10	−6	1			0–2	0–1	1–2	—

Source: AFC

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JAZ	KUW	NAJ	ITH
1	Al-Jazeera	6	5	1	0	13	2	+11	16	Zonal semi-finals		—	1–0	3–0	4–0
2	Al-Kuwait	6	3	1	2	6	4	+2	10			1–2	—	2–1	0–0
3	Al-Najma	6	2	1	3	6	9	−3	7			1–1	0–1	—	2–1
4	Al-Ittihad	6	0	1	5	2	12	−10	1			0–2	0–2	1–2	—

Source: AFC

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AHE	MAL	QAD	SUW
1	Al-Ahed	6	4	2	0	8	3	+5	14	Zonal semi-finals		—	2–1	0–0	4–2
2	Malkiya	6	2	2	2	8	8	0	8			0–0	—	1–2	2–2
3	Al-Qadsia	6	2	1	3	6	6	0	7			0–1	1–2	—	2–0
4	Al-Suwaiq	6	1	1	4	7	12	−5	4			0–1	1–2	2–1	—

Source: AFC

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ALT	IST	DOR	KHU
1	Altyn Asyr	6	2	4	0	7	4	+3	10	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		—	1–1	3–1	1–0
2	Istiklol	6	2	2	2	12	8	+4	8			1–1	—	4–1	3–0
3	Dordoi	6	2	1	3	9	12	−3	7 [a]			1–1	2–1	—	3–0
4	Khujand	6	2	1	3	6	10	−4	7 [a]			0–0	3–2	3–1	—

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Head-to-head results: Khujand 3–1 Dordoi, Dordoi 3–0 Khujand.

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ABD	CFC	MIN	MMC
1	Abahani Limited Dhaka	6	4	1	1	12	5	+7	13	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		—	3–2	2–2	5–0
2	Chennaiyin	6	3	2	1	9	6	+3	11			1–0	—	0–0	2–0
3	Minerva Punjab	6	0	5	1	6	7	−1	5			0–1	1–1	—	2–2
4	Manang Marshyangdi Club	6	0	2	4	5	14	−9	2			0–1	2–3	1–1	—

Source: AFC

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HAN	TAM	YAN	NAG
1	Hà Nội	6	4	1	1	23	5	+18	13 [a]	Zonal semi-finals		—	2–0	0–1	10–0
2	Tampines Rovers	6	4	1	1	17	10	+7	13 [a]			1–1	—	4–3	4–2
3	Yangon United	6	2	0	4	10	14	−4	6			2–5	1–3	—	2–0
4	Nagaworld	6	1	0	5	6	27	−21	3			1–5	1–5	2–1	—

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Head-to-head results: Tampines Rovers 1–1 Hà Nội, Hà Nội 2–0 Tampines Rovers.

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		CER	BBD	PSJ	SHA
1	Ceres–Negros	6	5	0	1	15	6	+9	15	Zonal semi-finals		—	0–1	1–0	3–2
2	Becamex Bình Dương	6	4	1	1	13	5	+8	13			1–3	—	3–1	6–0
3	Persija Jakarta	6	2	1	3	12	9	+3	7			2–3	0–0	—	6–1
4	Shan United	6	0	0	6	5	25	−20	0			0–5	1–2	1–3	—

Source: AFC

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PSM	HOM	KAY	LAO
1	PSM Makassar	6	4	2	0	17	8	+9	14	Zonal semi-finals		—	3–2	1–1	7–3
2	Home United	6	3	1	2	9	11	−2	10			1–1	—	2–0	1–0
3	Kaya–Iloilo	6	2	2	2	13	7	+6	8			1–2	5–0	—	5–1
4	Lao Toyota	6	0	1	5	7	20	−13	1			0–3	2–3	1–1	—

Source: AFC

Group I

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		APR	KIT	TAI	HYU
1	April 25	6	5	0	1	17	2	+15	15	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		—	2–0	4–0	5–0
2	Kitchee	6	3	1	2	11	10	+1	10			1–0	—	2–4	3–0
3	Tai Po	6	2	2	2	13	15	−2	8			1–3	3–3	—	4–2
4	Hang Yuen	6	0	1	5	4	18	−14	1			0–3	1–2	1–1	—

Source: AFC

Ranking of second-placed teams

West Asia Zone

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	A	Al-Jaish	6	2	4	0	6	4	+2	10 [a]	Zonal semi-finals
2	B	Al-Kuwait	6	3	1	2	6	4	+2	10 [a]
3	C	Malkiya	6	2	2	2	8	8	0	8

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Disciplinary points: Al-Jaish −6, Al-Kuwait −11.

ASEAN Zone

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	G	Becamex Bình Dương	6	4	1	1	13	5	+8	13	Zonal semi-finals
2	F	Tampines Rovers	6	4	1	1	17	10	+7	13
3	H	Home United	6	3	1	2	9	11	−2	10

Source: AFC

Knockout stage

Main article: 2019 AFC Cup 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 winners if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the Zonal finals and the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, which was held on 2 July 2019, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^{[13] [14]}

	Zonal semi-finals							Zonal finals							Interzone play-off semi-finals							Interzone play-off final							Final
	Becamex Bình Dương (a)		1	1	2
	PSM Makassar		0	2	2
								Becamex Bình Dương		0	0	0
								Hà Nội		1	1	2			Hà Nội		3	2	5
	Ceres–Negros		1	1	2
															Altyn Asyr		2	2	4
	Hà Nội		1	2	3																	Hà Nội		2	0	2
																						April 25 (a)		2	0	2
															Abahani Limited Dhaka		4	0	4
															April 25		3	2	5
																													April 25		0
																													Al-Ahed		1
	Al-Jaish		3	0	3
	Al-Jazeera		0	4	4
								Al-Jazeera		0	0	0
								Al-Ahed		0	1	1
	Al-Wehdat		0	0	0
	Al-Ahed		1	0	1

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.

West Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Wehdat	0–1	Al-Ahed	0–1	0–0
Al-Jaish	3–4	Al-Jazeera	3–0	0–4

ASEAN Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Ceres–Negros	2–3	Hà Nội	1–1	1–2
Becamex Bình Dương	2–2 (a)	PSM Makassar	1–0	1–2

Zonal finals

The draw for the Zonal finals was held on 2 July 2019. ^[14] In the Zonal finals, the two winners of West Asia Zonal semi-finals play each other, and the two winners of ASEAN Zonal semi-finals play 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.

West Asia Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Jazeera	0–1	Al-Ahed	0–0	0–1

ASEAN Zone

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Becamex Bình Dương	0–2	Hà Nội	0–1	0–1

Inter-zone play-off semi-finals

The draw for the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals was held on 2 July 2019. ^[14] In the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals, the four zonal winners other than the West Asia Zone play 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 score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Hà Nội	5–4	Altyn Asyr	3–2	2–2
Abahani Limited Dhaka	4–5	April 25	4–3	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 play 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 advance to the final.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Hà Nội	2–2 (a)	April 25	2–2	0–0

Final

Main article: 2019 AFC Cup 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 Inter-zone play-off final) alternated from the previous season's final. ^[15]

The match was originally to be hosted by April 25 at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on 2 November 2019. However, on 22 October 2019, due to North Korea's decision to ban television transmission of football games, the AFC announced that the final would be held in Shanghai, China in order for the match to be transmitted. ^{[16] [17]} On 25 October 2019, the match was rescheduled from 2 November to 4 November and the host city was shifted from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^[18]

4 November 2019 (2019-11-04)

21:00  UTC+8

April 25	0–1	Al-Ahed
	Live Report Stats Report	Yakubu 74'

Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur

Attendance: 500

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

Awards

Award	Player	Team
Most Valuable Player [19]	Mehdi Khalil	Al-Ahed
Top Goalscorer [20]	Bienvenido Marañón	Ceres–Negros
Fair Play Award [19]	—	Al-Ahed

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.

  Player is not in the team but team still active for this round.

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	MD4	MD5	MD6	ZSF1	ZSF2	ZF1	ZF2	ISF1	ISF2	IF1	IF2	F	Total
1	Bienvenido Marañón	Ceres–Negros	1	3	1	1	3		1									10
2	Ganiyu Oseni	Hà Nội	4			2	2	1										9
	Kim Yu-song	April 25	1	1	2	2								2	1
4	Pape Omar Faye	Hà Nội		1		3	1		1	1		1						8
5	Bruno Matos	Persija Jakarta		2		1	1	3										7
	Nguyễn Văn Quyết	Hà Nội	1							1	1		1	2	1
7	Baha' Faisal	Al-Wehdat		4			1	1										6
	Fernando	Kitchee	1		1	1	2	1
9	Khairul Amri	Tampines Rovers	1			1	3											5
	Mohamad Kdouh	Al-Ahed			3	1			1
	Wander Luiz	Becamex Bình Dương		1	1		1	1		1
	Eero Markkanen	PSM Makassar	1	2	1	1
	Bassel Moustafa	Al-Jaish		1		1		1	2

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

See also

• 2019 AFC Champions League

References

1. "2019 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
2. "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020" (PDF). AFC.
3. "AFC Club Competitions Ranking (as of 15 December 2017)" (PDF). AFC.
4. "AFC Club Competitions Ranking Mechanics (2017 version)" (PDF). AFC.
5. "List of Licensed Clubs for the 2019 AFC Cup" (PDF). AFC.
6. "Bangladesh to lose one spot?". The Daily Star. 8 August 2018.
7. "No Maldivian Clubs for AFC Cup 2019". MaldiveSoccer. 23 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
8. "لحضور قرعة "كأس الاتحاد".. وفدا فريقي النجمة والمالكية يطيران لـ"كوالالامبور" الاثنين". alwatannews.net. 14 November 2018.
9. "台灣唯一國際認證職業隊　航源FC再戰明年亞洲足聯盃". ETtoday運動雲. 22 November 2018.
10. "Новый сезон Кубка АФК". Football Federation of Turkmenistan. 23 November 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
11. "AFC Competitions Calendar 2019". AFC. 28 November 2017.
12. "Draw unveils exciting 2019 challenge". AFC. 22 November 2018.
13. "Asian clubs continue pursuit for glory". AFC. 1 July 2019.
14. "AFC Cup 2019 knockout stage draw confirmed". AFC. 2 July 2019.
15. "AFC Competitions Committee recommends new AFC Cup format". AFC. 25 November 2016.
16. "نهائي كأس الاتحاد الآسيوي في الصين". lebanonfg.com (in Arabic). 17 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
17. "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played in Shanghai". AFC. 22 October 2019.
18. "AFC Cup 2019 final to be played on November 4 in Kuala Lumpur". AFC. 25 October 2019.
19. "Al Ahed's Khalil named MVP". the-afc.com. AFC. 4 November 2019.
20. "Ceres' Marañón wins Top Scorer Award". the-afc.com. AFC. 4 November 2019.

External links

• AFC Cup , the-AFC.com
• AFC Cup 2019, stats.the-AFC.com