2017 AFC Cup

2017 AFC Cup

Tournament details
Dates	21–27 August 2016 (qualifying round) 24 January – 4 November 2017 (competition proper)
Teams	Maximum of 54 (from Maximum of 34 associations)

The 2017 AFC Cup is the 14th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014,^[1] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014.^[2] 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 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 rankings:

• The associations are split into West Zone and East Zone, with 23 associations in each zone:
  • West Zone consists of the associations from West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, except India and Maldives
  • East Zone consists of the associations from ASEAN and East Asia, plus India and Maldives
• In each zone, there are a total of 12 direct slots in the group stage, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
• All associations which do not receive direct slots in the AFC Champions League group stage are eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
• The associations ranked 7th to 16th in each zone get at least one direct slot in the group stage (including losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off), while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
  • The associations ranked 7th and 8th each get two direct slots.
  • The associations ranked 9th to 12th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in play-off round).
  • The associations ranked 13th to 16th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in preliminary round).
  • The associations ranked 17th or below each get one play-off slot (in qualifying round).

West Zone Rank Member Association Points[4] Slots ACL Play-off Group stage Play-off round Qualif. round 7 11 Iraq 41.650 8 13 Jordan 37.536 9 14 Syria 30.301 10 16 Oman 27.403 11 20 Bahrain 24.690 12 21 Lebanon 20.939 13 24 Tajikistan 15.794 14 25 Turkmenistan 14.764 15 29 Kyrgyzstan 13.067 16 30 Palestine 12.552 17 33 Afghanistan 7.742 18 36 Yemen 4.942 19 37 Bhutan 3.687 19 37 Bangladesh 3.687 21 40 Pakistan 3.502 22 43 Nepal 2.350 23 44 Sri Lanka 2.074 Total

East Zone Rank Member Association Points[4] Slots ACL Play-off Group stage Play-off round Qualif. round 7 17 Vietnam 25.978 8 18 Malaysia 25.658 9 19 Indonesia 24.934 10 22 Myanmar 17.667 11 23 India 17.264 12 26 Singapore 14.599 13 27 Maldives 13.906 14 28 North Korea 13.272 15 31 Philippines 12.387 16 32 Guam 7.834 17 34 East Timor 7.143 18 35 Laos 5.055 19 39 Cambodia 3.594 20 41 Brunei 3.410 21 42 Chinese Taipei 3.272 22 45 Macau 2.028 23 46 Mongolia 0.276 Total

Teams

West Zone Team Qualifying method App Last App Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–D) 2015–16 Iraqi Premier League champions 2015–16 Iraq FA Cup winners Al-Wehdat 2015–16 Jordan League champions 10th 2016 2015–16 Jordan FA Cup winners 2015–16 Syrian Premier League champions Fanja 2015–16 Oman Professional League champions 5th 2016 Al-Hidd 2015–16 Bahrain First Division League champions 4th 2016 2015–16 Lebanese Premier League champions 2016 Tajik League champions 2016 Ýokary Liga champions 2016 Kyrgyzstan League champions Shabab Al-Khalil 2015–16 West Bank Premier League champions 1st none Entering in qualifying play-off 2016 Syrian Cup winners Saham 2015–16 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners 2nd 2010 Al-Muharraq 2016 Bahraini King's Cup winners 6th 2016 2015–16 Lebanese FA Cup winners 2016 Tajik Cup winners 2016 Turkmenistan Cup winners 2016 Kyrgyzstan Cup winners 2015–16 Palestine Cup winners

East Zone Team Qualifying method App Last App Group stage direct entrants (Groups E–H) 2016 V.League 1 champions 2016 Vietnamese Cup winners 2016 Malaysia Super League champions 2016 Malaysia FA Cup winners 2016 Indonesia Super League champions 2016 Myanmar National League champions Bengaluru FC 2015–16 I-League champions 3rd 2016 2016 S.League champions 2016 Dhivehi Premier League champions Hwaebul 2016 DPR Korea League champions 1st none 2016 UFL Division 1 champions Rovers 2015–16 Guam Soccer League champions 1st none Entering in qualifying play-off 2016 Piala Indonesia winners 2016 General Aung San Shield winners 2015–16 Indian Federation Cup winners 2016 Singapore Cup winners 2016 Maldives President's Cup winners 2016 Mangyongdae Prize Sports Games winners Global 2016 UFL Cup winners 2nd 2015 2016 Guam FA Cup winners

Team	Qualifying method	App	Last App
Entering in qualifying round (teams not split into zones for qualifying round)
De Maiwand Atalan	2015 Afghan Premier League champions	1st	none
	2016 Pro Liga de Timor Leste champions
	2016 Lao Premier League champions
	2015–16 Yemeni League champions
Terton	2015 Bhutan National League champions	1st	none
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club	2015 Bangladesh Football Premier League champions	2nd	2016
Phnom Penh Crown	2015 Cambodian League champions	1st	none
KRL	2016 PFF Cup winners^[Note PAK]	1st	none
MS ABDB	2015 Brunei Super League champions	1st	none
Taiwan Power Company	2015–16 Intercity Football League champions	1st	none
Three Star Club	2015 Nepal National League champions	1st	none
Colombo	2015 Sri Lanka Football Premier League champions	1st	none
	2016 Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol champions
Erchim	2015 Mongolia Premier League champions	1st	none

Notes

1. ^ Pakistan (PAK): Since the Pakistan Premier League was not held in the 2015–16 season, the winners of the 2016 PFF Cup were selected to represent Pakistan in the AFC Cup.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).^[5] Starting from 2017, matches in the West Zone will be played on Mondays and Tuesdays instead of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.^[6]

Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying stage	Qualifying round	TBA	21–27 August 2016[7]
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	No draw	24 January 2017
	Preliminary round 2		31 January 2017
Play-off stage	Play-off round		7 February 2017
Group stage	Matchday 1	TBA	20–22 February 2017
	Matchday 2		6–8 March 2017
	Matchday 3		13–15 March 2017
	Matchday 4		3–5 April 2017
	Matchday 5		17–19 April 2017
	Matchday 6		1–3 May 2017
Knock-out stage	Round of 16		15–17 May 2017
	Quarter-finals	TBA	21–23 August 2017	11–13 September 2017
	Semi-finals		25–27 September 2017	16–18 October 2017
	Final		4 November 2017

See also

• 2017 AFC Champions League

References

1. "Revamp of AFC competitions". AFC. 25 January 2014.
2. "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
3. "Korea Republic head AFC MA Rankings". AFC. 9 December 2015.
4. "AFC MA Ranking – 26 November 2015" (PDF).
5. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017" (PDF). AFC.
6. "AFC Competitions Committee decisions". AFC. 12 April 2016.
7. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.

External links

• AFC Cup, the-AFC.com