International football competition
The 2021 AFC Champions League was the fortieth edition of Asia ‘s premier golf club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ), and the 19th under the stream AFC Champions League title. [ 2 ] Al-Hilal won their one-fourth title by defeating Pohang Steelers 2–0 in the final, becoming the most successful team in the history of the contest. As winners, they automatically qualify for the 2022 AFC Champions League ( although they had already qualified through their domestic performance ). [ 3 ] They besides earned the right to play in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Reading: 2021 AFC Champions League
The tournament was the first to involve 40 teams during the group stage, with an increase from the previous 32 teams. [ 4 ] Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea were the defend champions, but were eliminated in the semi-finals by chap south korean club Pohang Steelers .
Association team allotment [edit ]
The 46 AFC member associations ( excluding the Northern Mariana Islands, which became a full member in December 2020 and are not eligible for this temper ) are ranked based on their clubs ‘ performance over the last four years in AFC competitions ( their national team ‘s FIFA World Rankings no longer considered ). [ 5 ] The slots are allocated by the following criteria according to the Entry Manual : [ 6 ]
- The associations are split into two regions (Article 3.1):
- West Region consists of the 25 associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), and the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).
- East Region consists of the 21 associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
- The AFC may reallocate one or more associations to another region if necessary for sporting reasons.
- The top 12 associations in each region are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League.
- In each region, there are five groups in the group stage, including 16 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 3.2). The slots in each region are distributed as follows:[7][8]
- The associations ranked 1st and 2nd are each allocated three direct slots and one play-off slot.
- The associations ranked 3rd and 4th are each allocated two direct slots and two play-off slots.
- The associations ranked 5th are each allocated one direct slot and two play-off slots.
- The associations ranked 6th are each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
- The associations ranked 7th to 10th are each allocated one direct slot.
- The associations ranked 11th to 12th are each allocated one play-off slot.
- The AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are each allocated one play-off slot should they not qualify for the tournament through domestic performance (Article 3.6). However, there are no AFC Cup title holders for this season as the 2020 AFC Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The following rules are applied:
- If the AFC Champions League title holders or AFC Cup title holders are from associations ranked 1st to 6th, their association is allocated the same number of play-off slots, and they replace the lowest-seeded team from their association. Otherwise, their association is allocated one additional play-off slot, and they do not replace any team from their association (Articles 3.8, 3.9 and 3.10).
- If both the AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are from the same association which is allocated only one play-off slot, their association is allocated one additional play-off slot, and only the lowest-seeded team from their association is replaced as a result (Article 3.11).
- The AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are the lowest-seeded teams in the qualifying play-offs if they do not replace any team from their association (Article 3.12).
- If any association ranked 1st to 6th do not fulfill any one of the AFC Champions League criteria, they have all their direct slots converted into play-off slots. The direct slots given up are redistributed to the highest eligible association by the following criteria (Articles 3.13 and 3.14):
- For each association, the maximum number of total slots is four and the maximum number of direct slots is three (Articles 3.4 and 3.5).
- If any association ranked 3rd to 6th is allocated one additional direct slot, one play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed.
- If any association ranked 5th to 6th is allocated two additional direct slots, one play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed.
- If any association ranked 7th to 10th do not fulfill any one of the AFC Champions League criteria, they have their direct slot converted into play-off slot. The direct slot given up is redistributed to the next association ranked 11th or 12th, whose play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed, or if neither are eligible, the highest eligible association by the same criteria as mentioned above (Articles 3.16 and 3.17).
- If any association with only play-off slot(s), including any association ranked 11th to 12th or those mentioned above, do not fulfill the minimum AFC Champions League criteria, the play-off slot(s) are annulled and not redistributed (Articles 3.19 and 3.20).
- For each association, the maximum number of total slots is one-third of the total number of eligible teams (excluding foreign teams) in the top division (Article 3.4). If this rule is applied, any direct slots given up are redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots are annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.10).
- All participating teams must be granted an AFC Champions League license, and apart from cup winners, finish in the top half of their top division (Articles 7.1 and 9.5). If any association do not have enough teams which satisfy this criteria, any direct slots given up are redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots are annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.9).
- If any team granted a license refuses to participate, their slot, either direct or play-off, is annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.11).
Association rank [edit ]
For the 2021 AFC Champions League, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 29 November 2019, [ 10 ] [ 11 ] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup during the time period between 2016 and 2019 .
Participation for 2021 AFC Champions League[12]
Participating
Not participating
- Notes
- ^Turkmenistan (TKM): The team from Turkmenistan granted an AFC Champions League license, [12] The team from Turkmenistan granted an AFC Champions League license, Köpetdag, withdrew from the contest before the draw .
- ^Lebanon (LBN): No teams from Lebanon were granted an AFC Champions League license.[12] No team from Lebanon were granted an AFC Champions League license .
- ^Syria (SYR): No teams from Syria were granted an AFC Champions League license.[12] No team from Syria were granted an AFC Champions League license .
- ^China (CHN): One of the four teams from China which originally entered the AFC Champions League, [13] One of the four teams from China which in the first place entered the AFC Champions League, Jiangsu, withdrew from the rival after the draw .
- ^Australia (AUS): The three teams from Australia which originally entered the AFC Champions League, [14] The three teams from Australia which originally entered the AFC Champions League, Sydney FC Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar, withdrew from the contest after the string .
- ^North Korea (PRK): No teams from North Korea were granted an AFC Champions League license.[12] No teams from North Korea were granted an AFC Champions League license .
- ^Myanmar (MYA): The team from Myanmar which originally entered the AFC Champions League, [15] The team from Myanmar which primitively entered the AFC Champions League, Shan United, remove from the competition after the drawing card .
Teams [edit ]
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.
- Notes
schedule [edit ]
The agenda of the contest is as follows. [ 31 ] [ 32 ] On 25 January 2021, the AFC published the agenda of the rival. The group stage is played as centralize double round-robin tournament, and the round of 16 and quarter-finals are played as a single match. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] Notes :
- W: West Region
- E: East Region
Stage
Round
Draw date
Match date
Preliminary stage
Preliminary round
No draw
20 June 2021 (E)
Play-off stage
Play-off round
7–10 April 2021 (W), 23 June 2021 (E)
Group stage
Matchday 1
27 January 2021[35]
14–15 April 2021 (W), 22–26 June 2021 (E)
Matchday 2
17–18 April 2021 (W), 25–29 June 2021 2021 (E)
Matchday 3
20–21 April 2021 (W), 28, 30 June – 2 July 2021 (E)
Matchday 4
23–24 April 2021 (W), 1-5 July 2021 (E)
Matchday 5
26–27 April 2021 (W), 4-8 July 2021 (E)
Matchday 6
29–30 April 2021 (W), 7-11 July 2021 (E)
Knockout stage
Round of 16
13–15 September 2021
Quarter-finals
17 September 2021
16–17 October 2021
Semi-finals
19–20 October 2021
Final
23 November 2021
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows .
original schedule for 2021 AFC Champions League
Stage
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
Preliminary stage
Preliminary round
No draw
26 January 2021
Play-off stage
Play-off round
2 February 2021
Group stage
Matchday 1
TBD
15–16 February 2021 (W), 23–24 February 2021 (E)
Matchday 2
22–23 February 2021 (W), 2–3 March 2021 (E)
Matchday 3
8–9 March 2021 (W), 16–17 March 2021 (E)
Matchday 4
5–7 April 2021
Matchday 5
19–21 April 2021
Matchday 6
3–5 May 2021
Knockout stage
Round of 16
17–19 May 2021
24–26 May 2021
Quarter-finals
TBD
23–25 August 2021
13–15 September 2021
Semi-finals
28–29 September 2021
19–20 October 2021
Final
21 November 2021
27 November 2021
Qualifying play-offs [edit ]
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie is played as a individual equal. extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessity. [ 2 ] The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each area was determined based on each team ‘s affiliation rate and their sow within their association, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match in the West Region. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the lapp connect. The eight winners of the play-off round ( four each from both West Region and East Region ) will advance to the group degree to join the 32 direct entrants. [ 36 ]
preliminary orotund [edit ]
Play-off round [edit ]
Group stagecoach [edit ]
The draw for the group degree was held on 27 January 2021, 16:30 MYT ( UTC+8 ), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [ 39 ] The 40 teams were drawn into ten groups of four : five groups each in the West Region ( Groups A–E ) and the East Region ( Groups F–J ). For each zone, teams were seeded into four pots and draw into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association rank and their seed within their association, in consideration of technical foul remainder between groups. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. [ 40 ] In the group stage, each group was played on a doubling round-robin footing in centralize venues. The winners of each group and three best runner-up from each region advanced to the round of golf of 16 of the smasher stagecoach .
Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points ( 3 points for a succeed, 1 target for a pull back, 0 points for a loss ). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the adopt club ( Regulations Article 8.3 ) : [ 2 ]
- 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; (Not applicable since the matches were played in centralised venue)
- 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 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);
- Association ranking.
Group A [edit ]
- a b neck and neck goal dispute : Istiklol 1, Al Hilal −1 .
- a b neck and neck goal deviation : Shabab Al-Ahli 1, AGMK −1 .
Group B [edit ]
( H ) Host source : AFC Host
Group C [edit ]
( H )
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Host reservoir : AFC Host
Group D [edit ]
( H ) Host source : AFC Host
Group E [edit ]
( H ) Host source : AFC Host
Group F [edit ]
( H ) Host beginning : AFC Host
Group G [edit ]
( H ) Host reference : AFC Host
Group H [edit ]
Group I [edit ]
Group J [edit ]
( H ) Host beginning : AFC Host
Ranking of second-placed teams [edit ]
West region [edit ]
Pos
Grp
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification
1
E
Al-Wahda
6
4
1
1
7
3
+4
13
Advance to Round of 16
2
B
Tractor
6
2
4
0
6
3
+3
10
3
A
Al-Hilal
6
3
1
2
11
9
+2
10
4
D
Al-Sadd
6
3
1
2
9
7
+2
10
5
C
Al-Duhail
6
2
3
1
11
9
+2
9
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Disciplinary points; 5) Drawing of lots. source : AFC Rules for classification : 1 ) Points ; 2 ) Goal difference ; 3 ) Goals scored ; 4 ) Disciplinary points ; 5 ) pull of lots .
east region [edit ]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Disciplinary points; 5) Drawing of lots. informant : AFC Rules for classification : 1 ) Points ; 2 ) Goal remainder ; 3 ) Goals scored ; 4 ) Disciplinary points ; 5 ) drawing of lots .
Knockout stagecoach [edit ]
In the hard phase, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. All ties were played as a single-leg match ( Regulations Article 9.1 ). [ 41 ] Extra fourth dimension and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary ( Regulations Article 9.3 and 10.1 ). [ 2 ]
bracket [edit ]
Round of 16 [edit ]
The round of 16 was played over one leg, with the matchups determined by the combination tables based on which group runner-up qualified .
The quarter-finals were played over one leg, with the matchups and home team decided by draw held on 17 September at 15:00 ( UTC+8 ) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .
The semi-finals were played over one stage .
Team 1
Score
Team 2
West Region
Al-Nassr
1–2
Al-Hilal
concluding [edit ]
The final was played over a individual leg on 23 November. The host was determined on a rotational basis, with the catch hosted by team from the West Region in odd-numbered years ( Regulations 9.1.2 ). [ 2 ]
circus tent scorers [edit ]
Team eliminated for this round.
Player is not in the team but team silent active voice for this cycle .
bill : Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC are not counted when determining top scorer ( Regulations Article 64.4 ). [ 2 ]
See besides [edit ]
Notes [edit ]
References [edit ]
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