35th edition of prime minister club football tournament organized by the AFC
International football competition
The 2016 AFC Champions League was the thirty-fifth edition of Asia ‘s premier cabaret football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League entitle. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al-Ain in the final examination to win their second gear AFC Champions League title, and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their second appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Guangzhou Evergrande were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage.

Association team allocation [edit ]

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a vamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014, [ 3 ] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014. [ 4 ] 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 concluding four years in AFC competitions, with the allotment of slots for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC cabaret competitions determined by the 2014 rankings : [ 5 ]

  • 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.
  • The top 12 associations in each zone as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
  • The top six associations in each zone get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
    • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot (in play-off round).
    • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots (one in play-off round, one in preliminary round 2).
    • The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots (both in preliminary round 2).
    • The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in preliminary round 2).
    • The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot (in preliminary round 1).
  • The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of clubs in the top division (e.g., Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots as there are only nine Australia-based clubs in the A-League).

The AFC Competitions Committee finalised the slot allocation for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC Champions League based on the criteria, including the AFC rankings and the execution of club license regulations, on 28 November 2014. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] The following table shows the slot allotment for the 2016 AFC Champions League, which are adjusted consequently since some of the slots are unused .

Participation for 2016 AFC Champions League[9]

Fulfills participation criteria

Does not fulfill participation criteria

Notes
  1. ^ United Arab Emirates had their fourth team entering the play-off circle alternatively of the preliminary round 2 due to idle slots .
  2. ^ qatar had their third and one-fourth teams entering the play-off beat rather of the preliminary round 2 ascribable to idle slots .
  3. ^ Iraq were allocated two preliminary cycle 2 slots, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the clubhouse license requirements .
  4. ^ Kuwait were allocated one preliminary beat 1 slot, but could not participate due to FIFA ‘s suspension of its football association .
  5. ^ Jordan had their team entering the play-off polish rather of the preliminary round 1 due to idle slots .
  6. a b c d Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon and Syria were allocated one preliminary round off 1 slot, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the golf club license requirements .
  7. ^ Indonesia were allocated one preliminary round 2 slot, could not participate in the AFC Champions League due to FIFA ‘s suspension of its football association .
  8. a b Myanmar and Malaysia had their team entering the preliminary orotund 2 rather of the preliminary round 1 due to unused slots .

Teams [edit ]

The following 45 teams from 17 associations entered the competition. [ 9 ] 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. TH means title holders.

Notes

schedule [edit ]

The schedule of the competition is as follows ( all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ). [ 11 ]

Stage

Round

Draw date

First leg

Second leg

Preliminary stage

Preliminary round 1

No draw

27 January 2016

Preliminary round 2

2 February 2016

Play-off stage

Play-off round

9 February 2016

Group stage

Matchday 1

10 December 2015[9]

23–24 February 2016

Matchday 2

1–2 March 2016

Matchday 3

15–16 March 2016

Matchday 4

5–6 April 2016

Matchday 5

19–20 April 2016

Matchday 6

3–4 May 2016

Knockout stage

Round of 16

17–18 May 2016

24–25 May 2016

Quarter-finals

9 June 2016[12]

23–24 August 2016

13–14 September 2016

Semi-finals

27–28 September 2016

18–19 October 2016

Final

19 November 2016

26 November 2016

Qualifying play-off [edit ]

In the qualifying play-off, each bind was played as a single equal. extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary ( Regulations Article 10.2 ). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 address entrants. All losers in each beat which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage. [ 2 ]

The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association rate of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match. Teams from the lapp association could not be placed in the like play-off. [ 13 ] [ 14 ]

preliminary beat 1 [edit ]

preliminary turn 2 [edit ]

Play-off round [edit ]

Group stage [edit ]

The puff for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 16:00 MYT ( UTC+8 ), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [ 9 ] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the lapp association could not be drawn into the same group. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin footing. The winners and runner-up of each group advanced to the round of 16. [ 2 ]

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 would be applied in the following order (Regulations Article 11.5):[2]

  1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
  3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  4. Greater number of away goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
  6. Goal difference in all the group matches;
  7. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
  8. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
  9. Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  10. Team who belongs to the member association with the higher AFC ranking.

Group A [edit ]

Group B [edit ]

Group C [edit ]

Group D [edit ]

Group E [edit ]

Group F [edit ]

Group G [edit ]

Group H [edit ]

Knockout stage [edit ]

In the hard stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final examination. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, supernumerary time ( away goals do not apply in extra time ) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the achiever if necessity ( Regulations Article 12.3 ). [ 2 ]

bracket [edit ]

Round of 16 [edit ]

In the cycle of 16, the winners of one group played the runner-up of another group from the like zone, with the group winners hosting the moment stage. [ 14 ]
In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Zone were drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone were drawn into the other two ties, with the order of legs besides decided by the pull. [ 17 ] The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 16:00 MYT ( UTC+8 ), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [ 12 ] There was no seed or nation protective covering, thus team from the same association could be drawn into the same link. [ 17 ]

Notes
  1. ^[18] The El Jaish v Al-Nasr first leg, originally won 3–0 by Al-Nasr, was forfeited and awarded 3–0 to El Jaish by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 12 September 2016, as Al-Nasr fielded the player Wanderley who was found to be registered using a bogus indonesian pass .

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone play each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone play each other, with the ordain of legs determined by the quarter-final draw. [ 17 ]

final [edit ]

In the final, the two semi-final winners play each other, with the order of legs reversed from the former season ‘s final examination, with the team from the East Zone hosting the inaugural leg, and the team from the West Zone hosting the irregular stage. [ 17 ]
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–2 on aggregate.

Awards [edit ]

All-Star Squad [edit ]

source : [ 21 ]

top scorers [edit ]

note : Goals scored in the qualify play-off are not counted when determining top scorer ( see regulations, Article 77.4 ). [ 2 ] beginning : the-AFC.com [ 22 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ]

Controversies [edit ]

On 25 January 2016, the AFC announced changes to the group stage agenda due to Saudi Arabia ‘s refusal to play in Iran. [ 25 ] After the changes, all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia ( including possible play-off winners ) were rescheduled to be played on matchdays 5 and 6 ( 19–20 April and 3–4 May ). The venues of these matches would be decided after an evaluation deadline of 15 March 2016. As there had not been a return to normal relations between the two countries by then with Saudi Arabia refusing to lift their locomotion restrictions to Iran, the AFC accepted the Saudi Arabian Football Federation ‘s marriage proposal of playing all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia in neutral venues. [ 26 ] The Saudi Arabian Football Federation supports its clubs who refuse to travel to Iran. [ 27 ] The iranian Football Federation has stated that it could withdraw from the AFC Champions League due to the venue changes. [ 28 ]

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]