Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya from Iraq defeated India's Bengaluru FC in the final to win their first AFC Cup title, becoming the first Iraqi team to win the competition.[2]Johor Darul Ta'zim, the defending champions, were eliminated in the semi-finals by Bengaluru FC.
Association team allocation
The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp 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 last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2014 rankings:[5]
The associations are split into West Zone and East Zone, with 23 associations in each zone:
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).
The AFC Competitions Committee decided on the participation of member associations in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC Cup on 28 November 2014.[6][7][8]
The following table shows the slot allocation for the 2016 AFC Cup, which are adjusted accordingly since some of the slots are unused.
Iraq were given special permission to participate in the AFC Cup, since they were not allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
Kuwait were allocated one AFC Champions League play-off slot and one group stage slot, but could not participate due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
Oman were not allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements, so their champions directly entered the AFC Cup group stage. They also had their second team directly entering the group stage instead of the play-off round due to unused slots.
Bahrain, Lebanon and Syria were not allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements, so their champions directly entered the AFC Cup group stage.
Indonesia were allocated one AFC Champions League play-off slot and one group stage slot, but could not participate due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
Laos were allocated one group stage slot and one preliminary round slot, but entered only one team as Lao Toyota FC is the only team in Laos eligible to play in AFC Cup.
AFC Champions League (ACL): Teams played in the 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage (had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would have been replaced in the AFC Cup group stage by another team from the same association).
The draw for the qualifying round was held on 29 June 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The six teams were drawn into two groups of three.[10]
In the qualifying round, each group was played on a single round-robin basis at the pre-selected hosts. The winners of each group advanced to either the qualifying play-off or the group stage (depending on number of teams in each zone and geographical location).
In the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10.2). The four winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 28 direct entrants.[1]
The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match.[12][13]
The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 15:00 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 same association could not be drawn into the same group.[12][13]
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.[1]
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):[1]
Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Greater number of away goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
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;
Goal difference in all the group matches;
Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
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);
Team who belongs to the member association with the higher AFC ranking.
^The Al-Wahda v Shabab Al-Dhahiriya match on matchday 2 (9 March 2016) was not played as scheduled. It was awarded 3–0 to Al-Wahda by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 28 April 2016, as it found Shabab Al-Dhahiriya as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[14][15] The decision was reversed and awarded 3–0 to Shabab Al-Dhahiriya by the AFC Appeal Committee on 24 June 2016, as it found Al-Wahda as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[16][17]
^The Shabab Al-Dhahiriya v Al-Wahda match on matchday 6 (11 May 2016) was not played as scheduled. It was awarded 3–0 to Al-Wahda by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 13 May 2016, as it found Shabab Al-Dhahiriya as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[18][19]
^The Ahli Al-Khaleel v Al-Jaish match on matchday 2 (9 March 2016) was delayed to 3 or 4 May 2016, but was not played as scheduled. It was awarded 3–0 to Al-Jaish by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 13 May 2016, as it found Ahli Al-Khaleel as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[18][19]
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 12.4).[1]
Starting from this season, the knockout stage was split between the two zones until the final, similar to the AFC Champions League (Regulations Article 12.3).[1]
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 also decided by the draw.[20]
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[21] There was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.[20]
In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.[20]
