The 2021 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 7 April to 23 June 2021.[1] A total of 15 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide seven of the 40 places in the group stage of the 2021 AFC Champions League.[2]
Teams
The following 15 teams, split into two regions (West Region and East Region), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of two rounds:
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[2]
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.[1][5][6] On 11 March 2021, the AFC announced that the preliminary round and play-off round matches in the East Region, which were originally scheduled to be played on 7 April and 14 April 2021, had been postponed to June/July 2021, and were played in centralised venues of their respective group stage matches.[7]
Round
West Region
East Region
Preliminary round
Not played
Play-off round
7 and 10 April 2021
23 June 2021
Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined based on each team's association ranking and their seeding 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 same tie. The eight winners of the play-off round (four each from both West Region and East Region) advanced to the group stage to join the 32 direct entrants.[8]
^Shandong Taishan, which were originally entered as China 2, had not satisfied the mandatory Criterion F.04 of the AFC Club Licensing Regulations (Edition 2016) concerning overdue payables. Thus, its license was withdrawn by the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) independent Entry Control Body, and thus Beijing Guoan were reallocated from China 4 to China 3 (moving from play-off round to group position I2), and Shanghai Port were entered as China 4 (play-off round).[3][4]
^ abcdeShan United withdrew from the AFC Champions League following the state of emergency in Myanmar and Melbourne City would enter the play-off round instead of the preliminary round.[11] Later Melbourne City FC also withdrew, along the other Australian teams,[9] thus their opponent Cerezo Osaka entered the group stage.[10]
