(Note: All statistics do not include qualifying play-offs)
International football competition
The 2020 AFC Cup was an abandoned season of the AFC Cup which was the 17th edition of the competition, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[1]
The competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic after group stage matches on 11 March 2020,[2] and was originally to resume on 23 September 2020.[3] However, the season was eventually cancelled by the AFC on 10 September 2020 on account of the continuing pandemic.[4][5]
The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) were 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 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):[6]
All associations which did not receive direct slots in the AFC Champions League group stage were eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
In each zone, the number of groups in the group stage was determined based on the number of entries, with the number of slots filled through play-offs same as the number of groups:
In the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, there were three groups in the group stage, including a total of 9 direct slots, with the 3 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
In the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, there was one group in the group stage, including a total of 3 direct slots, with the 1 remaining slot filled through play-offs.
The top associations participating in the AFC Cup in each zone as per the AFC rankings received at least one direct slot in the group stage (including losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs), while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
For the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN zone:
The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each received two direct slots.
The associations ranked 4th to 6th each received one direct slot and one play-off slot.
The associations ranked 7th or below each received one play-off slot.
For the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia zone:
The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each received one direct slot and one play-off slot.
The associations ranked 4th or below each received one play-off slot.
The maximum number of slots for each association was one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
If any association did not use its direct slots, they would be redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of two direct slots.
If any association did not use its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.
If the number of teams in the play-offs in any zone was fewer than twice the number of group stage slots filled through play-offs, the play-off teams of the highest eligible associations would be given byes to the group stage.
Association ranking
For the 2020 AFC Cup, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking as at 15 December 2017.[7] This took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2014 and 2017.[6][8]
AFC Champions League (ACL): Teams played in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage. Had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would not play in the AFC Cup, and would be replaced by the standby team from the same association if such team were available.
Brunei (BRU):MS ABDB, the 2018–19 Brunei Super League champions, failed to obtain an AFC license. As a result, Indera, the league 4th place (only team with an AFC license), enter the qualifying play-offs.[11]
East Asia Zone (EAZ):Tai Po (Hong Kong) withdrew from the group stage after the draw (originally drawn in Group I).[14] As a result, Kitchee (Hong Kong) entered the group stage instead of the play-off round to replace Tai Po, and Taipower (Chinese Taipei) and Ulaanbaatar City (Mongolia) entered the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2, which was cancelled.[15]
Philippines (PHI):Ceres–Negros underwent a management change mid-competition in July 2020 while the AFC Cup was still suspended due to the pandemic, with MMC Sportz Asia taking over. The club renamed as United City. It is uncertain if the club would have been allowed by the AFC to continue their campaign in the AFC Cup under the new name and management had the tournament not been cancelled.[16]
Singapore (SIN):DPMM, the 2019 Singapore Premier League champions, is a team from Brunei and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Hougang United, the league 3rd place, enter the group stage.
Vietnam (VIE):Hà Nội, the 2019 V.League 1 champions and 2019 Vietnamese Cup winners, failed to obtain an AFC license (as their U15 team did not participate in Vietnam National U15 Youth League).[17] As a result, Than Quảng Ninh, the league 3rd place, enter the group stage.
Location of teams of the 2020 AFC Cup group stage. Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Cyan: Group G; Purple: Group H; Pink: Group I; Qualifying play-offs Withdrawn teams
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[18] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only some of the group stage matches on matchdays 1–3 in February and March were played as scheduled, and all matches in the East Asia Zone, on matchdays 2–6 in the Central Asia Zone and the South Asia Zone, and on matchdays 4–6 in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, were postponed until further notice.[2] The West Asia Zonal semi-finals were also initially moved to 24–25 August and 14–15 September.[19]
The AFC announced the calendar of the remaining matches on 9 July 2020, with all group stage matches played at centralised venues, and all knockout ties played as a single match.[3] The AFC announced the cancellation of the remainder of the competition on 10 September 2020, due to logistics in coordinating the five zones.[4]
Notes:
W: West Asia Zone
C: Central Asia Zone
S: South Asia Zone
A: ASEAN Zone
E: East Asia Zone
Italics: planned new dates after restart, before the cancellation of the tournament
Stage
Round
Draw date
Match dates
First leg
Second leg
Preliminary stage
Preliminary round 1
No draw
22 January 2020 (S)
29 January 2020 (S)
Preliminary round 2
5 February 2020 (C, S)
12 February 2020 (C, S)
Play-off stage
Play-off round
21–22 January 2020 (W, A), 19 February 2020 (C, S)
28–29 January 2020 (W, A), 26 February 2020 (C, S)
16 October 2020 (E)
Group stage
Matchday 1
10 December 2019
10–12 February 2020 (W, A), 11 March 2020 (C, S), 20 October 2020 (C, E)
Matchday 2
24–26 February 2020 (W, A), 23 October 2020 (W, C, S, E)
Matchday 3
9–11 March 2020 (A), 26 October 2020 (W, C, S, E)
Matchday 4
23 September 2020 (A), 29 October 2020 (W, C, S, E)
Matchday 5
26 September 2020 (A), 1 November 2020 (W, C, S, E)
Matchday 6
29 September 2020 (A), 4 November 2020 (W, C, S, E)
Knockout stage
Zonal semi-finals
20–21 October 2020 (A), 23–24 November 2020 (W)
Zonal finals
Cancelled
4 November 2020 (A), 1 December 2020 (W)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals
24–25 November 2020
Inter-zone play-off final
2 December 2020
Final
12 December 2020
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.
Original schedule for 2020 AFC Cup
Stage
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
Preliminary stage
Preliminary round 1
No draw
22 January 2020 (S)
29 January 2020 (S)
Preliminary round 2
4–5 February 2020 (C, S, E)
11–12 February 2020 (C, S, E)
Play-off stage
Play-off round
21–22 January 2020 (W, A), 18–19 February 2020 (C, S, E)
28–29 January 2020 (W, A), 25–26 February 2020 (C, S, E)
Group stage
Matchday 1
10 December 2019
10–12 February 2020 (W, A), 10–11 March 2020 (C, S, E)
Matchday 2
24–26 February 2020 (W, A), 14–15 April 2020 (C, S, E)
Matchday 3
9–11 March 2020 (W, A), 28–29 April 2020 (C, S, E)
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3).[1]
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg.[20] The seven winners of the play-off round (one each from West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, East Asia Zone, and three from ASEAN Zone) would advance to the group stage to join the 29 direct entrants.
The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2019, 14:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[22] The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), and one group each in the Central Asia Zone (Group D), the South Asia Zone (Group E), and the East Asia Zone (Group I). Teams from the same association in the West Asia Zone and ASEAN Zone could not be drawn into the same group.
In the group stage, each group was played on a double round-robin basis, with matches played home-and-away before the suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but to be moved to centralised venues after restart which was eventually cancelled. The following teams would have advanced to the knockout stage:
The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone would have advanced to the Zonal semi-finals.
The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone would have advanced to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.
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 were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):[1]
Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;(this tiebreaker was removed since the matches were played in centralised venues after restart)
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 were 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);
^"Stage set for AFC Cup 2020 draw". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 8 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
