Despite the Last 16 of the 2015 edition just been completed, the ball has started rolling for the 2016 edition!! Today, the AFC conducted the draw for Qualifying Round (which essentially replaces the AFC Presidents Cup): Group A Druk United FC (BHU) [H] Khoromkhon FC (MNG) K-Electric FC (PAK) Group B FC Alga Bishkek (KGZ) [H] Lt. Sheikh Jamal DC (BAN) Casa SL Benfica Macao (MAC) None entries: Guam, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Nepal, East Timor, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei and Brunei. Dates: 9, 12, 15 August 2015 (Group hosts noted above) The winner of each group will progress to the 2016 AFC Cup Play-off Stage (February 2016; exact format and entries to be confirmed)
[/QUOTE](February 2016; exact format and entries to be confirmed)[/QUOTE] Yes I wonder what would be the format?
Interesting that they want to start the Preliminary Round for the 2016 competition whilst the 2015 competition is still under way. I wonder why Alga of Bishkek are in their though. They came 3rd in their league campaign. Dordoi would have been much better, especially with their AFC Presidents Cup record. Roll on 9th August.
Same as usual with an extra Preliminary round. Preliminary round group winners advance to playoffs (2 rounds) before the group stage.
Will be 3 preliminary round in total : 1. qualifying round (2 groups of 3 teams) // 6 teams => 2 teams for next round Kyrgystan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Buthan, Macau, Mongolia 2. preliminary round (head to head matches) // 10 teams => 5 teams for next round 8 dirrect teams 2 teams from qualifying round 3. Play OFf (head to head matches) 4 from West, 4 from East + 5 from preliminary round (something is wrong, here => 13 teams) ... but the format is this. Hope you understand Anyway, I think is better so, little teams can participate in a mini-tournament
Do YOU understand?! Why do you even bother replying when you clearly dont know the format yourself?! What you have just written there achieves nothing whatsoever! What source do you have that says 8 teams will enter in the preliminary round (and DO NOT quote wikipedia - that itself is unsourced on preliminary round slot allocations). The truth is - the AFC probably dont even know the format as at the moment, there are so many unknowns - 1) Will the 2 teams from the qualifying round be from the same region? Will it be 2 Eastern teams (Macao and Mongolia) or 2 Western teams (the rest) or 1 of each. This is important because it appears that AFC will no longer switched teams between regions to balance/even out draws [this will be important later]. 2) Will MA's take up their allocation. Last year, Afghanistan and North Korea did not, that created group stage vacancies. 3) Will MA's take up their entire allocation? Laos only took 1 of their slots last year 4) Will Iraq again received special entry after failing to pass ACL club criteria like last year? That will potentially force a MA or two to lose group stage entries (see Turkmenistan). 5) Will Indonesia still be banned when the draw is made? If so, that will create 2 group stage vacancies in the East. 6) Depending on the scenarios, it is possible for only 15 eastern clubs to entered in the East. Will AFC move a team across? They dont for qualifying. If they do, where will it come from? A team that originally entered the qualifying play-offs competition? A team that originally entered the group stage? If it is the latter, the format will need to be adjusted to allow 5 teams to progress through the play-off round. Until the final entries are known, no one but the AFC are in a position to make comment on the matter.
yah, my source was wikipedia ) Is unfair that AFC can't decided the format for next season .... But, seems that in 2016 will be same format as 2015 (this was announced by AFC in 2014) , and now, AFC come with modifications? I know that the new system of coefficients (4 years) will be assumed for 2017. another unfair thing is that in qualifying round, the groups stage are made over the entire Asia (example Macau and Kyrgystan).... but for the rest phases we go in regional competitions (East and West).
That was my question. It seems AFC will have to adjust the whole system from preliminaries to the direct group stage entries.
This is ridiculous. Winning domestic title should guarantee you a continental exposure next season, but here - NO. You win domestic league to take part in next season's qualifiers for continental cup that will be played season after next season - when you, in theory, could be second division team. AFC need to sort this out. They did (almost) awesome job with national teams' competitions, but this at club level still sucks, although they improved very much.
Kuala Lumpur: Six teams will take the first steps on the road to potentially taking part in the 2016 AFC Cup when the qualification tournament for next season’s play-offs begins in both Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday. Group A Druk United were selected to host Group A, where the Bhutanese champions will face their Mongolian counterparts Khoromkhon and K-Electric FC, who denied 2013 AFC President’s Cup runners-up KRL a fourth consecutive Pakistan Premier League crown with their maiden triumph in the 2014-15 competition. Group B Group B, meanwhile, takes place in Bishkek, home of five-time Kyrgyzstan champions FC Alga, who were pooled alongside Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited, two-time winners of the the Bangladesh Premier League, and Casa Benfica, back-to-back champions of the top division in Macau. Last year saw the curtain come down on the AFC President’s Cup as the Confederation opened the door for more Member Associations to participate in the continent’s flagship event, the AFC Champions League, and the ever-improving AFC Cup. AFC Cup 2016 Play-off Qualifiers Fixtures GROUP A Druk United (BHU) Khoromkhon (MNG) K-Electric FC (PAK) GROUP B FC Alga (KGZ) Lt. Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Limited (BAN) Casa Benfica (MAC) http://www.the-afc.com/afc-cup-2016/stage-set-for-2016-afc-cup-play-off-qualifiers
I think is not very fair that last season of AFC Cup (2015) are not already finished, and preliminary stages for the next season are already played.... but , AFC have some awesome rules for clubs, many experiments. Anyway, good luck for all 6 new clubs
AFC CUP 2016 PLAY-OFF QUALIFIERS: K-ELECTRIC FC 3-3 DRUK UNITED http://www.the-afc.com/afc-cup-2016/afc-cup-2016-play-off-qualifiers-k-electric-fc-3-3-druk-united AFC CUP 2016 PLAY-OFF QUALIFIERS: CASA BENFICA 0-2 FC ALGA http://www.the-afc.com/afc-cup-2016/afc-cup-2016-play-off-qualifiers-casa-benfica-0-2-fc-alga
now, KESC need a good result from Khoromkhon against Druk, and Sheikh Jamal need only a draw against Alga
FC Alga Bishkek 1-1 Sheikh Jamal DC Khoromkhon 0-0 Druk United * Sheikh Jamal DC and KESC qualified in the next round. * Heard that both teams will be placed in west?
Can anybody explain this? www.footballpakistan.com/2015/08/k-electric-facing-tough-road-to-reach-afc-cup-group-stage-dawn/
Easy.... they dont have a f*@king clue how the competition works!!! And given the quotes from AFC in the same article, neither do they! There will not be 3 qualification round, mainly because there will be a maximum of 10 teams for 4 places. That would require just 2 rounds (4 in the first round, they will join 6 others in the play-off round). Pakistan, and Bangladesh for that matter, will not be hosting a qualification game. They are the two lowest MAs in the West section of the competition. If 2015 draw principles apply, they will be drawn against the second representatives of Afghanistan and Tajikistan respectively, followed by Bahrain and Oman [should Afghanistan not enter a team like last year, then who knows - there are so many unknowns as to entrants at this point (see post #7)]. KESC assuming they would play Sheikh Jamal for a group stage spot is a new one on me - I am not sure what part of their arse they pulled from! The only way KESC and Sheikh Jamal will play each other would be if only 9 teams (or 2!) enter the qualification rounds. Then they would play a single match, in Bangladesh, for a place in the final qualification round (or group stage for 2 teams). IF all MAs take their correct allocations, the qualification rounds for the West would be.... But I wouldnt bet anything at all for that to happen. Until AFC provides a definitive list of MA entering, and the number of clubs they have accepted, I wouldnt believe anything written anywhere.
Same as 2015 season, depending on withdrawals of other teams/associations, like North Korea this year. They hoped that two teams from this cup they played last week would play each other for one spot in AFC Cup, but they were wrong as those two teams will join three-round qualifiers, just like happened this season (three on West, just two on East due to lack of teams to make it in three round).
I know both Bangladesh and Pakistan are from West but what will be wrong if AFC put both in East assuming Indonesian clubs will not be there due to the ban? I am from Bangladesh and I really want my teams to play in East. I believe it’s easier to play in East than playing in West for us. If India and Maldives can appear from East then why not Bangladesh?
Sadly, I dont think it will happen. Take this year for example. We had 2 east clubs and 12 west clubs in the qualification rounds. AFC could have easily moved the Bangladeshi and the Nepal teams across to the east, but they didnt!!! Who knows what AFC will do next year?!
I have to agree with fridge here. Seems they want 23+23 split so we'll (unfortunately) hardly see Bangladesh reps to play where they (by all means) should.
Ceres FC(Philippines) wins the 2015 UFL League Championship and makes the group stage of the 2016 AFC Cup. Kaya FC wins the UFL Cup and will be Philippine representative in the qualifiers.
Heard Kuwait and Afghanistan will not enter from West. And Indonesia from East. Is it true? How would the playoffs look like then?