2018 AFC Champions League

2018 AFC Champions League
Tournament details
Dates	16 January – 10 November 2018
Teams	Maximum of 54 (from Maximum of 24 associations)

The 2018 AFC Champions League will be the 37th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title.

The winners of the 2018 AFC Champions League will qualify as the AFC representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. If a team from the United Arab Emirates wins the AFC Champions League, the runners-up will also qualify (in place of the winners of the 2017–18 UAE Pro-League).

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014,^[1] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014.^[2] 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 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 rankings:^[3]

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 gets three direct slots and one play-off slot (in play-off round).
- The associations ranked 3rd gets two direct slots and two play-off slots (both in play-off round).
- The associations ranked 4th gets two direct slots and two play-off slots (both in preliminary round 2).
- The associations ranked 5th gets one direct slot and two play-off slots (both in preliminary round 2).
- The associations ranked 6th gets one direct slot and one play-off slot (in preliminary round 2).
- The associations ranked 7th to 12th each gets 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).
If any association gives up its direct slots, they are redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of three direct slots.
If any association gives up its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.

The final association ranking used to determine the slot allocation was published on 27 November 2016, after the completion of the 2016 AFC Champions League and 2016 AFC Cup.^[4]

Participation for 2018 AFC Champions League
	Fulfills participation criteria
	Does not fulfill participation criteria

West Zone
Rank		Member Association	Points^[4]	Slots
Rank				Group stage	Play-off
Zone	All			Group stage	Play-off round	Prelim. round
1	2	United Arab Emirates	87.555
2	3	Saudi Arabia	84.698
3	4	Iran	78.908
4	5	Qatar	78.171
5	9	Uzbekistan	56.876
6	10	Iraq	37.240
7	11	Kuwait^{[Note KUW]}	36.457
8	13	Syria	34.257
9	15	Jordan	31.213
10	19	Bahrain	27.353
11	20	Lebanon	22.077
12	22	Oman	19.313
Total

East Zone
Rank		Member Association	Points^[4]	Slots
Rank				Group stage	Play-off
Zone	All			Group stage	Play-off round	Prelim. round
1	1	South Korea	96.311
2	6	Japan	75.807
3	7	China	72.719
4	8	Australia	72.599
5	12	Thailand	34.753
6	14	Hong Kong	31.797
7	16	Vietnam	29.273
8	17	Malaysia	28.865
9	18	India	27.930
10	21	Indonesia	20.372
11	24	Myanmar	17.220
12	25	Philippines	17.188
Total

Notes

^ Kuwait (KUW): The Kuwait Football Association is currently suspended by FIFA (as of November 2016).^[5]

Teams

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.

West Zone
Team	Qualifying method	App	Last App
Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–D)
	2016–17 UAE Pro-League champions
	2016–17 UAE President's Cup winners
	2016–17 UAE Pro-League runners-up
	2016–17 Saudi Professional League champions
	2017 King Cup winners
	2016–17 Saudi Professional League runners-up
	2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League champions
	2016–17 Hazfi Cup winners
	2016–17 Qatar Stars League champions
	2017 Emir of Qatar Cup winners
	2017 Uzbek League champions
	2016–17 Iraqi Premier League champions
Qualifying play-off participants
Entering in play-off round
	2016–17 UAE Pro-League 3rd place
	2016–17 Saudi Professional League 3rd place
	2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up
	2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League 3rd place
Entering in preliminary round 2
	2016–17 Qatar Stars League runners-up
	2016–17 Qatar Stars League 3rd place
	2017 Uzbekistan Cup winners
	2017 Uzbek League runners-up
	2016–17 Iraq FA Cup winners
Entering in preliminary round 1
	2016–17 Kuwaiti Premier League champions
	2016–17 Syrian Premier League champions
	2016–17 Jordan League champions
	2016–17 Bahrain First Division League champions
	2016–17 Lebanese Premier League champions
	2016–17 Oman Professional League champions

East Zone
Team	Qualifying method	App	Last App
Group stage direct entrants (Groups E–H)
	2017 K League Classic champions
	2017 Korean FA Cup winners
	2017 K League Classic runners-up
	2017 J1 League champions
	2017 Emperor's Cup winners
	2017 J1 League runners-up
	2017 Chinese Super League champions
	2017 Chinese FA Cup winners
	2016–17 A-League premiers
	2017 A-League Grand Final winners
	2017 Thai Premier League champions
	2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League champions
Qualifying play-off participants
Entering in play-off round
	2017 K League Classic 3rd place
	2017 J1 League 3rd place
	2017 Chinese Super League runners-up
	2017 Chinese Super League 3rd place
Entering in preliminary round 2
	2016–17 A-League regular season runners-up
	2017 Thai FA Cup winners
	2017 Thai Premier League runners-up
	2016–17 Hong Kong Season Play-off winners
	2017 V.League 1 champions
	2017 Malaysia Super League champions
Entering in preliminary round 1
	2016–17 I-League champions
	2017 Indonesia Super League champions
	2017 Myanmar National League champions
	2017 Philippines Football League champions

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).^[6] Starting from 2017, matches in the West Zone will be played on Mondays and Tuesdays instead of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.^[7]

Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	No draw	16 January 2018
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 2		23 January 2018
Play-off stage	Play-off round		30 January 2018
Group stage	Matchday 1	TBA	12–14 February 2018
	Matchday 2		19–21 February 2018
	Matchday 3		5–7 March 2018
	Matchday 4		12–14 March 2018
	Matchday 5		2–4 April 2018
	Matchday 6		16–18 April 2018
Knockout stage	Round of 16		7–9 May 2018	14–16 May 2018
	Quarter-finals	TBA	27–29 August 2018	17–19 September 2018
	Semi-finals		1–3 October 2018	22–24 October 2018
	Final		3 November 2018	10 November 2018

References

↑ "Revamp of AFC competitions". AFC. 25 January 2014.
↑ "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
↑ "Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017-2020" (PDF). AFC.
1 2 3 "AFC MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS RANKING (as of 27 November 2016)". AFC.
↑ "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
↑ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2018" (PDF). AFC.
↑ "AFC Competitions Committee decisions". AFC. 12 April 2016.

External links

AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com

Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League

Asian Champion Club Tournament era, 1967–1971

Seasons	1967 1969 1970 1971

Finals	1967 1969 1970 1971

Asian Club Championship era, 1985–2002

Seasons	1985 1986 1987 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02

Finals	1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1991 1993 1994 1995 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Champions League era, 2002–present

Seasons	2002–03 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Finals	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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