2021 AFC Champions League

The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the Northern Mariana Islands, which became a full member in December 2020 and are not eligible for this season) are ranked based on their clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions (their national team's FIFA World Rankings no longer considered).^[5] The slots are allocated by the following criteria according to the Entry Manual:^[6]

• The associations are split into two regions (Article 3.1):
  • West Region consists of the 25 associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), and the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).
  • East Region consists of the 21 associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
  • The AFC may reallocate one or more associations to another region if necessary for sporting reasons.
• The top 12 associations in each region are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League.
• In each region, there are five groups in the group stage, including 16 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 3.2). The slots in each region are distributed as follows:^[7][8]
  • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd are each allocated three direct slots and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th are each allocated two direct slots and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 5th are each allocated one direct slot and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 6th are each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 7th to 10th are each allocated one direct slot.
  • The associations ranked 11th to 12th are each allocated one play-off slot.
• The AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are each allocated one play-off slot should they not qualify for the tournament through domestic performance (Article 3.6). However, there are no AFC Cup title holders for this season as the 2020 AFC Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9] The following rules are applied:
  • If the AFC Champions League title holders or AFC Cup title holders are from associations ranked 1st to 6th, their association is allocated the same number of play-off slots, and they replace the lowest-seeded team from their association. Otherwise, their association is allocated one additional play-off slot, and they do not replace any team from their association (Articles 3.8, 3.9 and 3.10).
  • If both the AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are from the same association which is allocated only one play-off slot, their association is allocated one additional play-off slot, and only the lowest-seeded team from their association is replaced as a result (Article 3.11).
  • The AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are the lowest-seeded teams in the qualifying play-offs if they do not replace any team from their association (Article 3.12).
• If any association ranked 1st to 6th do not fulfill any one of the AFC Champions League criteria, they have all their direct slots converted into play-off slots. The direct slots given up are redistributed to the highest eligible association by the following criteria (Articles 3.13 and 3.14):
  • For each association, the maximum number of total slots is four and the maximum number of direct slots is three (Articles 3.4 and 3.5).
  • If any association ranked 3rd to 6th is allocated one additional direct slot, one play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed.
  • If any association ranked 5th to 6th is allocated two additional direct slots, one play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed.
• If any association ranked 7th to 10th do not fulfill any one of the AFC Champions League criteria, they have their direct slot converted into play-off slot. The direct slot given up is redistributed to the next association ranked 11th or 12th, whose play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed, or if neither are eligible, the highest eligible association by the same criteria as mentioned above (Articles 3.16 and 3.17).
• If any association with only play-off slot(s), including any association ranked 11th to 12th or those mentioned above, do not fulfill the minimum AFC Champions League criteria, the play-off slot(s) are annulled and not redistributed (Articles 3.19 and 3.20).
• For each association, the maximum number of total slots is one-third of the total number of eligible teams (excluding foreign teams) in the top division (Article 3.4). If this rule is applied, any direct slots given up are redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots are annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.10).
• All participating teams must be granted an AFC Champions League license, and apart from cup winners, finish in the top half of their top division (Articles 7.1 and 9.5). If any association do not have enough teams which satisfy these criteria, any direct slots given up are redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots are annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.9).
• If any team granted a license refuses to participate, their slot, either direct or play-off, is annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.11).

For the 2021 AFC Champions League, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 29 November 2019,^[10][11] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup during the period between 2016 and 2019.

West Region (5 groups) Rank Member Association Points[10] Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 2  Qatar 97.644 3 1 0 2 4  Saudi Arabia 88.449 3 1 0 3 6  Iran 81.724 3 1 0 4 7  United Arab Emirates 61.870 2 2 0 5 9  Iraq 48.992 1 2 0 6 10  Uzbekistan 45.562 1 1 0 7 12  Jordan 33.852 1 0 0 8 15  India 29.576 1 0 0 9 17  Tajikistan 28.361 1 0 0 10 20  Turkmenistan[TKM] 26.532 0 0 0 11 21  Lebanon[LBN] 24.746 0 0 0 12 22  Syria[SYR] 22.505 0 0 0 Total Participating associations: 9 16 8 0 8 24

East Region (5 groups) Rank Member Association Points[10] Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 1  China[CHN] 100.000 2 1 0 2 3  Japan 93.321 4 0 0 3 5  South Korea 85.979 4 0 0 4 8  Thailand 51.189 4 0 0 5 11  Australia[AUS] 40.896 0 1 2 6 13  Philippines 32.130 1 1 0 7 14  North Korea[PRK] 30.100 0 0 0 8 16  Vietnam 28.571 1 0 0 9 18  Malaysia 26.960 1 0 0 10 19  Singapore 26.607 1 0 0 11 23  Hong Kong 19.945 1 0 0 12 27  Myanmar[MYA] 12.756 0 0 1 Total Participating associations: 9 19 2 0 2 21

Notes

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 Region Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–E) Team Qualifying method App. (last) Al-Duhail 2019–20 Qatar Stars League champions 10th (2020) Al-Sadd 2020 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 2019–20 Qatar Stars League third place 16th (2020) Al-Rayyan 2019–20 Qatar Stars League runners-up 11th (2020) Al-Hilal 2019–20 Saudi Professional League champions and 2019–20 King Cup winners 17th (2020) Al-Nassr 2019–20 Saudi Professional League runners-up 6th (2020) Al-Ahli 2019–20 Saudi Professional League third place 13th (2020) Persepolis 2019–20 Persian Gulf Pro League champions and 2020 Iranian Super Cup winners 10th (2020) Tractor 2019–20 Hazfi Cup winners 6th (2018) Esteghlal 2019–20 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 11th (2020) Sharjah 2018–19 UAE Pro League champions[Note UAE] 4th (2020) Shabab Al-Ahli 2018–19 UAE President's Cup winners[Note UAE] 2018–19 UAE Pro League runners-up[Note UAE] 9th (2020) Al-Shorta 2018–19 Iraqi Premier League champions[Note IRQ] 5th (2020) Pakhtakor 2020 Uzbekistan Super League champions and 2020 Uzbekistan Cup winners 17th (2020) Al-Wehdat 2020 Jordanian Pro League champions 6th (2019) Goa 2019–20 Indian Super League league shield winners 1st Istiklol 2020 Tajikistan Higher League champions 3rd (2020) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App. (last) Al-Gharafa 2019–20 Qatar Stars League fourth place 11th (2019) Al-Wehda 2019–20 Saudi Professional League fourth place 1st Foolad 2019–20 Persian Gulf Pro League third place 4th (2015) Al-Wahda 2018–19 UAE Pro League third place[Note UAE] 12th (2020) Al-Ain 2018–19 UAE Pro League fourth place[Note UAE] 16th (2020) Al-Zawraa 2018–19 Iraq FA Cup winners[Note IRQ] 6th (2020) Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2018–19 Iraqi Premier League runners-up[Note IRQ] 5th (2019) AGMK 2020 Uzbekistan Super League third place[Note UZB] 2nd (2019) Withdrawn teams Team Qualifying method App. (last) Köpetdag 2020 Ýokary Liga fourth place[Note TKM] 1st

East Region Group stage direct entrants (Groups F–J) Team Qualifying method App. (last) Guangzhou 2020 Chinese Super League runners-up[Note CHN] 10th (2020) Beijing Guoan 2020 Chinese Super League third place[Note CHN] 10th (2020) Kawasaki Frontale 2020 J1 League champions and 2020 Emperor's Cup winners 8th (2019) Gamba Osaka 2020 J1 League runners-up 10th (2017) Nagoya Grampus 2020 J1 League third place 4th (2012) Cerezo Osaka[Note RE2] 2020 J1 League fourth place 4th (2018) Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2020 K League 1 champions and 2020 Korean FA Cup winners 14th (2020) Ulsan Hyundai[Note TH] 2020 K League 1 runners-up 9th (2020) Pohang Steelers[Note RE1] 2020 K League 1 third place 8th (2016) Daegu FC[Note RE2] 2020 K League 1 fifth place[Note KOR] 2nd (2019) BG Pathum United 2020–21 Thai League 1 first place after first half of season[Note THA] 2nd (2015) Port 2020–21 Thai League 1 second place after first half of season[Note THA] 2nd (2020) Chiangrai United[Note RE2] 2020–21 Thai League 1 third place after first half of season[Note THA] 4th (2020) Ratchaburi Mitr Phol[Note RE1] 2020–21 Thai League 1 fourth place after first half of season[Note THA] 1st United City 2020 Philippines Football League champions 4th (2020) Viettel 2020 V.League 1 champions 1st Johor Darul Ta'zim 2020 Malaysia Super League champions 7th (2020) Tampines Rovers 2020 Singapore Premier League runners-up[Note SGP] 6th (2020) Kitchee 2019–20 Hong Kong Premier League champions 6th (2019) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App. (last) Shanghai Port 2020 Chinese Super League fourth place[Note CHN] 6th (2020) Kaya–Iloilo[Note RE2] 2020 Philippines Football League runners-up[Note PHI] 1st Withdrawn teams Team Qualifying method App. (last) Jiangsu 2020 Chinese Super League champions 4th (2017) Sydney FC 2019–20 A-League regular season premiers and 2020 A-League Grand Final winners 7th (2020) Melbourne City 2019–20 A-League regular season runners-up 1st Brisbane Roar 2019–20 A-League regular season fourth place[Note AUS] 6th (2018) Shan United 2020 Myanmar National League champions 3rd (2020)

Notes

Qatar

Riyadh

Al-Ahli

Al-Wehda

Tehran

Tractor

Foolad

DSA Metropolitan

Al-Wahda

Al-Ain

Baghdad

Tashkent

Al-Wehdat

Goa

Istiklol

Guangzhou

Beijing Guoan

Shanghai Port

Kawasaki Frontale

Osaka

Nagoya Grampus

Jeonbuk HM

Gyeongsang

Bangkok

Chiangrai United

Ratchaburi Mitr Phol

United City

Kaya–Iloilo

Viettel

Johor Darul Ta'zim

Tampines Rovers

Kitchee

Baghdad teams
Al-Shorta
Al-Zawraa
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya

Tehran teams
Persepolis
Esteghlal

Qatar teams
Al-Duhail
Al-Sadd
Al-Rayyan
Al-Gharafa

Riyadh teams
Al-Hilal
Al-Nassr

Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman (DSA) Metropolitan teams
Sharjah
Shabab Al-Ahli

Tashkent teams
Pakhtakor Tashkent
AGMK

Gyeongsang Province teams
Ulsan Hyundai
Pohang Steelers
Daegu FC

Osaka teams
Gamba Osaka
Cerezo Osaka

Greater Bangkok teams
BG Pathum United
Port

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Location of teams of the 2021 AFC Champions League.
Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Pink: Group E;
Green: Group F; Blue: Group G; Cyan: Group H; Turquoise: Group I; Purple: Group J;
Qualifying play-offs

The draw for the group stage was held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 27 January 2021.^[39] The 40 teams were drawn into ten groups of four: five groups each in the West Region (Groups A–E) and the East Region (Groups F–J). For each zone, teams were seeded into four pots and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking and their seeding within their association, in consideration of technical balance between groups. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.^[40] In the group stage, each group was played on a double round-robin basis in centralised venues. The winners of each group and three best runners-up from each region advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		IST	HIL	SAH	AGK
1	Istiklol	6	3	1	2	10	8	+2	10[a]	Advance to Round of 16		—	4–1	0–0	1–2
2	Al-Hilal (H)	6	3	1	2	11	9	+2	10[a]			3–1	—	0–2	2–2
3	Shabab Al-Ahli	6	2	1	3	6	6	0	7[b]			0–1	0–2	—	3–1
4	AGMK	6	2	1	3	9	13	−4	7[b]			2–3	0–3	2–1	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SHA	TRA	PAK	QWJ
1	Sharjah (H)	6	3	2	1	9	6	+3	11	Advance to Round of 16		—	0–2	4–1	1–0
2	Tractor	6	2	4	0	6	3	+3	10			0–0	—	0–0	1–0
3	Pakhtakor	6	1	4	1	6	8	−2	7			1–1	3–3	—	1–0
4	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	6	0	2	4	2	6	−4	2			2–3	0–0	0–0	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EST	DUH	AHL	SHO
1	Esteghlal	6	3	2	1	14	8	+6	11	Advance to Round of 16		—	2–2	5–2	1–0
2	Al-Duhail	6	2	3	1	11	9	+2	9			4–3	—	1–1	2–0
3	Al-Ahli (H)	6	2	3	1	9	8	+1	9			0–0	1–1	—	2–1
4	Al-Shorta	6	1	0	5	3	12	−9	3			0–3	2–1	0–3	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		NAS	SAD	WEH	FOO
1	Al-Nassr (H)	6	3	2	1	9	5	+4	11	Advance to Round of 16		—	3–1	1–2	2–0
2	Al-Sadd	6	3	1	2	9	7	+2	10			1–2	—	3–1	1–1
3	Al-Wehdat	6	2	1	3	4	7	−3	7			0–0	0–2	—	1–0
4	Foolad	6	1	2	3	3	6	−3	5			1–1	0–1	1–0	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PER	WAH	GOA	RAY
1	Persepolis	6	5	0	1	14	5	+9	15	Advance to Round of 16		—	1–0	2–1	4–2
2	Al-Wahda	6	4	1	1	7	3	+4	13			1–0	—	0–0	3–2
3	Goa (H)	6	0	3	3	2	9	−7	3			0–4	0–2	—	0–0
4	Al-Rayyan	6	0	2	4	6	12	−6	2			1–3	0–1	1–1	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ULS	PAT	VIE	KAY
1	Ulsan Hyundai	6	6	0	0	13	1	+12	18	Advance to Round of 16		—	2–0	3–0	2–1
2	BG Pathum United (H)	6	4	0	2	10	6	+4	12			0–2	—	2–0	4–1
3	Viettel	6	2	0	4	7	9	−2	6			0–1	1–3	—	1–0
4	Kaya–Iloilo	6	0	0	6	2	16	−14	0			0–3	0–1	0–5	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		NAG	POH	JOH	RAT
1	Nagoya Grampus	6	5	1	0	14	2	+12	16	Advance to Round of 16		—	3–0	2–1	3–0
2	Pohang Steelers	6	3	2	1	9	5	+4	11			1–1	—	4–1	2–0
3	Johor Darul Ta'zim	6	1	1	4	3	9	−6	4			0–1	0–2	—	0–0
4	Ratchaburi Mitr Phol (H)	6	0	2	4	0	10	−10	2			0–4	0–0	0–1	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JEO	GAM	CHI	TAM
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	5	1	0	22	5	+17	16	Advance to Round of 16		—	2–1	2–1	9–0
2	Gamba Osaka	6	2	3	1	15	7	+8	9			2–2	—	1–1	8–1
3	Chiangrai United	6	2	2	2	8	7	+1	8			1–3	1–1	—	1–0
4	Tampines Rovers	6	0	0	6	1	27	−26	0			0–4	0–2	0–3	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KAW	DAE	UNI	BJG
1	Kawasaki Frontale	6	6	0	0	27	3	+24	18	Advance to Round of 16		—	3–2	8–0	4–0
2	Daegu FC	6	4	0	2	22	6	+16	12			1–3	—	7–0	5–0
3	United City	6	1	1	4	4	24	−20	4			0–2	0–4	—	1–1
4	Beijing Guoan	6	0	1	5	3	23	−20	1			0–7	0–3	2–3	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		CER	KIT	POR	GZH
1	Cerezo Osaka	6	4	2	0	13	2	+11	14	Advance to Round of 16		—	2–1	1–1	5–0
2	Kitchee	6	3	2	1	6	3	+3	11			0–0	—	2–0	1–0
3	Port (H)	6	2	2	2	10	8	+2	8			0–3	1–1	—	3–0
4	Guangzhou	6	0	0	6	1	17	−16	0			0–2	0–1	1–5	—

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	E	Al-Wahda	6	4	1	1	7	3	+4	13	Advance to Round of 16
2	B	Tractor	6	2	4	0	6	3	+3	10
3	A	Al-Hilal	6	3	1	2	11	9	+2	10
4	D	Al-Sadd	6	3	1	2	9	7	+2	10
5	C	Al-Duhail	6	2	3	1	11	9	+2	9

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	I	Daegu FC	6	4	0	2	22	6	+16	12	Advance to Round of 16
2	F	BG Pathum United	6	4	0	2	10	6	+4	12
3	G	Pohang Steelers	6	3	2	1	9	5	+4	11
4	J	Kitchee	6	3	2	1	6	3	+3	11
5	H	Gamba Osaka	6	2	3	1	15	7	+8	9

• Official website
• AFC Champions League 2021, stats.the-AFC.com