2022 AFC Cup

The 47 AFC member associations were ranked based on their clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions (their national team's FIFA World Rankings no longer considered).^[4] The slots were allocated according to the following criteria according to the Entry Manual:^[5]

• The associations were split into five zones (Article 5.1):
  • West Asia Zone consisted of the 12 associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF).
  • South Asia Zone consisted of the 7 associations from the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
  • Central Asia Zone consisted of the 6 associations from Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).
  • ASEAN Zone consisted of the 12 associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).
  • East Asia Zone consisted of the 10 associations from the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
  • The AFC may reallocate one or more associations to another zone if necessary for sporting reasons.
• Excluding the top five associations in each region for AFC Champions League slot allocation, all other associations were eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
• The teams from associations ranked 6th, 11th and 12th which were eliminated in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, entered the AFC Cup group stage (Article 3.2). The following rules were applied:
  • The associations ranked 6th in both the West Region and the East Region, while allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage without taking away any direct slot from other associations, were not ranked in each zone for AFC Cup slot allocation (Article 5.3).^[6]
  • If they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, the AFC Cup group stage slot would be filled by the standby team from their association if such team would be available (Article 5.12).
  • The rules above dud not apply to the AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders, which were allocated AFC Champions League play-off slots if they did not qualify for the tournament through domestic performance.
• In the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, there are three groups in the group stage, including 9 direct slots, with the 3 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.2). The slots in each zone are distributed as follows:
  • The associations ranked 1st to 3rd were each allocated two direct slots.
  • The associations ranked 4th to 6th were each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 7th or below were each allocated one play-off slot.
  • If any zone had an association ranked 6th for AFC Champions League slot allocation, they were allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage. There were 10 direct slots, with the 2 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs.
• In the South Asia Zone, the Central Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, there was a single group in the group stage, including 3 direct slots, with the 1 remaining slot filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.2). The slots in each zone were distributed as follows:^[7]
  • The associations ranked 1st to 3rd were each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 4th or below were each allocated one play-off slot.
  • If any zone has an association ranked 6th for AFC Champions League slot allocation, they were allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage. There were 4 direct slots, and to ensure equal opportunity in each zone, another group was added to this zone in the group stage, with the 4 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.4.1).
  • If any zone had at least 7 play-off slots, to ensure equal opportunity in each zone, another group was added to this zone in the group stage, with the 5 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 5.4.2).
• If any association with direct slots did not fulfill any one of the AFC Cup criteria, they had all their direct slots converted into play-off slots. The direct slots would be redistributed to the highest eligible association by the following criteria (Articles 5.7 and 5.8):
  • For each association, the maximum number of total slots would be two (Articles 3.4 and 3.5).
  • If any association was allocated one additional direct slot, one play-off slot was annulled and not redistributed.
• If any association with only play-off slot(s), including those mentioned above, did not fulfill the minimum AFC Cup criteria, the play-off slot(s) would be annulled and not redistributed (Articles 5.10 and 5.11).
• For each association, the maximum number of total slots was one-third of the total number of eligible teams (excluding foreign teams) in the top division (Article 5.6). Based on this rule, any direct slots given up would be redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.10).
• All participating teams had to be granted an AFC Champions League or AFC Cup license, and (apart from cup winners) finish in the top half of their top division (Articles 7.1 and 9.5). If any association did not have enough teams which satisfied these criteria, any direct slots given up would be redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.9).
• If any team granted a license refused to participate, their slot, either direct or play-off, is annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.11).

For the 2022 AFC Cup, the associations were allocated slots according to their AFC Club Competitions Ranking which was published on 29 November 2019,^[8][9] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup during the period between 2016 and 2019.

West Asia Zone (3 groups) Rank Member Association Points[8] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 12  Jordan[JOR] 33.852 0 0 0 0 2 21  Lebanon 24.746 2 0 0 0 3 22  Syria 22.505 2 0 0 0 4 24  Bahrain 17.749 2 0 0 0 5 29  Oman 8.531 2 0 0 0 6 30  Palestine 7.297 2 0 0 0 7 34  Kuwait[KUW] 4.711 2 0 0 0 8 42  Yemen[AFC1] 0.000 0 0 0 0 Total Participating associations: 6 12 0 0 0 0 12 Central Asia Zone (2 groups) Rank Member Association Points[8] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 10  Uzbekistan[UZB] 45.562 1 0 0 0 2 17  Tajikistan 28.361 2 0 0 0 3 20  Turkmenistan 26.532 2 0 0 0 4 33  Kyrgyzstan 5.466 2 0 0 0 5 41  Afghanistan[AFC1] 0.206 0 0 0 0 Total Participating associations: 4 7 0 0 0 0 7 South Asia Zone (1 group) Rank Member Association Points[8] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 15  India 23.888 1 0 1 0 2 25  Bangladesh[BAN] 16.690 1 1 (0) 0 (1) 0 3 26  Maldives 14.798 1 0 0 1 4 36    Nepal 1.148 0 0 0 1 5 37  Sri Lanka 0.774 0 0 0 1 6 38  Bhutan 0.688 0 0 0 1 7 42  Pakistan[AFC1] 0.000 0 0 0 0 Total Participating associations: 6 3 1 1 4 6 9

ASEAN Zone (3 groups) Rank Member Association Points[8] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 13  Philippines[PHI] 32.130 1 0 0 0 2 16  Vietnam[VIE] 28.571 1 0 0 0 3 18  Malaysia 26.960 2 0 0 0 4 19  Singapore 26.607 2 0 0 0 5 27  Myanmar[MYA] 12.756 0 (2) 0 0 0 6 28  Indonesia 12.550 2 0 0 0 7 31  Cambodia 6.770 2 (1) 0 (1) 0 0 8 35  Laos 2.241 1 (0) 0 (1) 0 0 9 42  Brunei[AFC2] 0.000 0 0 0 0 10 42  Timor-Leste[AFC2] 0.000 0 0 0 0 Total Participating associations: 7 (8) 11 0 (2) 0 0 0 (2) 11 (13) East Asia Zone (1 group) Rank Member Association Points[8] Slots Group stage Play-off Zone AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 14  North Korea[AFC1] 30.100 0 0 0 0 2 23  Hong Kong 19.945 1 1 0 0 3 32  Macau[MAC] 5.489 0(1) 0 0 0 4 39  Chinese Taipei 0.457 1 0 0 0 5 40  Mongolia 0.274 0 1 0 0 6 42  Guam[AFC1] 0.000 0 0 0 0 7 42  Northern Mariana Islands[AFC1] 0.000 0 0 0 0 Total Participating associations: 4 2(3) 2 0 0 2 4(5)

Notes

Lebanon

Syria

Bahrain

Al-Seeb (H)

Dhofar

Palestine

Kuwait

Sogdiana Jizzakh

Khujand

Pamir (H)

Ashgabat

Dordoi (H)

Neftchi Kochkor-Ata

Gokulam Kerala

ATK Mohun Bagan (H)

Dhaka

Malé

Machhindra

Blue Star

Paro FC

Kaya F.C.–Iloilo

Viettel FC

Kuala Lumpur City (H)

Kedah Darul Aman

Singapore

Shan United

Hanthawady United

Bali United (H)

PSM Makassar

Phnom Penh Crown

Visakha

Young Elephants

Hong Kong

MUST CPK

Tainan City

Athletic 220

Syria teams
Tishreen
Jableh

Lebanon teams
Al-Ansar
Nejmeh

Palestine teams
Shabab Al-Khalil
Hilal Al-Quds

Kuwait teams
Al-Arabi (H)
Al-Kuwait

Bahrain teams
Al-Riffa
East Riffa (H)

Ashgabat teams
Altyn Asyr
Köpetdag Aşgabat

Dhaka teams
Bashundhara Kings
Dhaka Abahani

Malé teams
Maziya
Valencia

Hong Kong teams
Eastern
Lee Man

Singapore teams
Hougang United
Tampines Rovers

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Location of teams of the 2022 AFC Cup.
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;
(H) Group stage hosts
Qualifying play-offs
Withdrawn teams

60km 37miles Shabab Al-Khalil Hilal Al-Quds Nejmeh Ansar Jableh SC Tishreen     Locations of the 2022 AFC Cup teams in the West side of Central East

110km 68miles Khujand Sogdiana Jizzakh CSKA Pamir Neftchi (Kyrgyz) FC Dordoi Bishkek     Locations of the 2022 AFC Cup teams in the West side of Central East

West Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–C) Team Qualifying method App. (last) Al-Ansar 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League champions and 2020–21 Lebanese FA Cup winners 8th (2021) Nejmeh 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League runners-up 10th (2019) Tishreen 2020–21 Syrian Premier League champions 2nd (2021) Jableh 2020–21 Syrian Cup winners 1st Al-Riffa 2020–21 Bahraini Premier League champions and 2020–21 Bahraini King's Cup winners 6th (2020) East Riffa 2020–21 Bahraini Premier League runners-up 1st Al-Seeb 2019–20 Oman Professional League champions[Note OMA] 1st Dhofar 2020–21 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners 6th (2020) Shabab Al-Khalil 2020–21 West Bank Premier League champions 2nd (2017) Hilal Al-Quds 2020–21 West Bank Premier League third place[Note PLE] 5th (2020) Al-Arabi 2020–21 Kuwaiti Premier League champions 2nd (2009) Al-Kuwait 2020–21 Kuwait Emir Cup winners 11th (2021) South Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group D) Team Qualifying method App. (last) Gokulam Kerala 2020–21 I-League champions 1st Bashundhara Kings 2021 Bangladesh Premier League champions and 2020–21 Bangladesh Federation Cup winners 3rd (2021) Maziya 2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League champions 8th (2021) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App (Last) Dhaka Abahani 2021 Bangladesh Premier League third place[Note BAN] 5th (2020) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round 2 Team Qualifying method App. (last) ATK Mohun Bagan 2020–21 Indian Super League regular season runners-up[Note IND] 6th (2021)[13] Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round 1 Team Qualifying method App. (last) Valencia 2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League runners-up[Note MDV] 5th (2017) Machhindra 2021 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League Matchday 7 leaders[Note NEP] 1st Blue Star 2021 Sri Lanka Super League champions 1st Paro 2021 Bhutan Premier League champions 2nd (2020) Central Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Groups E–F) Team Qualifying method App. (last) Sogdiana Jizzakh 2021 Uzbekistan Super League runners-up[Note ACL] 1st Khujand 2021 Tajikistan Cup winners 6th (2021) CSKA Pamir Dushanbe 2021 Tajikistan Higher League third place 1st Altyn Asyr 2021 Ýokary Liga champions[Note TKM1] 8th (2021) Köpetdag Aşgabat 2021 Ýokary Liga fourth place[Note TKM2] 1st Dordoi Bishkek 2021 Kyrgyz Premier League champions 7th (2021) Neftchi Kochkor-Ata 2021 Kyrgyzstan Cup winners 2nd (2020)

ASEAN Zone Group stage direct entrants (Groups G–I) Team Qualifying method App. (last) Kaya F.C.–Iloilo 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara winners[Note PHI] 4th (2020) Viettel 2021 V.League 1 second place[Note VIE] 1st Kuala Lumpur City 2021 Malaysia Cup winners[Note MAS] 1st Kedah Darul Aman 2021 Malaysia Super League runners-up 4th (2021) Hougang United 2021 Singapore Premier League third place[Note SIN] 2nd (2020) Tampines Rovers 2021 Singapore Premier League fourth place[Note SIN] 13th (2020) Bali United 2019 Liga 1 champions[Note IDN] 4th (2021) PSM Makassar 2018–19 Piala Indonesia winners[Note IDN] 3rd (2020) Phnom Penh Crown 2021 C-League champions 2nd (2017) Visakha FC 2021 Hun Sen Cup winners 2nd (2021) Young Elephants 2020 Lao Premier League third place 1st Withdrawn teams Team Qualifying method App. (last) Shan United 2020 Myanmar National League champions[Note MYA] 4th (2020) Hantharwady United 2020 Myanmar National League runners-up[Note MYA] 1st East Asia Zone Group stage direct entrants (Group J) Team Qualifying method App. (last) Eastern 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League runners-up[Note HKG] 3rd (2021) Tainan City 2021 Taiwan Premier League champions 2nd (2021) Qualifying play-off participants Team Qualifying method App. (last) Lee Man 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League third place[Note HKG] 2nd (2021) Athletic 220 2021 Mongolian Premier League champions 2nd (2021) Withdrawn teams Team Qualifying method App. (last) MUST CPK 2021 Liga de Elite champions and 2021 Taça de Macau winners[Note MAC] 2nd (2020)

Notes

The draw for the group stage was held on 17 January 2022 at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 39 teams were drawn into nine groups of four and one group of three (in the Central Asia Zone): three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups G–I), two groups in the Central Asia Zone (Groups E–F), and one group each in the South Asia Zone (Group D) and the East Asia Zone (Group 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 in zones with more than one group (West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, and ASEAN Zone) could not be drawn into the same group. In the group stage, each group is played on a single round-robin basis in centralised venues. The following teams will advance to the knockout stage:

• The winners of each group and the best runners-up in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone advance to the Zonal semi-finals.
• The winners of each group in the Central Asia Zone advance to the Zonal finals.
• The winners of each group in the South Asia Zone and the East Asia Zone advance to the Inter-zone play-off semi-finals.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SEB	KSC	JAB	ANS
1	Al-Seeb (H)	3	2	0	1	6	2	+4	6	Zonal semi-finals		—	—	1–0	—
2	Al-Kuwait	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5			2–1	—	—	—
3	Jableh	3	1	1	1	1	1	0	4			—	0–0	—	1–0
4	Al-Ansar	3	0	1	2	1	6	−5	1			0–4	1–1	—	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ARA	RIF	DHO	SAK
1	Al-Arabi (H)	3	2	1	0	5	3	+2	7	Zonal semi-finals		—	—	—	1–0
2	Al-Riffa	3	2	0	1	8	6	+2	6			2–3	—	—	3–1
3	Dhofar	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2	4			1–1	2–3	—	—
4	Shabab Al-Khalil	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0			—	—	0–3	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EAR	TIS	NEJ	HAQ
1	East Riffa (H)	3	1	2	0	5	3	+2	5	Zonal semi-finals		—	2–0	—	2–2
2	Tishreen	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4[a]			—	—	3–1	0–0
3	Nejmeh	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4[a]			1–1	—	—	—
4	Hilal Al-Quds	3	0	2	1	2	4	−2	2			—	—	0–2	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MBSG	BSK	MAZ	GOK
1	ATK Mohun Bagan (H)	3	2	0	1	11	6	+5	6[a]	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		—	4–0	—	—
2	Bashundhara Kings	3	2	0	1	3	5	−2	6[a]			—	—	1–0	—
3	Maziya	3	1	0	2	3	6	−3	3[b]			2–5	—	—	1–0
4	Gokulam Kerala	3	1	0	2	5	5	0	3[b]			4–2	1–2	—	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SOG	ALT	CPD	NEF
1	Sogdiana Jizzakh	3	3	0	0	8	3	+5	9	Zonal finals		—	3–1	—	2–0
2	Altyn Asyr	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4			—	—	1–1	—
3	CSKA Pamir Dushanbe (H)	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	2			2–3	—	—	0–0
4	Neftchi	3	0	1	2	0	3	−3	1			—	0–1	—	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KHU	KPD	DOR
1	Khujand	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4	Zonal finals		—	—	0–0
2	Köpetdag	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	3			1–3	—	—
3	Dordoi (H)	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1			—	0–1	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KED	VIS	BAL	KAY
1	Kedah Darul Aman	3	2	0	1	9	4	+5	6[a]	Zonal semi-finals		—	5–1	—	4–1
2	Visakha FC	3	2	0	1	8	8	0	6[a]			—	—	5–2	—
3	Bali United (H)	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6[a]			2–0	—	—	—
4	Kaya F.C.–Iloilo	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5	0			—	1–2	0–1	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PSM	KLC	TAM
1	PSM Makassar	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4[a]	Zonal semi-finals		—	0–0	—
2	Kuala Lumpur City (H)	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4[a]			—	—	2–1
3	Tampines Rovers	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3	0			1–3	—	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		VIE	HOU	PPC	YEL
1	Viettel (H)	3	3	0	0	11	3	+8	9	Zonal semi-finals		—	5–2	—	5–1
2	Hougang United	3	2	0	1	9	9	0	6			—	—	4–3	—
3	Phnom Penh Crown	3	1	0	2	7	7	0	3			0–1	—	—	4–2
4	Young Elephants	3	0	0	3	4	12	−8	0			—	1–3	—	—

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		EAS	LEE	TNC	CPK
1	Eastern	2	2	0	0	6	2	+4	6	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		—	—	3–1	Canc.
2	Lee Man	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	3			1–3	—	—	Canc.
3	Tainan City	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	0			—	1–3	—	—
4	MUST CPK	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrew[33]		—	—	Canc.	—

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	B	Al-Riffa	3	2	0	1	8	6	+2	6	Zonal semi-finals
2	A	Al-Kuwait	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5
3	C	Tishreen	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4

Since Group H only had three teams, the results against fourth-placed teams in Groups G and I were omitted for this ranking.

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	H	Kuala Lumpur City	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Zonal semi-finals
2	G	Visakha FC	2	1	0	1	6	7	−1	3
3	I	Hougang United	2	1	0	1	6	8	−2	3

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