The 2018 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 16 to 30 January 2018.
A total of 22 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide eight of the 32 places in the
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
of the
2018 AFC Champions League
The 2018 AFC Champions League was 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.
Kashima Antlers won the title for t ...
.
Teams
The following 22 teams, split into two regions (West Region and East Region), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of three rounds:
*4 teams entered in the preliminary round 1.
*6 teams entered in the preliminary round 2.
*12 teams entered in the play-off round.
Format
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match.
Extra time
Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
and
penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the
AFC Cup group stage.
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.
Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined by the AFC based on the
association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same play-off.
Play-off West 1
*
Al-Ain
Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...
advanced to
Group D Group D may refer to:
* FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars:
** Formula Two
** Formula Three
** Formula 3000
* One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup
** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D
** 2018 FIFA Worl ...
.
Play-off West 2
*
Zob Ahan advanced to
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...
.
Play-off West 3
*
Al-Gharafa
Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...
advanced to
Group A
Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...
.
Play-off West 4
*
Nasaf Qarshi
Football Club Nasaf (), commonly referred to as Nasaf Qarshi, is a professional football club based in Qarshi (Qashqadaryo Region), Uzbekistan. Founded in 1986, the club competes in the Uzbekistan Super League.
History Name changes
* 1986–199 ...
advanced to
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
.
Play-off East 1
*
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...
advanced to
Group H Group H may refer to:
* A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing
* One of eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup
** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group H
** 2018 FIFA World Cup Group H
** 2014 FIFA World ...
.
Play-off East 2
*
Kashiwa Reysol
is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo ...
advanced to
Group E Group E may refer to:
* E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements
* Group E (vase painting), a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style, active between 560 and 540 BC.
* On ...
.
Play-off East 3
*
Shanghai SIPG
Shanghai Port Football Club (), previously Shanghai SIPG (), is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Port plays its home matches at the Pudong Football Stadium, located within Pudong. Their owners a ...
advanced to
Group F Group F may refer to:
* A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...
.
Play-off East 4
*
Tianjin Quanjian
Tianjin Tianhai F.C. (; ) was a Chinese football club. The team was based in Tianjin.
History 2006-2010: Formation and League Two
On June 6, 2006, the Tianjin Binhai Holdings Limited company would form a new football team based in Hohhot called ...
advanced to
Group E Group E may refer to:
* E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements
* Group E (vase painting), a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style, active between 560 and 540 BC.
* On ...
.
Preliminary round 1
Summary
A total of four teams played in the preliminary round 1.
, +East Region
East Region
----
Preliminary round 2
Summary
A total of eight teams played in the preliminary round 2: six teams which entered in this round, and two winners of the preliminary round 1.
, +East Region
East Region
----
----
----
Play-off round
Summary
A total of 16 teams played in the play-off round: twelve teams which entered in this round, and four winners of the preliminary round 2.
, +West Region
, +East Region
West Region
----
----
----
East Region
----
----
----
Notes
References
External links
*, the-AFC.com
AFC Champions League 2018 stats.the-AFC.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afc Champions League Qualifying Play-offs 2018
*1
January 2018 sports events in Asia