2023–24 AFC Cup

The 2023–24 AFC Cup is the 19th and last edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). From the 2024–25 season, the AFC Cup will be discontinued,[1] and the AFC Champions League 2 and AFC Challenge League will be introduced as Asia's second and third-tier club tournaments respectively.[2]

2023–24 AFC Cup
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
8–23 August 2023
Competition proper:
18 September 2023 – 5 May 2024
TeamsCompetition proper: 36 Total (maximum): 65 (from 37 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played18
Goals scored48 (2.67 per match)

This is the first and only AFC Cup season to have a two-year (autumn-to-spring) schedule, instead of an all-year-round (spring-to-autumn) schedule.[3]

Al-Seeb were the title holders, having won their first AFC Cup title in 2022. However, they will not be able to defend their title on failing to advance through their domestic top division league.

The winners of the tournament will automatically qualify for the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite, entering the qualifying play-offs, if they have not qualified through their domestic performance.[4]

Association team allocation

The 47 AFC member associations are ranked based on their club's performance over the last four years in AFC competitions (their national team's FIFA World Rankings are no longer considered).[5] The slots are allocated by the following criteria according to the Entry Manual:[6]

Reallocation of Regions

  • Excluding the top five associations in each region for AFC Champions League slot allocation, all other associations are eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
  • The teams from associations ranked 6th, 11th and 12th which are eliminated in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs enter the AFC Cup group stage (Article 3.2). The following rules are 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, are not ranked in each zone for AFC Cup slot allocation (Article 5.3).[7]
    • If they advance to the AFC Champions League group stage, the AFC Cup group stage slot is filled by the standby team from their association if such team are available (Article 5.12).
    • The rules above do not apply to the AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders which are allocated AFC Champions League play-off slots should they 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 are each allocated two direct slots.
    • The associations ranked 4th to 6th are each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
    • The associations ranked 7th or below are each allocated one play-off slot.
    • If any zone has an association ranked 6th for AFC Champions League slot allocation, which is allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage, there are 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 is one 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 are distributed as follows:[8]
    • The associations ranked 1st to 3rd are each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
    • The associations ranked 4th or below are each allocated one play-off slot.
    • If any zone has an association ranked 6th for AFC Champions League slot allocation, which is allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage, there are 4 direct slots, and to ensure equal opportunity in each zone, another group is 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 has at least 7 play-off slots, to ensure equal opportunity in each zone, another group is 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 do not fulfill any one of the AFC Cup 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 5.7 and 5.8):
    • For each association, the maximum number of total slots is two (Articles 3.4 and 3.5).
    • If any association is allocated one additional direct slot, one play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed.
  • If any association with only play-off slot(s), including those mentioned above, do not fulfill the minimum AFC Cup criteria, the play-off slot(s) are annulled and not redistributed (Articles 5.10 and 5.11).
  • 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 5.6). 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 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 does not have enough teams which satisfy this 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).

Association ranking

For the 2023–24 AFC Cup, the associations are allocated slots according to their club competitions ranking which was published on 24 November 2021,[9][10][11] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Participation for 2023–24 AFC Cup
Participating
Not participating
Notes
  1. ^
    AFC Licensing (AFC): Association did not have a licensed club.[12]
  2. ^
    Jordan (JOR): Jordan are ranked 6th in the West Region for AFC Champions League allocation, and thus are allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage without taking away any direct slot from other associations.
  3. ^
    Vietnam (VIE): Vietnam are ranked 6th in the East Region for AFC Champions League allocation, and thus are allocated one direct slot in the AFC Cup group stage without taking away any direct slot from other associations.

Teams
Notes
  1. ^
    Iraq (IRQ): The 2022–23 Iraqi Premier League champions Al-Shorta were not granted an AFC license, therefore league runners-up and 2022–23 Iraq FA Cup winners Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya will participate in the AFC Champions League group stage.[12] The only other licensed Iraqi clubs, Al-Zawraa and Al-Kahrabaa, will therefore participate in the AFC Cup.[13]
  2. ^
    Syria (SYR): Al-Fotuwa won 1–0 against Tishreen in an additional playoff between 2021–22 and 2022–23 Syrian Premier League champions.[14]
  3. ^
    Myanmar (MYA): Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar, the 2022 General Aung San Shield was not held. Instead, the runners-up of the 2022 Myanmar National League will participate in the AFC Cup play-off round.
  4. ^
    Nepal (NEP): Church Boys United, the 2023 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League champions, failed to obtain an AFC license. Instead, the runners-up, Machhindra will participate in the AFC Cup preliminary stage.
  5. ^
    Palestine (PLE): Hilal Al-Quds, the 2022–23 West Bank Premier League runner-up, failed to obtain an AFC license. Instead, the third place, Shabab Al-Khalil will participate in the AFC Cup play-off stage.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[15]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary round 1 No draw 8 August 2023
Preliminary round 2 15–16 August 2023
Play-off stage Play-off round 22–23 August 2023
Group stage Matchday 1 24 August 2023 18–21 September 2023
Matchday 2 2–5 October 2023
Matchday 3 23–26 October 2023
Matchday 4 6–9 November 2023
Matchday 5 27–30 November 2023
Matchday 6 11–14 December 2023
Knockout stage Zonal semi-finals 21 December 2023 12–13 February 2024 (A)
12–13 February 2024 (W) 19–20 February 2024 (W)
Zonal finals 22 February 2024 (A)
16 April 2024 (W) 23 April 2024 (W)
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals 6–7 March 2024 13–14 March 2024
Inter-zone play-off final 17 April 2024 24 April 2024
Final 5 May 2024
Notes
  • A = ASEAN
  • C = Central Asia
  • E = East Asia
  • S = South Asia
  • W = West Asia

Qualifying play-offs
Main article: 2023–24 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs

Preliminary round 1

A total of two teams played in the preliminary round 1.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
South Asia Zone
Machhindra Nepal 3–2 Bhutan Paro

Preliminary round 2
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 South Asia Zone
Mohun Bagan SG India 3–1 Nepal Machhindra
Dhaka Abahani Bangladesh 2–1 Maldives Club Eagles
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 Central Asia Zone
Merw Mary Turkmenistan 1–0 Kyrgyzstan Alay Osh
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 ASEAN Zone
Phnom Penh Crown Cambodia 3–0 Laos Young Elephants
Yangon United Myanmar 2–1 Brunei DPMM

Play-off round
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 West Asia Zone
Al-Khaldiya Bahrain 2–3 Oman Al-Nahda
Al-Ittihad Syria 2–1 State of Palestine Shabab Al-Khalil
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 South Asia Zone
Mohun Bagan SG India 3–1 Bangladesh Dhaka Abahani
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 Central Asia Zone
Khujand Tajikistan 1–2 Turkmenistan Merw Mary
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 ASEAN Zone
Tampines Rovers Singapore 2–3 Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown
PSM Makassar Indonesia 4–0 Myanmar Yangon United
Team 1  Score  Team 2
 East Asia Zone
Monte Carlo Macau 1–2 Chinese Taipei Taichung Futuro

Group stage
Main article: 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 24 August 2023 at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four teams: three groups each in the West Asia Zone (Groups A–C) and the ASEAN Zone (Groups F–H), one group in the Central Asia Zone (Groups E), and one group each in the South Asia Zone (Group D) and the East Asia Zone (Group I). 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 and ASEAN Zone) could not be drawn into the same group.

Location of the 2023-24 AFC Cup Group Stage teams
Brown: Group A; Cyan: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Pink: Group E;
Green: Group F; Blue: Group G; Red: Group H; Turquoise: Group I; Purple: Group J

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ALN AHD FUT JAB
1 Oman Al-Nahda 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 6 Zonal semi-finals — 28 Nov 2–1 4–0
2 Lebanon Al Ahed 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 Possible Zonal semi-finals 2–1 — 12 Dec TBD
3 Syria Al-Fotuwa 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3 7 Nov 1–0 — 28 Nov
4 State of Palestine Jabal Al-Mukaber 2 1 0 1 1 4 −3 3 12 Dec 7 Nov 1–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 23 October 2023. Source: AFC

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WHD KSC KAH ITT
1 Jordan Al-Wehdat 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6 Zonal semi-finals — 12 Dec 3–1 2–0
2 Kuwait Al-Kuwait 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5 Possible Zonal semi-finals 2–1 — 28 Nov 6 Nov
3 Iraq Al-Kahrabaa 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 6 Nov 0–0 — 12 Dec
4 Syria Al-Ittihad 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1 28 Nov 1–1 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 24 October 2023. Source: AFC

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RIF ARA ZWR NEJ
1 Bahrain Al-Riffa 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7 Zonal semi-finals — 7 Nov 1–1 27 Nov
2 Kuwait Al-Arabi 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4 Possible Zonal semi-finals 0–3 — 27 Nov 0–0
3 Iraq Al-Zawraa 3 1 1 1 6 4 +2 4 11 Dec 1–2 — 4–1
4 Lebanon Nejmeh 3 0 1 2 1 6 −5 1 0–2 11 Dec 7 Nov —
Updated to match(es) played on 2 October 2023. Source: AFC

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MBSG BDK ODI MAZ
1 India Mohun Bagan SG 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 7 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 2–2 27 Nov 2–1
2 Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings 3 1 1 1 6 7 −1 4 7 Nov — 3–2 27 Nov
3 India Odisha 3 1 0 2 8 8 0 3 0–4 11 Dec — 6–1
4 Maldives Maziya 3 1 0 2 5 9 −4 3 11 Dec 3–1 7 Nov —
Updated to match(es) played on 24 October 2023. Source: AFC

Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ABD RAV MRW ALT
1 Kyrgyzstan Abdysh-Ata Kant 2 1 1 0 4 1 +3 4 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 9 Nov 14 Dec 3–0
2 Tajikistan Ravshan Kulob 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2 26 Oct — 0–0 14 Dec
3 Turkmenistan Merw Mary 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2 5 Oct 30 Nov — 26 Oct
4 Turkmenistan Altyn Asyr 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1 30 Nov 5 Oct 9 Nov —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 September 2023. Source: AFC

Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MAC CRO SHN DHC
1 Australia Macarthur FC 2 2 0 0 11 2 +9 6 Zonal semi-finals — 8 Nov 29 Nov 8–2
2 Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown 2 2 0 0 7 0 +7 6 Possible Zonal semi-finals 24 Oct — 4–0 29 Nov
3 Myanmar Shan United 2 0 0 2 0 7 −7 0 0–3 13 Dec — 8 Nov
4 Philippines DH Cebu 2 0 0 2 2 11 −9 0 13 Dec 0–3 24 Oct —
Updated to match(es) played on 5 October 2023 (1 out of 2 matches). Source: AFC

Group G
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BUF TFC CCM STA
1 Indonesia Bali United 2 1 1 0 6 3 +3 4 Zonal semi-finals — 1–1 7 Nov 29 Nov
2 Malaysia Terengganu 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4 Possible Zonal semi-finals 13 Dec — 1–0 25 Oct
3 Australia Central Coast Mariners 2 1 0 1 9 2 +7 3 25 Oct 29 Nov — 9–1
4 Philippines Stallion Laguna 2 0 0 2 3 14 −11 0 2–5 7 Nov 13 Dec —
Updated to match(es) played on 4 October 2023. Source: AFC

Group H
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HFC SAB PSM HOU
1 Vietnam Haiphong 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 6[lower-alpha 1] Zonal semi-finals — 24 Oct 3–0 12 Dec
2 Malaysia Sabah 3 2 0 1 10 4 +6 6[lower-alpha 1] Possible Zonal semi-finals 8 Nov — 12 Dec 3–1
3 Indonesia PSM Makassar 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3[lower-alpha 2] 28 Nov 0–5 — 24 Oct
4 Singapore Hougang United 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 3[lower-alpha 2] 2–1 28 Nov 8 Nov —
Updated to match(es) played on 25 October 2023. Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head points: Haiphong 3, Sabah 0.
  2. Head-to-head points: PSM 3, Hougang 0.

Group I
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FUT ULA CPK TAI
1 Chinese Taipei Taichung Futuro 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 14 Dec 30 Nov 26 Oct
2 Mongolia Ulaanbaatar 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 0–2 — 9 Nov 3–1
3 Macau Chao Pak Kei 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0 0–1 26 Oct — 14 Dec
4 Chinese Taipei Taiwan Steel 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0 9 Nov 30 Nov PPD —
Updated to match(es) played on 5 October 2023. Source: AFC

West Asia Zone
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B Kuwait Al-Kuwait 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5 Zonal semi-finals
2 C Kuwait Al-Arabi 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4
3 A Lebanon Al Ahed 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
Updated to match(es) played on 23 October 2023. Source: AFC

ASEAN Zone
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown 2 2 0 0 7 0 +7 6 Zonal semi-finals
2 H Malaysia Sabah 3 2 0 1 10 4 +6 6
3 G Malaysia Terengganu 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
Updated to match(es) played on 25 October 2023. Source: AFC

Top scorers
  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
  Player is not in the team but team still active for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 Total
1 Japan Shintaro Shimizu Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown 1 3 4
Malaysia Darren Lok Malaysia Sabah 2 2
2 Brazil Marco Túlio Australia Central Coast Mariners FC 3 3
France Valère Germain Australia Macarthur FC 1 2
2 Brazil Gabriel Peres Malaysia Sabah 1 1 2
Algeria Billel Bensaha Oman Al-Nahda 1 1
Australia Jason Cummings India Mohun Bagan SG 2
Brazil Dorielton Bangladesh Bashundhara Kings 2
Tunisia Taha Yassine Khenissi Kuwait Kuwait SC 2
Australia Dimitri Petratos India Mohun Bagan SG 2
Indonesia Ilija Spasojević Indonesia Bali United 2
Australia Dylan Wenzel-Halls Australia Central Coast Mariners FC 2

See also
2024–25 competitions

References
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  2. "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". AFC. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
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  8. "ОФИЦИАЛЬНО: ЧЕМПИОН ТАДЖИКИСТАНА-2020 ВЫСТУПИТ В ГРУППОВОМ ЭТАПЕ ЛИГИ ЧЕМПИОНОВ АФК-2021!". Tajikistan Football Federation. 9 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
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  10. "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  11. "AFC Club Competitions Ranking 2021". FootyRankings. 24 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  12. "List of Licensed Clubs for the 2023/24 AFC Cup" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.
  13. "أندية (الزوراء ، القوة الجوية ، الكهرباء) تحصل على الرخصة الآسيوية للموسم 2023/ 2024، تمهيداً للمشاركة في بطولات الاندية على مستوى القارة" (in Arabic). Iraq Football Association. 16 May 2023.
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