2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
The 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off was played from 27 January to 9 February 2016.[1] A total of 21 teams competed in the qualifying play-off to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League.[2]
Teams
The following 21 teams (8 from West Zone, 13 from East Zone) entered the qualifying play-off, which consisted of three rounds (preliminary round 1, preliminary round 2, play-off round):[3]
- Two teams (both from East Zone) entered in the preliminary round 1.
 - Seven teams (all from East Zone) entered in the preliminary round 2.
 - Twelve teams (8 from West Zone, 4 from East Zone) entered in the play-off round.
 
| Zone | Teams entering in play-off round | Teams entering in preliminary round 2 | Teams entering in preliminary round 1 | 
|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone | |||
| East Zone | 
Format
In the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.[2]
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.[1]
| Round | Match date | 
|---|---|
| Preliminary round 1 | 27 January 2016 | 
| Preliminary round 2 | 2 February 2016 | 
| Play-off round | 9 February 2016 | 
Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match. Teams from the same association could not be placed in the same play-off.[4][5]
Play-off West 1
Al-Ittihad advanced to Group A.
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
Play-off West 2
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
Play-off West 3
Bunyodkor advanced to Group B.
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||||||
Play-off West 4
Al-Jazira advanced to Group C.
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 2 (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 (4) | ||||||||||||||
Play-off East 1
Pohang Steelers advanced to Group H.
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||||||
Play-off East 2
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 9 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
Play-off East 3
Shandong Luneng advanced to Group F.
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
Play-off East 4
Shanghai SIPG advanced to Group G.
| Preliminary round 1 | Preliminary round 2 | Play-off round | ||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 0 (0) | ||||||||||||||
Preliminary round 1
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | 
|---|---|---|
| Mohun Bagan  | 
3–1 | 
| Mohun Bagan  | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lalpekhlua  Glen Yusa  | 
Report | Yasir  | 
Preliminary round 2
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | 
|---|---|---|
| Hà Nội T&T  | 
1–0 | |
| Chonburi  | 
3–2 (a.e.t.) | |
| Shandong Luneng  | 
6–0 | |
| Muangthong United  | 
0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–0 p)  | 
| Shandong Luneng  | 6–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Montillo  Tardelli Yang Xu Zheng Zheng Wang Yongpo  | 
Report | 
| Hà Nội T&T  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Marronkle  | 
Report | 
| Chonburi  | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson  Suttinan Kroekrit  | 
Report | Fernandes  Kyaw Ko Ko  | 
| Muangthong United  | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Cleiton Silva  Peerapat Sarach  | 
3–0 | |
Play-off round
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | 
|---|---|---|
| Al-Ittihad  | 
2–1 | |
| Naft Tehran  | 
0–2 | |
| Bunyodkor  | 
2–0 | |
| Al-Jazira  | 
2–2 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)  | 
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | 
|---|---|---|
| Pohang Steelers  | 
3–0 | |
| FC Tokyo  | 
9–0 | |
| Adelaide United  | 
1–2 | |
| Shanghai SIPG  | 
3–0 | 
West Zone
| Bunyodkor  | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shomurodov  | 
Report | 
| Naft Tehran  | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Hamdallah  Romarinho  | 
| Al-Jazira  | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jones  Mabkhout  | 
Report | Sanhaji  | 
| Penalties | ||
| Mabkhout  Juma Rashid Al-Shamsi Neves Park Jong-woo Mousa  | 
5–4 | |
| Al-Ittihad  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Rivas  Fallatah  | 
Report | Elhadji Malick  | 
East Zone
| Pohang Steelers  | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shim Dong-woon  | 
Report | 
| Adelaide United  | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cirio  | 
Report | Yang Xu  Tardelli  | 
| FC Tokyo  | 9–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Careca  Abe Higashi Maeda Yonemoto Mizunuma Kawano Chonlatit  | 
Report | 
| Shanghai SIPG  | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Wu Lei  Conca  | 
Report | 
References
- ^ a b "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.
 - ^ a b "2016 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 28 November 2015.
 - ^ "Champions Guangzhou Evergrande to learn ACL 2016 opponents". AFC. 4 December 2015.
 - ^ "AFC Champions League 2016 Group Stage Draw". AFC. 10 December 2015.
 - ^ "ACL 2016 Draw Results" (PDF). AFC.
 
External links
- AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com