| Tourney Name: | AFC Champions League |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Num Teams: | 36 |
| Associations: | 13 |
| Champion Other: |  Al-Sadd |
| Count: | 2 |
| Second Other: |  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Matches: | 117 |
| Goals: | 323 |
| Top Scorer: | Lee Dong-gook (9 goals) |
| Player: | Lee Dong-gook |
| Prevseason: | 2010 |
| Nextseason: | 2012 |
The 2011 AFC Champions League was the 30th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 9th under the current AFC Champions League title. The winners, Al-Sadd qualified for the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
The AFC approved criteria for participation in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.[1] The final decision date was set after the Executive Committee meeting in November 2010.[2]
On 30 November 2009, the AFC announced 12 more MA's that were keen to join the ACL, in addition to ten participating national associations. Singapore later withdrew. The full list of candidate associations were as follows:
Australia, 
China PR, 
Indonesia, 
Japan, Korea Republic
Malaysia, 
Myanmar, 
Thailand
Singapore[3] Qatar, 
Saudi Arabia, UAE, 
Uzbekistan
Iraq, 
Jordan, 
Oman, 
Pakistan, Palestine, 
Tajikistan, 
Yemen, 
IndiaNote: Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and India have clubs taking part in play-offs to qualify for the group stages of ACL in 2010.
The allocation for entry to the 2011 ACL stayed the same as the previous two seasons with the exception of Vietnam who were disqualified and their previous playoff slot was awarded to Qatar.[4]
| +West Asia | |||||
| Member Association | width=14% rowspan="2" | Clubs | Spots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=15% | Group stage | width=15% | Play-off | width=14% | AFC Cup |
| Saudi Arabia | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
 Iran | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| UAE | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Qatar | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Uzbekistan | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| India | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Iraq | 36 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Jordan | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Oman | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Yemen | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Pakistan | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Palestine | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tajikistan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Meet the criteria | ||
| Do not meet the criteria |
| +East Asia | |||||
| Member Association | width=14% rowspan="2" | Clubs | Spots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=15% | Group stage | width=15% | Play-off | width=14% | AFC Cup |
| Japan | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Korea Republic | 15* | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| China PR | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Australia | 9+1** | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Indonesia | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Thailand | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Vietnam | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Singapore | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Myanmar | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
The finalists of the 2010 AFC Cup also participated in the play-off, provided that they meet the Champions League criteria.
The following is the list of direct entrants for the group stage confirmed by the AFC.[6]
| Group stage direct entrants: West Asia (Groups A–D) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Qualifying method | App* | Last App | |
| Sepahan | 2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup champions | 7th | 2010 | |
| Persepolis | 2009–10 Hazfi Cup winners | 3rd | 2009 | |
| Zob Ahan | 2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup runners-up | 3rd | 2010 | |
| Esteghlal | 2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup 3rd place | 4th | 2010 | |
| Al-Hilal | 2009–10 Saudi Professional League champions | 7th | 2010 | |
| Al-Ittihad Jeddah | 2009–10 Saudi Professional League runners-up 2010 King Cup of Champions winners | 7th | 2010 | |
| Al-Nassr | 2009–10 Saudi Professional League 3rd place | 1st | none | |
| Al-Shabab | 2009–10 Saudi Professional League 4th place | 6th | 2010 | |
| Al-Wahda | 2009–10 UAE Premier League champions | 6th | 2010 | |
| Emirates | 2009–10 UAE President's Cup winners | 1st | none | |
| Al-Jazira | 2009–10 UAE Premier League runners-up | 3rd | 2010 | |
| Al-Gharafa | 2009–10 Qatar Stars League champions | 6th | 2010 | |
| Al-Rayyan | 2010 Emir of Qatar Cup winners | 3rd | 2007 | |
| Bunyodkor | 2010 Uzbek League champions 2010 Uzbekistan Cup winners | 4th | 2010 | |
| Pakhtakor | 2010 Uzbek League runners-up | 9th | 2010 | |
| Group stage direct entrants: East Asia (Groups E–H) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Qualifying method | App* | Last App | |
| Nagoya Grampus | 2010 J. League Division 1 champions | 2nd | 2009 | |
| Kashima Antlers | 2010 Emperor's Cup winners | 5th | 2010 | |
| Gamba Osaka | 2010 J. League Division 1 runners-up | 5th | 2010 | |
| Cerezo Osaka | 2010 J. League Division 1 3rd place | 1st | none | |
| Shandong Luneng Taishan | 2010 Chinese Super League champions | 5th | 2010 | |
| Tianjin Teda | 2010 Chinese Super League runners-up | 2nd | 2009 | |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 2010 Chinese Super League 3rd place | 6th | 2009 | |
| Hangzhou Greentown | 2010 Chinese Super League 4th place | 1st | none | |
| FC Seoul | 2010 K-League champions | 2nd | 2009 | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2010 Korean FA Cup winners | 4th | 2010 | |
| Jeju United | 2010 K-League runners-up | 1st | none | |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2010 K-League 3rd place | 5th | 2010 | |
| Sydney FC | 2009–10 A-League premiers 2010 A-League Grand Final winners | 2nd | 2007 | |
| Melbourne Victory | 2009–10 A-League regular season runners-up | 3rd | 2010 | |
| Arema | 2009–10 Indonesia Super League champions | 2nd | 2007 | |
The following is the list of participants for the playoff stage confirmed by the AFC.[7] The committee further proposed that one team be shifted by the means of a draw from the West to the East for sake of balance.
| Qualifying play-off participants: West Asia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Qualifying method | App* | Last App | |
| Dempo | 2009–10 I-League champions | 2nd | 2009 | |
| Al-Ain | 2009–10 UAE Premier League 3rd place | 7th | 2010 | |
 Al-Ittihad | 2010 AFC Cup winners | 5th | 2008 | |
| Al-Sadd | 2009–10 Qatar Stars League runners-up | 8th | 2010 | |
| Qualifying play-off participants: East Asia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Qualifying method | App* | Last App | |
| Sriwijaya | 2010 Piala Indonesia winners | 3rd | 2010 | |
| Muangthong United | 2010 Thai Premier League champions | 2nd | 2010 | |
Schedule of dates for 2011 competition.[8]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying play-offs | Semi-finals | 7 December 2010 | 12–13 February 2011 | |
| Finals | 19 February 2011 | |||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 1–2 March 2011 | ||
| Matchday 2 | 15–16 March 2011 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 5–6 April 2011 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 19–20 April 2011 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 3–4 May 2011 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 10–11 May 2011 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 16 | 24–25 May 2011 | ||
| Quarter-finals | 7 June 2011 | 14 September 2011 | 27–28 September 2011 | |
| Semi-finals | 19 October 2011 | 26 October 2011 | ||
| Final | 4 or 5 November 2011 | |||
See main article: 2011 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off.
The draw for the qualifying play-off was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 December 2010.[9] In order to create balance another draw was held, moving one of the teams (Al-Ain) from the West into the East side of the play-offs.[10]
The two winners from the qualifying play-off (one from West Asia and one from East Asia) advanced to the group stage. All losers from the qualifying play-off entered the 2011 AFC Cup group stage.[11]
!colspan="3"|Semi-final|-!colspan="3"|Final|}
!colspan="3"|Semi-final|-!colspan="3"|Final|}
See main article: 2011 AFC Champions League group stage.
The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 December 2010.[9] [12] Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group.[10] The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.[11]
See main article: 2011 AFC Champions League knockout stage.
Based on the results from the group stage, the matchups of the round of 16 were decided as below.[13] Each tie was played as one match, hosted by the winners of each group (Team 1) against the runners-up of another group (Team 2).[10]
The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 June 2011.[14] In this draw, the "country protection" rule was applied: if there are exactly two clubs from the same country, they may not face each other in the quarter-finals; however, if there are more than two clubs from the same country, they may face each other in the quarter-finals.
See main article: 2011 AFC Champions League Final.
The final of the 2011 AFC Champions League was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by draw.[11] This format was a change from the 2009 and 2010 editions, where the final was played at a neutral venue.[15]
The following awards were given for the 2011 AFC Champions League:[16]
Lee Dong-Gook (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) Lee Dong-Gook (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsNote: Goals scored in qualifying round not counted.
| Rank | Player | Club | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Dong-Gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||||||||
| 2 |  Eninho | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |||||||
| 3 | Ha Tae-Gyun | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
| 4 |  Bader Al-Mutawa | Al-Nassr | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Farhad Majidi | Esteghlal | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
 Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
 Ibrahima Touré | Sepahan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
| 8 | Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
| Abdelmalek Ziaya | Al-Ittihad | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Hiroshi Kiyotake | Cerezo Osaka | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Takashi Inui | Cerezo Osaka | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Rodrigo Pimpão | Cerezo Osaka | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Yeom Ki-Hun | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
| Igor Castro | Zob Ahan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Mohammad Ghazi | Zob Ahan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |