The qualifying play-off of the 2014 AFC Champions League was played from 29 January to 15 February 2014, to decide four of the 32 places in the group stage.[1] [2]
The bracket for the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with teams from the higher-ranked associations entering at later rounds.[2] Teams from the same association may not play each other in the qualifying play-off.[3] Each tie was played as a single match, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The winners of each tie in round 3 advanced to the group stage to join the 28 automatic qualifiers. All losers of each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.[1]
The following 19 teams (11 from West Zone, 8 from East Zone) were entered into the qualifying play-off:
| Zone | Teams entering in Round 3 | Teams entering in Round 2 | Teams entering in Round 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone | valign=top | valign=top | valign=top | ||||
| East Zone | valign=top | valign=top | valign=top |
|
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[4]
| Round | Match date | |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 2 February 2014 | |
| Round 2 | 8 February 2014 | |
| Round 3 | 15 February 2014 |
|-|+West Zone|+East Zone|}
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|-|+West Zone|+East Zone|}
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|-|+West Zone|+East Zone|}
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