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]
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]
| Zone | Teams entering in play-off round | Teams entering in preliminary round 2 | Teams entering in preliminary round 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Zone | valign=top | valign=top | valign=top | ||||
| East Zone | valign=top | valign=top | valign=top |
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]
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 |
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]
Al-Ittihad advanced to Group A.
El Jaish advanced to Group D.
Bunyodkor advanced to Group B.
Al-Jazira advanced to Group C.
Pohang Steelers advanced to Group H.
FC Tokyo advanced to Group E.
Shandong Luneng advanced to Group F.
Shanghai SIPG advanced to Group G.
|-|+East Zone|}
|-|+East Zone|}
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|-|+West Zone|+East Zone|}
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