The 2018 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 22 January to 20 February 2018.[1] A total of 13 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide five of the 36 places in the group stage of the 2018 AFC Cup.[2]
The following 13 teams, split into five zones (West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, ASEAN Zone, East Asia Zone), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of two rounds:
| width=120 | Zone | width=250 | Teams entering in play-off round | width=250 | Teams entering in preliminary round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Asia Zone | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| Central Asia Zone | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| South Asia Zone | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| ASEAN Zone | valign=top | valign=top | |||
| East Asia Zone | valign=top | valign=top |
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3). The five winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 31 direct entrants.[2]
The schedule of each round was as follows (W: West Asia Zone; C: Central Asia Zone; S: South Asia Zone; A: ASEAN Zone; E: East Asia Zone).[1]
| Round | W | A | C, S, E | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First leg | Second leg | First leg | Second leg | First leg | Second leg | ||
| Preliminary round | Not played | 23 January 2018 | 30 January 2018 | ||||
| Play-off round | 22 January 2018 | 29 January 2018 | 29 January 2018 | 2 February 2018 | 13 February 2018 | 20 February 2018 | |
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg.[3]
Ahal advanced to Group D.
Bengaluru advanced to Group E.
Hwaebul advanced to Group I.A total of six teams played in the preliminary round.|+Central Asia Zone|+South Asia Zone
Ahal won 5–3 on aggregate.
Bengaluru won 3–0 on aggregate.----TC Sports won 4–1 on aggregate.
A total of 10 teams played in the play-off round: seven teams which entered in this round, and three winners of the preliminary round.|+West Asia Zone|+Central Asia Zone|+South Asia Zone|+ASEAN Zone|+East Asia Zone
Al-Suwaiq won 2–1 on aggregate.
Ahal won 3–0 on aggregate.
Bengaluru won 8–2 on aggregate.
Boeung Ket Angkor won 4–3 on aggregate.
Hwaebul won 7–0 on aggregate.
