2020 AFC Cup explained

Tourney Name:	AFC Cup
Year:	2020
Dates:	Qualifying: Competition proper:
Num Teams:	Competition proper: 36 Total: 48
Associations:	28
Champion Other:	Not awarded
Matches:	32
Goals:	91
Top Scorer:	Bienvenido Marañón
Prevseason:	2019
Nextseason:	2021

The 2020 AFC Cup was an abandoned season of the AFC Cup which was the 17th edition of the competition, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).^[1]

The competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic after group stage matches on 11 March 2020,^[2] and was originally to resume on 23 September 2020.^[3] However, the season was eventually cancelled by the AFC on 10 September 2020 on account of the continuing pandemic.^[4] ^[5]

Al-Ahed of Lebanon were the defending champions.

Association team allocation

The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) were ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):^[6]

The associations were split into five zones:
- West Asia Zone consisted of the associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF).
- Central Asia Zone consisted of the associations from Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).
- South Asia Zone consisted of the associations from the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
- ASEAN Zone consisted of the associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).
- East Asia Zone consisted of the associations from the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
All associations which did not receive direct slots in the AFC Champions League group stage were eligible to enter the AFC Cup.
In each zone, the number of groups in the group stage was determined based on the number of entries, with the number of slots filled through play-offs same as the number of groups:
- In the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, there were three groups in the group stage, including a total of 9 direct slots, with the 3 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
- In the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia Zone, there was one group in the group stage, including a total of 3 direct slots, with the 1 remaining slot filled through play-offs.
The top associations participating in the AFC Cup in each zone as per the AFC rankings received at least one direct slot in the group stage (including losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs), while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
- For the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN zone:
  - The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each received two direct slots.
  - The associations ranked 4th to 6th each received one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  - The associations ranked 7th or below each received one play-off slot.
- For the Central Asia Zone, the South Asia Zone, and the East Asia zone:
  - The associations ranked 1st to 3rd each received one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  - The associations ranked 4th or below each received one play-off slot.
The maximum number of slots for each association was one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
If any association did not use its direct slots, they would be redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of two direct slots.
If any association did not use its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.
If the number of teams in the play-offs in any zone was fewer than twice the number of group stage slots filled through play-offs, the play-off teams of the highest eligible associations would be given byes to the group stage.

Association ranking

For the 2020 AFC Cup, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking as at 15 December 2017.^[7] This took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2014 and 2017.^[8]

bgcolor=#f7f8ff colspan=2	Participation for 2020 AFC Cup
bgcolor=#90ee77 width=20		Participating
bgcolor=#ffcccc width=20		Not participating

Rank	Member Association	Points	Slots
+West Asia Zone (3 groups)
Group stage	Play-off
Group stage
1	16			28.983	2	0	0	0
2	18		25.649	2	0	0	0
3	19		24.798	2	0	0	0
4	20		24.337	2	0	0	0
5	22		21.367	2	0	0	0
6	27		13.921	1	1	0	0
7	29		10.552	0	1	0	0
8	34		3.358	0	0	0	0
Total	Participating associations: 7	11	2	0	0
2
13

Rank	Member Association	Points	Slots
+Central Asia Zone (1 group)
Group stage	Play-off
Group stage
1	12			30.725	1	1	0	0
2	26		14.163	1	0	1	0
3	31		5.680	1	0	1	0
4	37		2.454	0	0	0	0
Total	Participating associations: 3	3	1	2	0
3
6

Rank	Member Association	Points	Slots
+South Asia Zone (1 group)
Group stage	Play-off
Group stage
1	15			29.291	1	0	1	0
2	28		11.970	1	0	1	0
3	33		3.365	1	0	1	0
4	38		1.228	0	0	0	0
5	39		0.875	0	0	0	1
6	44		0.325	0	0	0	1
7	46		0.188	0	0	0	0
Total	Participating associations: 5	3	0	3	2
5
8

Rank	Member Association	Points	Slots
+ASEAN Zone (3 groups)
Group stage	Play-off
Group stage
1	17			27.426	2	0	0	0
2	21		21.405	2	0	0	0
3	23		17.084	2	0	0	0
4	24		16.871	1	1	0	0
5	25		14.753	1	1	0	0
6	32		3.439	1	1	0	0
7	35		3.312	0	1	0	0
8	41		0.564	0	1	0	0
9	43		0.401	0	1	0	0
Total	Participating associations: 9	9	6	0	0
6
15

Rank	Member Association	Points	Slots
+East Asia Zone (1 group)
Group stage	Play-off
Group stage
1	14			29.300	1	1	0	0
2	30		7.797	0	0	0	0
3	36		2.769	1	0	1	0
4	40		0.815	1	0	0	0
5	42		0.539	0	0	0	0
6	45		0.213	0	0	1	0
Total	Participating associations: 4	3	1	2	0
3
6

Notes

Teams

The following 48 teams from 28 associations entered the competition. Teams from Brunei and Timor-Leste entered the AFC Cup for the first time.^[9]

+Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–C)
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Al-Jaish	2018–19 Syrian Premier League champions	10th
Al-Wathba	2018–19 Syrian Cup winners	1st
Al-Faisaly	2018–19 Jordanian Pro League champions and 2018–19 Jordan FA Cup winners	10th
Al-Jazeera	2018–19 Jordanian Pro League runners-up	4th
Al-Kuwait	2018–19 Kuwaiti Premier League champions and 2018–19 Kuwait Emir Cup winners	9th
Al-Qadsia	2018–19 Kuwaiti Premier League runners-up	8th
Al-Riffa	2018–19 Bahraini Premier League champions and 2018–19 Bahraini King's Cup winners	5th
Manama	2018–19 Bahraini Premier League runners-up	2nd
Al-Ahed	2018–19 Lebanese Premier League champions 2018–19 Lebanese FA Cup winners	10th
Al-Ansar	2018–19 Lebanese Premier League runners-up	6th
Dhofar	2018–19 Oman Professional League champions	5th

Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Sur	2018–19 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners	2nd
Hilal Al-Quds	2018–19 West Bank Premier League champions	4th

+Group stage direct entrants (Group D)
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Istiklol	2019 Tajikistan Higher League champions and 2019 Tajikistan Cup winners	6th
Altyn Asyr	2019 Ýokary Liga champions 2019 Turkmenistan Cup winners	6th
Dordoi	2019 Kyrgyz Premier League champions	5th

Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Khujand	2019 Tajikistan Higher League runners-up	4th

Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round 2
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Neftchi	2019 Kyrgyzstan Cup winners	1st

Withdrawn teams
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App. to be
Ahal	2019 Ýokary Liga runners-up	4th

+Group stage direct entrants (Group E)
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Chennai City	2018–19 I-League champions	1st
TC Sports	2018 Dhivehi Premier League champions	2nd
Bashundhara Kings	2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League champions	1st

Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round 2
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Bengaluru	2018–19 Indian Super League champions	5th
Maziya	2018 Dhivehi Premier League runners-up	6th
Abahani Limited Dhaka	2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League runners-up	4th

Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round 1
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Paro	2019 Bhutan Premier League champions	1st
Defenders	2018–19 Sri Lanka Champions League champions	1st

+Group stage direct entrants (Groups F–H)
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Hồ Chí Minh City	2019 V.League 1 runners-up	1st
Than Quảng Ninh	2019 V.League 1 3rd place	2nd
Ceres–Negros	2019 Philippines Football League champions and 2019 Copa Paulino Alcantara winners	6th
Kaya–Iloilo	2019 Philippines Football League runners-up	3rd
Tampines Rovers	2019 Singapore Premier League runners-up 2019 Singapore Cup winners	12th
Hougang United	2019 Singapore Premier League 3rd place	1st
Bali United	2019 Liga 1 champions	2nd
Shan United	2019 Myanmar National League champions	3rd
Lao Toyota	2019 Lao Premier League champions 2019 Lao FF Cup winners	6th

Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
PSM Makassar	2018–19 Piala Indonesia winners	2nd
Yangon United	2019 General Aung San Shield winners	7th
Master 7	2019 Lao Premier League runners-up	1st
Svay Rieng	2019 C-League champions	1st
Indera	2018–19 Brunei Super League 4th place	1st
Lalenok United	2019 LFA Primeira champions	1st

+Group stage direct entrants (Group I)
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Kitchee	2018–19 Hong Kong FA Cup winners	8th
Tatung	2019 Taiwan Premier League champions	2nd
MUST CPK	2019 Liga de Elite champions	1st

Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Taipower	2019 Taiwan Premier League runners-up	1st
Ulaanbaatar City	2019 Mongolian Premier League champions	1st

Withdrawn teams
width=30%	Team	width=55%	Qualifying method	width=15%	App
Tai Po	2018–19 Hong Kong Premier League champions	3rd

Notes

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.^[10] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only some of the group stage matches on matchdays 1–3 in February and March were played as scheduled, and all matches in the East Asia Zone, on matchdays 2–6 in the Central Asia Zone and the South Asia Zone, and on matchdays 4–6 in the West Asia Zone and the ASEAN Zone, were postponed until further notice.^[2] The West Asia Zonal semi-finals were also initially moved to 24–25 August and 14–15 September.^[11]

The AFC announced the calendar of the remaining matches on 9 July 2020, with all group stage matches played at centralised venues, and all knockout ties played as a single match. The AFC announced the cancellation of the remainder of the competition on 10 September 2020, due to logistics in coordinating the five zones.^[4]

Notes:

W: West Asia Zone
C: Central Asia Zone
S: South Asia Zone
A: ASEAN Zone
E: East Asia Zone
~~Italics~~: planned new dates after restart, before the cancellation of the tournament

Stage	Round	Draw date	Match dates
Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	No draw	22 January 2020 (S)	29 January 2020 (S)
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 2		5 February 2020 (C, S)	12 February 2020 (C, S)
Play-off stage	Play-off round		21–22 January 2020 (W, A), 19 February 2020 (C, S)	28–29 January 2020 (W, A), 26 February 2020 (C, S)
Play-off stage	Play-off round		~~16 October 2020~~ (E)
Group stage	Matchday 1	10 December 2019	10–12 February 2020 (W, A), 11 March 2020 (C, S), ~~20 October 2020~~ (C, E)
	Matchday 2		24–26 February 2020 (W, A), ~~23 October 2020~~ (W, C, S, E)
	Matchday 3		9–11 March 2020 (A), ~~26 October 2020~~ (W, C, S, E)
	Matchday 4		~~23 September 2020~~ (A), ~~29 October 2020~~ (W, C, S, E)
	Matchday 5		~~26 September 2020~~ (A), ~~1 November 2020~~ (W, C, S, E)
	Matchday 6		~~29 September 2020~~ (A), ~~4 November 2020~~ (W, C, S, E)
Knockout stage	Zonal semi-finals		~~20–21 October 2020~~ (A), ~~23–24 November 2020~~ (W)
	Zonal finals	Cancelled	~~4 November 2020~~ (A), ~~1 December 2020~~ (W)
	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		~~24–25 November 2020~~
	Inter-zone play-off final		~~2 December 2020~~
	Final		~~12 December 2020~~

The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.


Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	No draw	22 January 2020 (S)	29 January 2020 (S)
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 2		4–5 February 2020 (C, S, E)	11–12 February 2020 (C, S, E)
Play-off stage	Play-off round		21–22 January 2020 (W, A), 18–19 February 2020 (C, S, E)	28–29 January 2020 (W, A), 25–26 February 2020 (C, S, E)
Group stage	Matchday 1	10 December 2019	10–12 February 2020 (W, A), 10–11 March 2020 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 2		24–26 February 2020 (W, A), 14–15 April 2020 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 3		9–11 March 2020 (W, A), 28–29 April 2020 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 4		13–15 April 2020 (W, A), 12–13 May 2020 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 5		27–29 April 2020 (W, A), 26–27 May 2020 (C, S, E)
	Matchday 6		11–13 May 2020 (W, A), 16–17 June 2020 (C, S, E)
Knockout stage	Zonal semi-finals		25–27 May 2020 (W, A)	15–17 June 2020 (W, A)
	Zonal finals	TBD	4–5 August 2020 (A), 29 September 2020 (W)	11–12 August 2020 (A), 20 October 2020 (W)
	Inter-zone play-off semi-finals		25–26 August 2020	15–16 September 2020
	Inter-zone play-off final		30 September 2020	21 October 2020
	Final		7 November 2020

Qualifying play-offs

See main article: 2020 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs.

Play-off round

Group stage

See main article: 2020 AFC Cup group stage.

Group I

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Team				Total
1	Bienvenido Marañón	Ceres–Negros	2	1	2	5
2	Hernán Barcos	Bashundhara Kings	4		4
2	Stipe Plazibat	Hougang United	2	2	4
4	Amido Baldé	Hồ Chí Minh City	1	2		3
4	Jeremie Lynch	Than Quảng Ninh	1	1	1	3
6	Aung Kyaw Naing	Yangon United		2		2
	Manuchekhr Dzhalilov	Istiklol	2
	Fito	Chennai City	2
	Eric Giganto	Kaya–Iloilo	1		1
	Ahmed Hamdouni	Al-Faisaly		2
	Boris Kopitović	Tampines Rovers	1		1
	Jean Befolo Mbarga	Svay Rieng		1	1
	Nguyễn Công Phượng	Hồ Chí Minh City	1	1
	Nguyễn Hải Huy	Than Quảng Ninh		1	1
	Nguyễn Xuân Nam	Hồ Chí Minh City		2
	Melvin Platje	Bali United	2
	OJ Porteria	Ceres–Negros		1	1
	Ferdinand Sinaga	PSM Makassar	1	1
	Ilija Spasojević	Bali United	1	1
	El Hadji Malick Tall	Al-Ansar		2
	Jordan Webb	Tampines Rovers	1		1

External links

, the-AFC.com
AFC Cup 2020, stats.the-AFC.com

Notes and References

Web site: 2020 AFC Cup Competition Regulations. the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. PDF. 2019-10-31. 2020-03-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20200316085533/https://www.the-afc.com/afc/documents/PDFFiles/afc-cup-2020-competition-regulations. live.
Web site: AFC Statement on AFC Cup 2020 matches. AFC. 18 March 2020. 18 March 2020. 1 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200701144703/https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-cup/latest/news/afc-statement-on-afc-cup-2020-matches. live.
Web site: AFC reiterates commitment to complete 2020 competitions with new calendar. AFC. 9 July 2020. 9 July 2020. 29 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200729061043/https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-champions-league/latest/news/afc-reiterates-commitment-to-complete-2020-competitions-with-new-calendar. live.
Web site: AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar. AFC. 10 September 2020. 6 October 2020. 5 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201005100450/https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/afc-champions-league/latest/news/afc-executive-committee-announces-updates-to-2020-competitions-calendar. live.
Web site: Football: Asian Football Confederation cancels second-tier AFC Cup due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Straits Times. en. 10 September 2020. 10 September 2020. 10 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200910182955/https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-asian-football-confederation-cancels-second-tier-afc-cup-due-to-covid-19. live.
Web site: Entry Manual: AFC Club Competitions 2017–2020. the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. PDF. 2018-04-06. 2018-08-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20180826171337/http://www.the-afc.com/afc/documents/PdfFiles/entry-manual-afc-club-competitions-2017-2020-33728. live.
Web site: AFC Club Competitions Ranking (as of 15 December 2017). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. PDF. 17 August 2018. 5 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181005154515/http://www.the-afc.com/afc/documents/PdfFiles/afc-club-competitions-ranking-2017-as-of-15-december-2017. live.
Web site: AFC Club Competitions Ranking Mechanics (2017 version). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. PDF. 2018-04-06. 2018-10-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20181012103910/http://www.the-afc.com/afc/documents/PdfFiles/afc-club-competitions-ranking-mechanics-34582. live.
Web site: Stage set for AFC Cup 2020 draw. the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 8 December 2019. 8 December 2019. 3 September 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230903162011/https://www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_cup/news/stage_set_for_afc_cup_2020_draw.html. live.
Web site: AFC Competitions Calendar 2020. the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 4 April 2018. 6 April 2018. 6 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191206085925/https://www.the-afc.com/afc/documents/PDFFiles/afc-competitions-calendar-2020. live.
Web site: AFC Cup West Zone Group Stage matches postponed. AFC. 12 March 2020. 12 March 2020. 16 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200316062841/https://www.the-afc.com/afc-home/media/media-releases/news/afc-cup-west-zone-group-stage-matches-postponed. live.