The 2021 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 7 April to 23 June 2021.[1] A total of 15 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide seven of the 40 places in the group stage of the 2021 AFC Champions League.[2]
The following 15 teams, split into two regions (West Region and East Region), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of two rounds:
| Region | Teams entering in play-off round | Teams entering in preliminary round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | |||
| East Region |
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[2]
The schedule of each round was as follows.[1] [3] [4] On 11 March 2021, the AFC announced that the preliminary round and play-off round matches in the East Region, which were originally scheduled to be played on 7 April and 14 April 2021, had been postponed to June/July 2021, and were played in centralised venues of their respective group stage matches.[5]
| Round | West Region | East Region | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Not played | ||
| Play-off round | 7 and 10 April 2021 | 23 June 2021 | |
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined based on each team's association ranking and their seeding within their association, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match in the West Region. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same tie. The eight winners of the play-off round (four each from both West Region and East Region) advanced to the group stage to join the 32 direct entrants.[6]
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya advanced to Group B.A total of two teams will play in the preliminary round.|+East Region|}
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A total of 14 teams played in the preliminary round 2: 13 teams which entered in this round, and one winner of the preliminary round.|+West Region|}|+East Region|}
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