The 2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 24 January to 8 February 2017.[1] A total of 23 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2017 AFC Champions League.[2]
Teams
The following 23 teams, split into two regions (West Region and East Region), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of three rounds:[3][4][5]
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 (Regulations Article 9.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.[2]
Schedule
The schedule of each round was as follows.[1]
Round
Match date
Preliminary round 1
24 January 2017
Preliminary round 2
25 & 31 January 2017
Play-off round
7–8 February 2017
Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same play-off.[4]
^ abOn 18 January 2017, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were excluded from the 2017 AFC Champions League due to bribery scandal.[6] As a result, Jeju United entered the group stage instead of the qualifying play-offs to replace them, while Ulsan Hyundai entered the qualifying play-offs to replace Jeju United.[7]
^The identity of the play-off team from Japan was not known at the time of the group stage draw.[8]
^The Kitchee v Hà Nội match was brought forward from 31 January 2017 due to Kitchee's participation in the 2017 Lunar New Year Cup.
References
^ ab"AFC Calendar of Competitions 2017" (PDF). AFC.
^ ab"2017 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
^"Champions Jeonbuk to learn ACL 2017 opponents on Tuesday". AFC. 12 December 2016.
^ ab"AFC Champions League 2017 Draw Mechanism" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
^ abcdefghi"AFC Champions League 2017 draw concluded". AFC. 14 December 2016.
^"Reigning champions disqualified from top Asian club football tournament". english.yonhapnews.co.kr. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
^"Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ineligible for AFC Champions League 2017". AFC. 18 January 2017.
^"Japanese clubs confirm 2017 AFC Champions League opponents". AFC. 1 January 2017.