2015 AFC Cup
Tournament details
Dates9 February – 31 October 2015
Teams41 (from 23 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsMalaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim (1st title)
Runners-upTajikistan Istiklol
Tournament statistics
Matches played122
Goals scored339 (2.78 per match)
Attendance496,305 (4,068 per match)
Top scorer(s)Australia Daniel McBreen
North Macedonia Riste Naumov
(8 goals each)
Best player(s)Malaysia Mohd Safiq Rahim

The 2015 AFC Cup was the 12th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[1]

Johor Darul Ta'zim won the tournament after defeating Istiklol in the final.

Al-Qadsia were the defending champions, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals after the Kuwait Football Association was suspended by FIFA.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014,[2] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014.[3] The member associations are 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 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2014 rankings:[4]

  • The top 24 member associations (MAs) as per the AFC rankings which do not receive direct slots in the AFC Champions League are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup group stage (including losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off).
  • The MAs ranked 25 to 32 are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup group stage, and the associations ranked 33 to 47 are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-off (including those of "emerging countries" which participated in the AFC President's Cup, whose last edition was in 2014).

The AFC Competitions Committee decided on the participation of member associations in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC Cup on 28 November 2014.[5][6][7]

Participation for 2015 AFC Cup[6]
Participating
Not participating
Notes
  1. ^
    Iraq were given special entry to the 2015 AFC Cup, since they were not allowed to participate in the 2015 AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements for 2015.
  2. ^ a b
    Lebanon and Syria were not allowed to participate in the 2015 AFC Champions League as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements for 2015, so their champions directly entered the AFC Cup group stage instead of playing in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off.
  3. ^
    Afghanistan were allocated one group stage slot and one play-off slot for the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup, but did not submit an entry for the 2015 AFC Cup.
  4. ^
    Turkmenistan were allocated one group stage slot and one play-off slot for the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup, but both teams entered the qualifying play-off for the 2015 AFC Cup due to Iraq's participation.
  5. ^ a b
    Kyrgyzstan and Yemen were allocated one play-off slot for the 2015 AFC Cup due to participation in the 2014 AFC Cup.
  6. ^ a b
    Bangladesh and Nepal were allocated one play-off slot for the 2015 AFC Cup due to results in the 2014 AFC President's Cup.
  7. ^
    Myanmar were allocated one group stage slot and one play-off slot for the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup, but both teams entered the group stage for the 2015 AFC Cup due to North Korea's withdrawal.
  8. ^ a b c
    Malaysia, India and Singapore were allocated one group stage slot and one play-off slot for the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup, but both teams entered the group stage for the 2015 AFC Cup due to lack of play-off teams in the East Zone.
  9. ^
    North Korea were allocated one group stage slot and one play-off slot for the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup, but withdrew from the 2015 AFC Cup.
  10. ^
    Laos were allocated one group stage slot and one play-off slot for the 2015 and 2016 AFC Cup, but only one team entered the 2015 AFC Cup.

Teams

The following 41 teams from 23 associations entered the competition.[8]

Teams in italics played in the 2015 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage (had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would have been replaced by another team from the same association).

Notes
  1. ^
    Bahrain (BHR): Al-Hidd entered the AFC Cup instead of East Riffa, the 2014 Bahraini King's Cup winners.[9][10]
  2. ^
    India (IND): East Bengal entered the AFC Cup instead of Churchill Brothers, the 2013–14 Indian Federation Cup winners.[11]
  3. ^
    Indonesia (IDN): Since the Piala Indonesia had to be cancelled due to tightness of schedule caused by the parliamentary and presidential elections, the Indonesia Super League runners-up were chosen to represent Indonesia in the AFC Cup.
  4. ^
    Iraq (IRQ): Due to the worsening war situation and increased unrest in the country, the Iraq Football Association (IFA) ended the 2013–14 Iraqi Premier League on 18 June 2014 and declared the standings on that date as final.[12] The IFA did not crown a champion or runner-up of the league,[13] but first-placed Al-Shorta and second-placed Erbil were considered to be the champions and runners-up only for the purpose of enabling admission into the AFC Cup.[14]
  5. ^
    Jordan (JOR): Al-Jazeera entered the AFC Cup instead of Al-Faisaly, the 2013–14 Jordan League runners-up.[15]
  6. ^
    Philippines (PHI): The Philippine Football Federation confirmed that the UFL Division 1 champions (entering group stage) and the UFL FA League Cup winners (entering play-off) were chosen to represent the Philippines in the AFC Cup.[16]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).[17]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary round No draw 9–10 February 2015
Play-off stage Play-off round 17 February 2015
Group stage Matchday 1 11 December 2014 24–25 February 2015
Matchday 2 10–11 March 2015
Matchday 3 17–18 March 2015
Matchday 4 14–15 April 2015
Matchday 5 28–29 April 2015
Matchday 6 12–13 May 2015
Knockout stage Round of 16 26–27 May 2015
Quarter-finals 18 June 2015 25–26 August 2015 15–16 September 2015
Semi-finals 29–30 September 2015 20–21 October 2015
Final 31 October 2015

Qualifying play-off

The bracket for the qualifying play-off, which consisted of two rounds (preliminary round and play-off round), was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team.[18] Each tie was played as a single match, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The winners of each tie in the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 27 automatic qualifiers.[1]

Preliminary round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Ahal Turkmenistan 1–0 Kyrgyzstan Dordoi
Altyn Asyr Turkmenistan 0–1 Yemen Al-Saqr
Khayr Vahdat Tajikistan 1–0 Bangladesh Sheikh Russel
Hilal Al-Quds State of Palestine w/o[K] Nepal Manang Marshyangdi Club
Notes
  1. ^
    Manang Marshyangdi Club withdrew.[19]

Play-off round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Fanja Oman 2–3 Turkmenistan Ahal
Al-Hidd Bahrain 2–1 Yemen Al-Saqr
Salam Zgharta Lebanon 3–0 Tajikistan Khayr Vahdat
Al-Jaish Syria 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)		 State of Palestine Hilal Al-Quds
East Zone
Maziya Maldives 1–0 Philippines Ceres

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 11 December 2014.[18] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:[1]

  1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
  3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  4. Greater number of away goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
  6. Goal difference in all the group matches;
  7. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
  8. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
  9. Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  10. Team who belongs to the member association with the higher AFC ranking.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WEH WAH NAH SZG
1 Jordan Al-Wehdat 6 4 1 1 16 3 +13 13 Advance to knockout stage — 0–1 4–0 5–1
2 Syria Al-Wahda 6 3 2 1 8 4 +4 11 1–1 — 1–2 3–1
3 Oman Al-Nahda 6 2 1 3 7 11 −4 7 0–3 0–0 — 4–1
4 Lebanon Salam Zgharta 6 1 0 5 5 18 −13 3 0–3 0–2 2–1 —
Source: AFC

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SHO JAZ TWN HID
1 Iraq Al-Shorta 6 2 3 1 14 7 +7 9 Advance to knockout stage — 4–0 6–2 2–2
2 Jordan Al-Jazeera 6 2 3 1 6 7 −1 9 1–1 — 2–0 1–0
3 State of Palestine Taraji Wadi Al-Nes 6 1 3 2 6 11 −5 6 1–0 1–1 — 1–1
4 Bahrain Al-Hidd 6 0 5 1 6 7 −1 5 1–1 1–1 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification IST QAD ERB AHA
1 Tajikistan Istiklol 6 3 2 1 12 8 +4 11 Advance to knockout stage — 2–0 1–3 5–2
2 Kuwait Al-Qadsia 6 3 1 2 7 6 +1 10 2–2 — 1–2 2–0
3 Iraq Erbil 6 2 1 3 8 8 0 7 0–0 0–1 — 2–3
4 Turkmenistan Ahal 6 2 0 4 8 13 −5 6 1–2 0–1 2–1 —
Source: AFC

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JAI KUW RIF NEJ
1 Syria Al-Jaish 6 4 2 0 6 1 +5 14 Advance to knockout stage — 0–0 1–1 1–0
2 Kuwait Al-Kuwait 6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10 0–1 — 2–1 4–1
3 Bahrain Riffa 6 2 2 2 7 7 0 8 0–1 2–1 — 2–1
4 Lebanon Al-Nejmeh 6 0 1 5 4 12 −8 1 0–2 1–2 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSJ BGL MAZ WAR
1 Indonesia Persipura Jayapura 6 5 1 0 17 4 +13 16 Advance to knockout stage — 3–1 0–0 6–0
2 India Bengaluru FC 6 4 0 2 8 8 0 12 1–3 — 2–1 1–0
3 Maldives Maziya 6 2 1 3 7 6 +1 7 1–2 1–2 — 2–0
4 Singapore Warriors 6 0 0 6 1 15 −14 0 1–3 0–1 0–2 —
Source: AFC

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JDT KIT EBG BAL
1 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 6 5 0 1 11 3 +8 15 Advance to knockout stage — 2–0 4–1 3–0
2 Hong Kong Kitchee 6 3 2 1 10 6 +4 11 2–0 — 2–2 3–0
3 India East Bengal 6 1 2 3 8 10 −2 5 0–1 1–1 — 3–0
4 Singapore Balestier Khalsa 6 1 0 5 3 13 −10 3 0–1 1–2 2–1 —
Source: AFC

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SCA PAH GLO YAD
1 Hong Kong South China 6 6 0 0 19 3 +16 18 Advance to knockout stage — 3–1 3–0 3–1
2 Malaysia Pahang 6 2 2 2 11 10 +1 8 0–1 — 0–0 7–4
3 Philippines Global 6 1 2 3 5 12 −7 5 1–6 0–0 — 4–1
4 Myanmar Yadanarbon 6 1 0 5 10 20 −10 3 0–3 2–3 2–0 —
Source: AFC

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSB AYE NRA LAO
1 Indonesia Persib Bandung 6 3 3 0 10 5 +5 12 Advance to knockout stage — 3–3 4–1 1–0
2 Myanmar Ayeyawady United 6 2 4 0 13 9 +4 10 1–1 — 0–0 4–3
3 Maldives New Radiant 6 1 2 3 4 10 −6 5 0–1 0–3 — 2–1
4 Laos Lao Toyota FC 6 0 3 3 7 10 −3 3 0–0 2–2 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[1]

Bracket

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
Iraq Al-Shorta 0
Kuwait Al-Kuwait 2
Kuwait Al-Kuwait 6 1 7
Hong Kong Kitchee 0 1 1
Indonesia Persib Bandung 0
Hong Kong Kitchee 2
Kuwait Al-Kuwait 4 — —
Tajikistan Istiklol (w/o) 0 — —
Tajikistan Istiklol (pen.) 1(4)
Syria Al-Wahda 1(2)
Tajikistan Istiklol 4 1 5
Malaysia Pahang 0 3 3
Indonesia Persipura Jayapura 0
Malaysia Pahang (awd.) 3
Tajikistan Istiklol 0
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1
Jordan Al-Wehdat 0
Kuwait Al-Qadsia 1
Kuwait Al-Qadsia 3 0 3
Syria Al-Jaish 0 2 2
Syria Al-Jaish 1
Jordan Al-Jazeera 0
Kuwait Al-Qadsia 3 — —
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim (w/o) 1 — —
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 5
Myanmar Ayeyawady United 0
Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1 3 4
Hong Kong South China 1 1 2
Hong Kong South China 2
India Bengaluru FC 0

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group in the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Al-Wehdat Jordan 0–1 Kuwait Al-Qadsia
Istiklol Tajikistan 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		 Syria Al-Wahda
Al-Shorta Iraq 0–2 Kuwait Al-Kuwait
Al-Jaish Syria 1–0 Jordan Al-Jazeera
East Zone
Persipura Jayapura Indonesia 0–3 (awd.)[L] Malaysia Pahang
South China Hong Kong 2–0 India Bengaluru FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia 5–0 Myanmar Ayeyawady United
Persib Bandung Indonesia 0–2 Hong Kong Kitchee
Notes
  1. ^
    The Persipura Jayapura v Pahang match was not played as scheduled as Pahang players were denied entry into Indonesia due to visa issues.[20] The AFC announced on 10 June 2015 that as a result of this and the suspension of Indonesia by FIFA, Persipura Jayapura forfeited the match and was considered to have lost the match by 3–0, based on the AFC Cup 2015 Competition Regulations and the AFC Disciplinary Code.[21]

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 June 2015. Teams from different zones could be drawn into the same tie, and there was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.[22]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Qadsia Kuwait 3–2 Syria Al-Jaish 3–0 0–2
Johor Darul Ta'zim Malaysia 4–2 Hong Kong South China 1–1 3–1
Al-Kuwait Kuwait 7–1 Hong Kong Kitchee 6–0 1–1
Istiklol Tajikistan 5–3 Malaysia Pahang 4–0 1–3

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined by the quarter-final draw.[22]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Qadsia Kuwait w/o[M] Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–1 Cancelled
Al-Kuwait Kuwait w/o[M] Tajikistan Istiklol 4–0 Cancelled
Notes
  1. ^ a b
    On 16 October 2015, the Kuwait Football Association was suspended by FIFA:[23] as a result, Al-Qadsia and Al-Kuwait were both disqualified from the AFC Cup. Therefore, the second legs of both semi-finals were scratched, and Johor Darul Ta'zim and Istiklol advanced to the final.[24]

Final

In the final, the host team was determined by a draw, held after the quarter-final draw.[22]

Istiklol Tajikistan0–1Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Report Velázquez 23'
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)

Awards

Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player[25] Malaysia Mohd Safiq Rahim Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim
Top Goalscorer Australia Daniel McBreen Hong Kong South China
North Macedonia Riste Naumov Myanmar Ayeyawady United

Top scorers

Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 2R QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2 F Total
1 Australia Daniel McBreen Hong Kong South China 21122 8
North Macedonia Riste Naumov Myanmar Ayeyawady United 2222 8
3 Nigeria Dickson Nwakaeme Malaysia Pahang 123 6
4 Spain Juan Belencoso Hong Kong Kitchee 1121 5
Cameroon Mahama Awal Hong Kong South China 2111 5
Indonesia Boaz Solossa Indonesia Persipura Jayapura 1121 5
Brazil Rogerinho Kuwait Al-Kuwait 212 5
Kuwait Bader Al-Mutawa Kuwait Al-Qadsia 2111 5
Argentina Luciano Figueroa Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1121 5
10 Nigeria Ranti Martins India East Bengal 1111 4
Iraq Marwan Hussein Iraq Al-Shorta 22 4
Jordan Mahmoud Za'tara Jordan Al-Wehdat 211 4
Brazil Vinícius Kuwait Al-Kuwait 13 4
Malaysia Safee Sali Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 112 4
Malaysia Mohd Safiq Rahim Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 1111 4
Colombia Edison Fonseca Myanmar Ayeyawady United 112 4
Tajikistan Manuchekhr Dzhalilov Tajikistan Istiklol 112 4
Tajikistan Khurshed Makhmudov Tajikistan Istiklol 1111 4

Note: Goals scored in qualifying play-off not counted when determining top scorer (see regulations, Article 77.4).[1][26]

Source: the-AFC.com[27][28][29]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "AFC Cup 2015 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  2. ↑ "Revamp of AFC competitions". AFC. 25 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "AFC MA Ranking as at 3 November 2014" (PDF). AFC.
  5. ↑ "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". AFC. 28 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 "AFC Cup slots decided for 2015-2016 editions". AFC. 4 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Slot allocation for AFC Cup 2015 - 2016" (PDF). AFC.
  8. ↑ "AFC Cup 2015: The contenders..." AFC. 10 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "الحد يتهم الاتحاد البحريني بالتقصير". Kooora. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "BFA affirms adressing [sic] AFC regarding Al Hidd's participation". BFA. Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "East Bengal Get Berth in AFC Cup East Zone". NDTV. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "اتحاد الكرة ينهي رسميا مسابقة الدوري الممتاز بكرة القدم". Buratha News Agency. 18 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "رئيس اتحاد الكرة: الشرطة ليس بطلا للدوري الممتاز". Karbala News. 18 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "الاتحاد الكروي يكتفي بتسمية نادي الشرطة بطلا للدوري الممتاز على المستوى الخارجي فقط". Al-Forat News. 18 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "الجزيرة مرشح قوي لخلافة الفيصلي بكأس الاتحاد الاسيوي". Gerasa News. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Global FC to represent Philippines in AFC Cup as Ceres-La Salle gains playoff berth". 13 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2015" (PDF). AFC.
  18. 1 2 "AFC Cup 2015 Draw". AFC. 12 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "MMC Not To Play AFC Cup Play Off Against Al Quids Hilal". GoalNepal.com. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Statement on Persipura Jayapura v Pahang FA AFC Cup Round of 16 fixture". AFC. 25 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Persipura Jayapura forfeit AFC Cup match v Pahang FA". AFC. 10 June 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 "AFC Cup 2015 Quarter-finals draw concluded". AFC. 18 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Suspension of the Kuwait Football Association". FIFA.com. 16 October 2015. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015.
  24. ↑ "FIFA Suspension of Kuwait FA: AFC Cup implications". AFC. 17 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "JDT skipper Safiq Rahim named AFC Cup final MVP". AFC. 31 October 2015.
  26. ↑ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2015 AFC Cup Playoff". AFC.com.
  27. ↑ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2015 AFC Cup Group Stage". AFC.com.
  28. ↑ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2015 AFC Cup Round of 16". AFC.com.
  29. ↑ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2015 AFC Cup Knockout Stage". AFC.com.
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