The 2020 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 21 January to 26 February 2020,[1] before the remaining matches were suspended, and eventually cancelled by the AFC on 10 September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Under the original competition format, a total of 19 teams would compete in the qualifying play-offs to decide seven of the 36 places in the group stage of the 2020 AFC Cup.[3]
Teams
The following 19 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 three rounds:
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 would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.3).[3]
Schedule
The original schedule of each round was as follows.[1][6]
Round
West Asia
Central Asia
South Asia
ASEAN
East Asia
First leg
Second leg
First leg
Second leg
First leg
Second leg
First leg
Second leg
First leg
Second leg
Preliminary round 1
Not played
Not played
22 January 2020
29 January 2020
Not played
Not played
Preliminary round 2
5 February 2020
12 February 2020
5 February 2020
12 February 2020
5 February 2020 (cancelled)
12 February 2020 (cancelled)
Play-off round
21 January 2020
28 January 2020
19 February 2020
26 February 2020
19 February 2020
26 February 2020
22 January 2020
29 January 2020
19 February 2020 (cancelled)
26 February 2020 (cancelled)
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
The East Asia Zone preliminary round 2 first leg between Ulaanbaatar City and Taipower, originally scheduled to be played on 5 February 2020 and hosted by Ulaanbaatar City, was not played as scheduled because the Mongolian government had banned Chinese nationals, including people from Taiwan, from entering Mongolia due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.[7][8]
The AFC announced on 11 February 2020 that the East Asia Zone preliminary round and play-off round matches would be postponed to 7 and 14 April, and 21 and 28 April.[9]
The AFC announced on 18 March 2020 that all matches would be postponed until further notice.[10][11]
On 9 July 2020, the AFC announced the new schedule for the remaining matches.[12][13] The tie between Taipower and Ulaanbaatar City, now in the play-off round after Tai Po's withdrawal,[5] would be played as a single match on 30 September, later rescheduled to 16 October, and hosted by Taipower as they were from the higher-ranked association.[14]
The AFC announced the cancellation of the remainder of the competition on 10 September 2020, due to logistics in coordinating the five zones.[2]
Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the second leg.[15] The seven winners of the play-off round (one each from West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, East Asia Zone, and three from ASEAN Zone) would advance to the group stage to join the 29 direct entrants.
Neftchi won on walkover after Ahal were disqualified by the AFC for failing to travel to Kyrgyzstan for the first leg due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.[17][18][19][16][9]
^ a b cUnder the original competition format, Kitchee (Hong Kong) would enter the play-off round, and Taipower (Chinese Taipei) and Ulaanbaatar City (Mongolia) would enter the preliminary round 2. However, Tai Po (Hong Kong) withdrew from the group stage after the draw (originally drawn in Group I).[4] As a result, Kitchee entered the group stage instead of the play-off round to replace Tai Po, and Taipower and Ulaanbaatar City entered the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2, which was cancelled.[5]
^ a b"AFC Competitions Calendar 2020". AFC. 6 December 2019.
^ a b"AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". AFC. 10 September 2020.
^ a b"2020 AFC Cup Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
^"Reigning champions withdraw from Premier League". offside.hk. 30 May 2020.
^ a b"AFC Statement on AFC Cup 2020 East Zone". Asian Football Association. 9 June 2020.
^"AFC Cup 2020 Official Match Schedule". AFC.
^"Ulaanbaatar City FC v Taipower FC". Facebook (in Mongolian). Ulaanbaatar City FC. 3 February 2020.
^"亞足聯盃/台電足球隊仍遭蒙古拒入境 5日作客烏蘭巴托取消" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). ETToday. 3 February 2020.
^ a b c"Update on AFC Cup Preliminary Stage matches". AFC. 11 February 2020.
^"AFC Statement on AFC Cup 2020 matches". AFC. 18 March 2020.
^"AFC extends postponement of all matches and competitions". AFC. 14 April 2020.
^"AFC reiterates commitment to complete 2020 competitions with new calendar". AFC. 9 July 2020.
^"AFC Cup revised schedule". AFC. 9 July 2020.
^"亞足聯盃/附加賽台電10月主場迎蒙古 小組賽可能台灣或香港舉行". ETToday. 9 August 2020.
^"AFC Cup 2020 At A Glance". AFC.
^ a b"АФК Кубогу-2020: "Нефтчи" плей-офф баскычына автоматтык түрдө өттү" [AFC Cup 2020: "Neftchi" automatically enters the playoff stage] (in Kyrgyz). Football Federation of Kyrgyz Republic. 7 February 2020. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
^Vershinin, Alexander (3 February 2020). "Asian soccer tournament in Turkmenistan delayed due to virus". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020.
^"Кубок АФК-2020: матч "Нефтчи" - "Ахал" не состоялся из-за коронавируса" (in Russian). sport.kg. 5 February 2020.
^"Update on AFC Cup 2020 Matches". Asian Football Confederation. 6 February 2020.
^"AFC Cup 2019 Grup H, PSM Makassar Ngungsi ke Stadion Pakansari". Topskor.id. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.