2016 AFC Cup qualifying round


The 2016 AFC Cup qualifying round was played from 11 to 15 August 2015. A total of six teams competed in the qualifying round to decide two places in the competition proper of the 2016 AFC Cup.
The AFC Cup qualifying round was held to replace the AFC President's Cup, whose last edition was held in 2014, as starting from 2015, league champions of "emerging countries" were eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-off.

Teams

A total of six teams six nine AFC associations competed in the qualifying round. Teams were not split into zones for the qualifying round.
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count all those since the 2004 season.
AssociationTeamQualifying methodAppLast App
BangladeshSheikh Jamal Dhanmondi2013–14 Bangladesh Football Premier League champions1stnone
BhutanDruk United2014 Bhutan National League champions1stnone
KyrgyzstanAlga2014 Kyrgyzstan League 3rd place1stnone
MacauBenfica de Macau2015 Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol champions1stnone
MongoliaKhoromkhon2014 Mongolia Premier League champions1stnone
PakistanK-Electric2014–15 Pakistan Premier League champions1stnone

Draw


The draw for the qualifying round was held on 29 June 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The six teams were drawn into two groups of three.

For the draw, the pre-selected hosts were placed in their own pot, while the remaining teams were seeded according to the performance of their association in the 2014 AFC President's Cup.
Pot 1 Pot 2Pot 3

  • Druk United
  • Alga
  • Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi
  • Khoromkhon
  • K-Electric
  • Benfica de Macau

    • Format


    In the qualifying round, each group was played on a single round-robin basis at the pre-selected hosts. The winners of each group advanced to either the qualifying play-off or the group stage.

    Tiebreakers

    The teams were ranked according to points. If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:
    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. Goal difference in all the group matches;
    5. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
    6. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
    7. Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches ;
    8. Drawing of lots.

      Schedule

    The schedule of each matchday was as follows.
    MatchdayDateMatch
    Matchday 111 August 2015Team 3 vs. Team 1
    Matchday 213 August 2015Team 2 vs. Team 3
    Matchday 315 August 2015Team 1 vs. Team 2

    Groups

    Group A

    • All matches were held in Bhutan.
    • Times listed were.


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    Group B

    • All matches were held in Kyrgyzstan.
    • Times listed were.


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