2018 Chinese FA Cup


Yanjing Beer 2018 Chinese FA Cup was the 20th edition of the Chinese FA Cup. On 29 December 2017, Yanjing Beer extended their sponsorship contract for another four years.

Schedule

The schedule was as follows.
RoundDateClubs
remaining		Clubs
involved		Winners from
previous round		New entries
this round		New Entries Notes
Preliminary Round11–18 November 20179216none16
Qualifying Round30 December 2017 – 7 January 20188424816
First Round17–18 March721688last 8 teams from the 2018 China League Two and last 8 teams from the qualifying round
Second Round24–25 March6432824top 20 teams from the 2018 China League Two and top 4 teams from the qualifying round
Third Round10–12 April4832161616 2018 China League One teams
Fourth Round24–25 April3232161616 2018 Chinese Super League teams
Fifth Round1–2 May161616none
Quarter-FinalsFirst Leg 9 June and 7–8 July
Second Leg 24–25 July		888none
Semi-FinalsFirst Leg 21–23 August
Second Leg 25–27 September		444none
FinalFirst Leg 24–25 November
Second Leg 1–2 December		222none

Home Advantage Decision

According to Chinese FA Cup Procedure, in each round, home team advantages are decided as follows.
RoundsRules
First RoundAccording to FA Cup draw.
Second RoundAccording to FA Cup draw.
Third RoundThe team in lower tier in 2018 season decides whether they play at home.
Fourth RoundThe team in lower tier in 2018 season decides whether they play at home.
Fifth RoundTeams in different tiers: The team in lower tier in 2018 season decides whether they play at home.
Teams in the same tier: The team ranked higher in 2017 season decides whether they play at home.
Quarter-FinalsTeams in different tiers: The team in higher tier in 2018 season will hold the 1st leg and the other team hold the 2nd leg.
Teams in the same tier: The team ranked lower in 2017 season will hold the 1st leg and the other team hold the 2nd leg.
Semi-FinalsTeams in different tiers: The team in higher tier in 2018 season will hold the 1st leg and the other team hold the 2nd leg.
Teams in the same tier: The team ranked lower in 2017 season will hold the 1st leg and the other team hold the 2nd leg.
FinalTeams in different tiers: The team in higher tier in 2018 season will hold the 1st leg and the other team hold the 2nd leg.
Teams in the same tier: The team ranked lower in 2017 season will hold the 1st leg and the other team hold the 2nd leg.

Qualifying rounds

Association ranking

For the 2018 Chinese FA Cup Preliminary Round, the local football associations are allocated places according to the total number of FA Cup matches of all amateur clubs associated to local FAs from 2011 to 2016. Shanghai Jiading Boji, who advanced to the third round of 2017 Chinese FA Cup, and the champions and the runners-up of 2017 "I Love Football" Chinese Football Nongovernmental Championships would joined the Qualifying Round directly.

Preliminary Round

29 teams registered to participate in the qualifying rounds of the 2018 Chinese FA Cup. Teams ranked 9–13 in the north group and Teams ranked 6–17 in the south group participated in this round.

North Group

South Group

Qualifying Round

Teams ranked 1–8 in the north group, teams ranked 1–5 in the south group, 8 preliminary round winners, Shanghai Huajiao and Hangzhou Wuyue Qiantang, the champions and the runners-up of 2017 "I Love Football" Chinese Football Nongovernmental Championships and Shanghai Jiading Boji, who advanced to the third round of 2017 Chinese FA Cup will participate in this round. Hangzhou Wuyue Qiantang, already qualified as top five teams in the south group, left a vacancy which was filled by Nanchang Honggutan Teneng. Shenyang West Winner, already qualified as top eight teams in the north group, withdrew and replaced by Chifeng Hongshan Shire.

Format

Format of Qualifying Round was a variation of Double-elimination tournament with three rounds as follows.
  • Round 1: Team 1 VS Team 2; Team 3 VS Team 4
  • Round 2: Winners from the Round 1 would compete against each other and the winner would qualify and be ranked the 1st; Losers from the Round 1 would compete against each other and the loser would be eliminated and ranked the 4th.
  • Round 3: The remaining two teams would compete against each other and the winner would qualify and be ranked the 2nd while the loser would be eliminated and ranked the 3rd.

    Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

First round

and Sichuan Jiuniu replaced Qiqihar Zhongjian and Lhasa Urban Construction Investment who withdrew from 2018 China League Two in the original draw.

Second round

and Fujian Tianxin replaced Chengdu Qbao and Shanghai JuJu Sports who withdrew from 2018 China League Two in the original draw.
;Notes

Third round

;Notes

Fourth round

Fifth Round

Bracket (quarter-finals onwards)

Quarter-Finals

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Dalian Yifang won 5–0 on aggregate.
Shandong Luneng Taishan won 3–0 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Beijing Sinobo Guoan won 5–4 on penalties.
Guangzhou R&F won 3–2 on aggregate.

Semi-Finals

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Shandong Luneng Taishan won 4–0 on aggregate.
Beijing Sinobo Guoan won 8–1 on aggregate.

Final

1st Leg

2nd Leg

3–3 on aggregate. Beijing Sinobo Guoan won on away goals.

Awards

RoundMVPClubRef.
1 Xia ShicongJinan Dayou
2 Song ZhenyuShaanxi Chang'an Athletic
3 Wang JingbinShanghai Shenxin
4 Zhang WenzhaoGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao
5 Yan JunlingShanghai SIPG
QF Jonathan VieraBeijing Sinobo Guoan

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