Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: Guizhou Renhe’s 3-2 aggregate victory over Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese FA Cup final this weekend has added the final element of the equation to the 2014 AFC Champions League Playoffs slated for February.
Guizhou’s trophy triumph ensured they advanced to the Group Stage of the 2014 ACL, with their place in the Playoffs which had been reserved for China’s fourth-place finishers now taken by Beijing Guoan, who finished one place above the Chinese FA Cup winners in the CSL.
Guizhou are making an immediate return to the ACL following their participation in the 2013 tournament where they finished third in Group H behind Kashiwa Reysol of Japan and Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.
This season’s race for the last four available places in the Group Stage of the AFC Champions League is unquestionably the most intriguing yet with the door to Asia’s premier club competition being made open to more Member Associations (MAs) via an extended playoff format.
MAs were assessed and awarded points on 11 criteria with the points on their Technical Standard determining the top 23 nations eligible to apply for participation in the AFC Champions League.
MAs who apply to take part in the ACL were then ranked on their total accumulated points with their ranking determining the number of clubs from that country that will take part in the Group Stage and/or Playoffs for the 2014 AFC Champions League.
There was no draw for the 2014 ACL Playoff with the stage at which a team entered and whether or not they played at home based on how highly their MA was ranked. The ‘country protection principle’ was also applied to ensure that no teams from the same MA would meet in the playoffs.
Losing teams from an MA that is only eligible for a place in the Playoffs of the 2014 AFC Champions League (namely Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq) in the West and Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Vietnam in the East) will participate in the Group Stage of the AFC Cup while losing teams from those MAs ranked high enough to have at least one team gaining direct entry to the 2014 ACL Group Stage (namely Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Uzbekistan in the West and Japan, Korea Republic, China, Australia and Thailand in the East) will NOT take part in the AFC Cup.
For more details on the ranking system and the criteria on which Member Associations are assessed click here.
ACL 2014 Playoffs - East
02/02/14: Round 1
R1 (1) Tampines Rovers (SIN) v South China (HKG)
Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore
R1 (2) Pune (IND) v Hanoi T&T (VIE)
Shriv Shiv Chattrapati Sports Complex, Pune
08/02/14: Round 2
R2 (1) Chonburi (THA) v Winner R1 (1)
Chonburi Stadium, Chonburi
R2 (2) Muangthong United (THA) v Winner R1 (2)
Thunderdome Stadium, Bangkok
15/02/14: Round 3
R3 (1) Beijing Guoan (CHN) v Winner R2 (1)
Workers Stadium, Beijing
R3 (2) Melbourne Victory (AUS) v Winner R2 (2)
TBC, Melbourne
ACL 2014 Playoffs – West
02/02/14: Round 1
R1 (1) Suwaiq (OMN) v Al Qadsia (KUW)
Seeb Sports Complex, Muscat
R1 (2) Shabab Al Ordon (JOR) v Al Hidd (BHR)
Amman International Stadium, Amman
R1 (3) Kuwait SC (KUW) v Al Shorta (IRQ)
Kuwait SC Stadium, Kuwait City
08/02/14: Round 2
R2 (1) Baniyas(UAE) v Winner R1 (1)
Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi
R2 (2) El Jaish (QAT) v Nasaf (UZB)
TBC, Doha
R2 (3) Lekhwiya (QAT) v Winner R1 (2)
15/02/14: Round 3
R3 (1) Winner R2 (1) v Winner R2 (2)
TBC
R3 (2) Winner R2 (3) v Winner R2 (4)
TBC
Photo: AFP