The AFC Champions League 2014 was the 12th season of the most important Asian competition for club teams in football under this name and the 33rd overall. 47 clubs from 19 national associations took part in the competition.
The AFC determined the association members eligible to participate on November 26, 2013.
The following criteria were proposed on March 12, 2013:
The 23 best associations can apply for the competition. You will receive points according to the AFC points system.
The east and west zones each receive 14 places in the group stage. The remaining 2 places per zone will be decided by the playoffs.
Each association must score at least 600 out of a possible 1000 points in order to send teams to the AFC Champions League.
The places for the group stage and the playoffs are allocated according to the following ranking:
The two best-placed associations receive four starting places in the group stage.
The third-placed associations receive three starting places in the group phase and one play-off place.
The fourth-placed associations will receive two starting places in the group stage and two play-off places.
The fifth-placed associations receive one starting place in the group phase and two play-off places.
The associations between sixth and eleventh place receive a playoff place.
The maximum number of clubs from an association must not be more than a third of the total number of clubs in the first division (e.g. Australia cannot have more than 3 teams because the A-League only has 9 teams).
The AFC Cup winners and finalists receive a playoff place, regardless of their association's ranking, provided the clubs meet the minimum criteria.
On November 26, 2013, the starting places for the AFC Champions League 2014 were determined. The 47 starting places (28 group stage and 19 playoff places) were allocated on the basis of the above criteria, but some of them were slightly deviated from.
Starting places for the AFC Champions League 2014
Criteria met (> 600 points)
Criteria not met, but starting places received
Criteria not applied, but starting places received
1 The Indian team was assigned to the East Asia group.
2Kuwait has received a playoff spot through the eligibility criteria. In addition, al-Kuwait and al-Qadsia qualified for the playoffs as winners and finalists of the 2013 AFC Cup . But they are the only two teams from Kuwait that meet the licensing criteria, so Kuwait only gets two playoff places.
Qualified teams
The following teams have qualified:
West asia
team
Qualified over
directly qualified for the group stage (groups A – D)
For teams that have qualified through several competitions, only the higher title is given.
mode
Group stage
In the group stage, 32 teams played in eight groups, each with four teams in league mode (first and second leg). The teams were divided according to geographical aspects. Teams from West and Central Asia played in groups A to D, and teams from East and Southeast Asia competed in groups E to H. The first two of the group qualified for the final round of the last 16. The tournament was played with the three-point rule .
Final round
The quarter-finals were drawn, but it was not possible for two teams from the same country to meet directly. The teams played the tournament winner in the knockout system with a return game, whereby the away goals rule applied. If there was no winner in the second leg after regular playing time and overtime, the winner was determined on penalties .
The group stage was also drawn on December 10, 2013. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups with four participants each. Teams from the same country could not be drawn into the same group. Everyone played a game against each other. The two best teams in each group reached the round of 16.
The tables were created according to the following rules:
Number of points (win 3 points, tie one point, defeat 0 points)
Points from face-to-face encounters
Number of hits achieved in direct encounter
Goal difference in all matches of the group
Number of hits scored in all matches in the group
Penalty shoot-out by the teams concerned (only after the direct encounter at the end of the group stage)
low fair play value (one point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card, 3 points for each red-yellow card, 4 points for each yellow card which is followed by a red card)
The first legs took place on May 6th and 7th, the second legs on May 13th and 14th. In the round of the last 16, the group winners played against runners-up from a different group in the same zone. The group winners had home advantage in the second leg.
The first legs took place on August 19 and 20, the second legs on August 26 and 27. In the round of the last 8 teams in the same zone played against each other.
yellow cards
Yellow and red cards
Red cards
al-Qadsia
al-Hidd
al-Shorta
South China
Hà Nội T&T
Nasaf Karschi
Foolad Ahvaz
1-0 Juric (64th)
Asamoah Gyan
Elkeson