The 2014 AFC Cup was the 11th edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Al-Kuwait were the two-time defending champions, but were eliminated by Persipura Jayapura in the quarter-finals.
In the final, Al-Qadsia of Kuwait defeated Erbil of Iraq 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in regulation time, to win their first AFC Cup title after losing in the previous year's final.
Association team allocation The AFC laid out the procedure for deciding the participating associations and the allocation of slots, with the final decision to be made by the AFC on 26 November 2013. The following changes to the list of participating associations may be made from the 2013 AFC Cup if the AFC approves the following applications made by any association: An association originally participating in the AFC Cup may apply to participate in the 2014 AFC Champions League. An association may participate in both the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup if it only partially fulfills the AFC Champions League criteria. An association originally participating in the AFC President's Cup may apply to participate in the 2014 AFC Cup.
The following changes in the participating associations were made compared to the previous year: Kyrgyzstan and Palestine clubs' participation were upgraded from the AFC President's Cup to the AFC Cup starting from 2014 by the AFC.
Each participating association was given either two entries to the group stage or one entry to the qualifying play-off, based on the AFC Technical Ranking and the number of associations in each zone.
Evaluation for 2014 AFC CupRanked top 23, allocated two direct slotsRanked 24–34, allocated two direct slotsRanked 24–34, allocated one play-off slot
+West Asia ZoneRankMemberAssociationSlotsGroup stagePlay-off10 Jordan2011 Kuwait2013 Iraq2014 Syria2015 Oman2016 Bahrain2018 Lebanon2026 Tajikistan0131 Palestine0132 Kyrgyzstan0133 Yemen01Total144
+East Asia ZoneRankMemberAssociationSlotsGroup stagePlay-off17 Vietnam2019 Hong Kong2020 Indonesia2021 Singapore2022 Malaysia2023 India2025 Maldives2027 Myanmar20Total160
Teams The following teams entered the competition. Teams in italics played in the 2014 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, but failed to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage (had they advanced to the AFC Champions League group stage, they would have been replaced by another team from the same association).
+West Asia ZoneTeamQualifying methodAppLast AppGroup stage direct entrants (Groups A–D) Al-Hidd2012–13 Bahrain First Division League 3rd place1stnone Riffa2012–13 Bahrain First Division League 4th place3nd2013 Al-Shorta2012–13 Iraqi Elite League champions1stnone Erbil2012–13 Iraqi Elite League runners-up5th2013 Shabab Al-Ordon2012–13 Jordan League champions4th2010 That Ras2012–13 Jordan FA Cup winners1stnone Al-Kuwait2012–13 Kuwaiti Premier League champions6th2013 Al-Qadsia2013 Kuwait Emir Cup winners5th2013 Safa2012–13 Lebanese Premier League champions2012–13 Lebanese FA Cup winners5th2013 Al-Nejmeh2012–13 Lebanese Premier League runners-up6th2010 Al-Suwaiq2012–13 Oman Elite League champions2012–13 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners4th2012 Fanja2012–13 Oman Elite League runners-up2nd2013 Al-Jaish2013 Syrian Premier League champions4th2011 Al-Wahda2013 Syrian Cup winners3rd2013Qualifying play-off participants Alay Osh2013 Kyrgyzstan League champions1stnone Shabab Al-Dhahiriya2012–13 West Bank Premier League champions1stnone Ravshan Kulob2013 Tajik League champions2nd2013 Al-Yarmuk Al-Rawda2013 Yemeni League champions1stnone
+East Asia ZoneTeamQualifying methodAppLast AppGroup stage direct entrants (Groups E–H) South China2012–13 Hong Kong First Division League champions5th2011 Kitchee2012–13 Hong Kong season play-off winners4th2013 Pune2012–13 I-League runners-up1stnone Churchill Brothers2012–13 I-League champions3rd2013 Persipura Jayapura2013 Indonesia Super League champions2nd2011 Arema Cronus2013 Indonesia Super League runners-up2nd2012 Selangor2013 Malaysia Super League runners-up4th2013 Kelantan2013 Malaysia FA Cup winners3rd2013 New Radiant2013 Dhivehi League champions2013 Maldives FA Cup winners6th2013 Maziya2013 Dhivehi League runners-up2nd2013 Yangon United2013 Myanmar National League champions3rd2013 Nay Pyi Taw2013 Myanmar National League runners-up1stnone Tampines Rovers2013 S.League champions7th2013 Home United2013 Singapore Cup winners7th2012 Hà Nội T&T2013 V.League 1 champions2nd2011 Vissai Ninh Bình2013 Vietnamese Cup winners1stnone
Notes
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws held at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).
PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifying play-offRound 1No draw2 February 2014Group stageMatchday 110 December 201325–26 February 2014Matchday 211–12 March 2014Matchday 318–19 March 2014Matchday 41–2 April 2014Matchday 58–9 April 2014Matchday 622–23 April 2014Knock-out stageRound of 1613–14 May 2014Quarter-finals28 May 201419 August 201426 August 2014Semi-finals16 September 201430 September 2014Final18 October 2014 at Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
Qualifying play-off
The bracket for the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC. Each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The winners of each tie advanced to the group stage to join the 30 automatic qualifiers.
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2013. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.
Tiebreakers The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (away goals do not apply) Goal difference in all the group matches Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card) Drawing of lots
Group A
Group B
Group C
Tiebreakers Al-Qadsia and Al-Hidd are ranked on head-to-head record.
Group D
Group E
Tiebreakers Churchill Brothers and Home United are ranked on head-to-head record.
Group F
Group G
Group H
Tiebreakers Tampines Rovers and Pune are ranked on head-to-head record.
Knock-out stage
In the knock-out stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.
Bracket
Round of 16 In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group in the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.
!colspan=3|West Asia Zone
!colspan=3|East Asia Zone
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 28 May 2014. Teams from different zones could be drawn into the same tie, and the "country protection" rule was applied, so teams from the same association cannot be drawn into the same tie.
Semi-finals
Final
The draw to decide the host team of the final was held after the quarter-final draw.
Awards AwardPlayerTeamMost Valuable Player Saif Al Hashan Al-QadsiaTop Goalscorer Juan Belencoso Kitchee
Top scorers RankPlayerTeamTotal1 Juan Belencoso Kitchee11213 2 1 112 Omar Al Soma Al-Qadsia 1113 1 7 César Yangon United 211111 7 Paulo Rangel Selangor1 3 3 75 Kyaw Ko Ko Yangon United3 11 1 6 Nguyễn Văn Quyết Hà Nội T&T311 1 6 Boaz Solossa Persipura Jayapura1 21 11 68 Saif Al Hashan Al-Qadsia 11 1 115 Bader Al-Mutawa Al-Qadsia 11 125 Đinh Văn Ta Vissai Ninh Bình12 2 5 Boakay Eddie Foday Persipura Jayapura 5 5 Borja Rubiato Erbil 1211 5
See also 2014 AFC Champions League 2014 AFC President's Cup
References
External links AFC Cup, the-AFC.com