2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
The 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off was played from 27 January to 9 February 2016. A total of 21 teams competed in the qualifying play-off to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
Teams
The following 21 teams entered the qualifying play-off, which consisted of three rounds :- Two teams entered in the [|preliminary round 1].
- Seven teams entered in the [|preliminary round 2].
- Twelve teams entered in the [|play-off round].
| Zone | Teams entering in play-off round | Teams entering in preliminary round 2 | Teams entering in preliminary round 1 | ||||||
| West Zone | FormatIn the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage. ScheduleThe schedule of each round was as follows.
BracketThe bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match. Teams from the same association could not be placed in the same play-off. Play-off West 1Al-Ittihad advanced to Group A.Play-off West 2El Jaish advanced to Group D.Play-off West 3Bunyodkor advanced to Group B.Play-off West 4Al-Jazira advanced to Group C.Play-off East 1Pohang Steelers advanced to Group H.Play-off East 2FC Tokyo advanced to Group E.Play-off East 3Shandong Luneng advanced to Group F.Play-off East 4Shanghai SIPG advanced to Group G.Preliminary round 1Preliminary round 2Play-off roundWest Zone-------- ---- East Zone-------- ---- |
