Yesterday, the AFC announced the matchups in the preliminary and playoff rounds of both competitions.
First, here is some background information about the upcoming season.
Regulations of AFC Champions League: https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/to ... ations.pdf
Regulations of AFC Cup: https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/to ... ations.pdf
Calendar: https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/ca ... -2024).pdf
Note that some dates have been changed:
AFC Champions League: Matchday 6 in the West Region and certain matches in the East Region are now played on 4-6 December 2023 due to a clash with the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
AFC Cup: The preliminary and playoff rounds are now played over one legs, on 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 August 2023, and the ASEAN semi-finals are now played on 12-13 February 2024 due to a clash with the AFC Asian Cup.
AFC Champions League Regional Ranking, AFC Cup Zonal Ranking, and Slot Allocation:
https://assets.the-afc.com/Document%20C ... ns-(1).pdf
Note that this is the original slot allocation based on the AFC ranking. If a national association do not have any clubs which obtain a necessary license, their spot will be annulled and possibly reallocated.
List of Licensed Clubs for AFC Champions League: https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/cl ... 023-24.pdf
List of Licensed Clubs for AFC Cup: https://assets.the-afc.com/downloads/cl ... 023-24.pdf
Note that a club which obtain an AFC Champions League license can automatically play in the AFC Cup. So some clubs which will play in the AFC Cup are not listed in the second document.
Based on the list of licensed clubs, the slot allocation of the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup for each national association (group stage direct entrants + playoff entrants) is as follows.
AFC Champions League
In both regions, there are 20 teams in the group stage: 16 direct entrants, and four berths which are contested by the playoff entrants.
West Region:
Saudi Arabia 3 + 1
Iran 3 + 1
Qatar 2 + 2
Uzbekistan 2 + 2
United Arab Emirates 1 + 2
Jordan 1 + 1
Tajikistan 1 + 0
Iraq 1 + 0
Turkmenistan 1 + 0
India 1 + 0
Lebanon 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
Bangladesh 0 + 1
Oman 0 + 1 (AFC Cup titleholders)
East Region:
South Korea 3 + 1
Japan 3 + 1
China 2 + 2
Thailand 2 + 2
Hong Kong 1 + 2
Vietnam 1 + 1
North Korea 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
Philippines 1 + 0
Malaysia 1 + 0
Australia 1 + 0
Singapore 1 + 0 (playoff berth upgraded to group stage due to redistribution of berth from North Korea)
Indonesia 0 + 1
AFC Cup
In the West Zone and ASEAN Zone, there are 12 teams in the group stage: 10 direct entrants, and two berths which are contested by the playoff entrants.
In the South Zone, Central Zone and East Zone, there are four teams in the group stage: three direct entrants, and one berth which is contested by the playoff entrants.
West Zone:
Jordan 1 + 0
Iraq 2 + 0
Lebanon 2 + 0
Kuwait 2 + 0
Bahrain 1 + 1
Syria 1 + 1
Palestine 1 + 1
Oman 0 + 1
Yemen 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
South Zone:
India 1 + 1
Bangladesh 1 + 1
Maldives 1 + 1
Nepal 0 + 1
Sri Lanka 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
Bhutan 0 + 1
Pakistan 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
Central Zone:
Tajikistan 1 + 1
Turkmenistan 1 + 1
Kyrgyzstan 1 + 1
Afghanistan 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
ASEAN Zone:
Vietnam 1 + 0
Philippines 2 + 0
Malaysia 2 + 0
Australia 2 + 0
Singapore 1 + 1
Indonesia 1 + 1
Myanmar 1 + 1
Cambodia 0 + 1
Laos 0 + 1
Brunei 0 + 1
East Timor 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
East Zone:
North Korea 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
Macau 1 + 1
Chinese Taipei 1 + 1
Mongolia 1 + 0 (playoff berth upgraded to group stage due to redistribution of berth from North Korea)
Guam 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
Northern Mariana Islands 0 + 0 (no licensed clubs)
