2022 Afc Champions League

2022 AFC Champions League

Tournament details
Dates	Qualifying: 8–15 March 2022 Competition proper: 7 April 2022 – 6 May 2023
Teams	Group stage: 39 Total (maximum): 49
Final positions
Champions	Urawa Red Diamonds (3rd title)
Runners-up	Al-Hilal
Tournament statistics
Matches played	130
Goals scored	384 (2.95 per match)
Attendance	511,749 (3,937 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Edmilson Junior (8 goals)
Best player(s)	Hiroki Sakai
Fair play award	Urawa Red Diamonds
← 2021 2023–24 → (Note: All statistics do not include qualifying results)

This edition was the last in an all-year-round (spring-to-autumn) schedule despite actually being held from 2022 to 2023; from the next season onwards, the competition switched to an autumn-to-spring schedule.

This edition saw increase in numbers of preliminary players registration with 35 players, up from 30 in previous editions. This paved the way for more foreign players to be included in squad, although the AFC "3+1" foreign players rule was in effect during the match.

Due to scheduling issues, it was confirmed that the final, originally scheduled for October 2022, would not be completed until May 2023. As the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup would already be held by that time, the AFC confirmed on 23 December 2022 that Al-Hilal would be their representative at the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup as the reigning champions from the 2021 AFC Champions League.

Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia were the defending champions. Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hilal 2–1 on aggregate in the final to win their third title. As Asian champions, they automatically qualified for the 2023–24 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs since they did not qualify through their domestic performance. In addition, they earned the right to play in both the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

2021 AFC Cup winners Al-Muharraq, having not obtained an AFC license, were not eligible to participate in this edition.

The 47 AFC member associations are ranked based on their clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions (their national team's FIFA World Rankings no longer considered). The slots are allocated by the following criteria according to the Entry Manual:

• The associations are split into two regions (Article 3.1):
  • West Region consists of the 25 associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), and the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).
  • East Region consists of the 22 associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
  • The AFC may reallocate one or more associations to another region if necessary for sporting reasons.
• The top 12 associations in each region are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League.
• In each region, there are five groups in the group stage, including 16 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through qualifying play-offs (Article 3.2). The slots in each region are distributed as follows:
  • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd are each allocated three direct slots and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th are each allocated two direct slots and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 5th are each allocated one direct slot and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 6th are each allocated one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 7th to 10th are each allocated one direct slot.
  • The associations ranked 11th and 12th are each allocated one play-off slot.
• The AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are each allocated one play-off slot should they not qualify for the tournament through domestic performance (Article 3.6). The following rules are applied:
  • If the AFC Champions League title holders or AFC Cup title holders are from associations ranked 1st to 6th, their association is allocated the same number of play-off slots, and they replace the lowest-seeded team from their association. Otherwise, their association is allocated one additional play-off slot, and they do not replace any team from their association (Articles 3.8, 3.9 and 3.10).
  • If both the AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are from the same association which is allocated only one play-off slot, their association is allocated one additional play-off slot, and only the lowest-seeded team from their association is replaced as a result (Article 3.11).
  • The AFC Champions League title holders and AFC Cup title holders are the lowest-seeded teams in the qualifying play-offs if they do not replace any team from their association (Article 3.12).
• If any association ranked 1st to 6th do not fulfill any one of the AFC Champions League criteria, they have all their direct slots converted into play-off slots. The direct slots given up are redistributed to the highest eligible association by the following criteria (Articles 3.13 and 3.14):
  • For each association, the maximum number of total slots is four and the maximum number of direct slots is three (Articles 3.4 and 3.5).
  • If any association ranked 3rd to 6th is allocated one additional direct slot, one play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed.
  • If any association ranked 5th to 6th is allocated two additional direct slots, one play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed.
• If any association ranked 7th to 10th do not fulfill any one of the AFC Champions League criteria, they have their direct slot converted into play-off slot. The direct slot given up is redistributed to the next association ranked 11th or 12th, whose play-off slot is annulled and not redistributed, or if neither are eligible, the highest eligible association by the same criteria as mentioned above (Articles 3.16 and 3.17).
• If any association with only play-off slot(s), including any association ranked 11th to 12th or those mentioned above, do not fulfill the minimum AFC Champions League criteria, the play-off slot(s) are annulled and not redistributed (Articles 3.19 and 3.20).
• For each association, the maximum number of total slots is one-third of the total number of eligible teams (excluding foreign teams) in the top division (Article 3.4). If this rule is applied, any direct slots given up are redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots are annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.10).
• All participating teams must be granted an AFC Champions League license, and apart from cup winners, finish in the top half of their top division (Articles 7.1 and 9.5). If any association do not have enough teams which satisfy these criteria, any direct slots given up are redistributed by the same criteria as mentioned above, and play-off slots are annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.9).
• If any team granted a license refuses to participate, their slot, either direct or play-off, is annulled and not redistributed (Article 9.11).

Association ranking

For the 2022-23 AFC Champions League, the associations are allocated slots according to their AFC Club Competitions Ranking which was published on 29 November 2019, which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup during the period between 2016 and 2019.

West Region (5 groups) Rank Member Association Points Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 2   Qatar 97.644 4 0 0 2 4   Saudi Arabia 88.449 3 1 0 3 6   Iran[IRN] 81.724 2 0 0 4 7   United Arab Emirates 61.870 2 2 0 5 9   Iraq[IRQ] 48.992 1 1 0 6 10   Uzbekistan 45.562 1 1 0 7 12   Jordan 33.852 1 0 0 8 15   India 29.576 1 0 0 9 17   Tajikistan 28.361 1 0 0 10 20   Turkmenistan 26.532 1 0 0 11 21   Lebanon[LBN] 24.746 0 0 0 12 22   Syria 22.505 0 1 0 Total Participating associations: 11 17 6 0 6 23

East Region (5 groups) Rank Member Association Points Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 1 1   China[CHN] 100.000 2(3) 0(1) 0 2 3   Japan 93.321 3 1 0 3 5   South Korea 85.979 2 2 0 4 8   Thailand 51.189 2 2 0 5 11   Australia 40.896 1 1(0) 1(2) 6 13   Philippines 32.130 1 0 1 7 14   North Korea[PRK] 30.100 0 0 0 8 16   Vietnam 28.571 1 0 0 9 18   Malaysia 26.960 1 0 0 10 19   Singapore 26.607 1 0 0 11 23   Hong Kong 19.945 1 0 0 12 27   Myanmar[MYA] 12.756 0 0 0(1) Total Participating associations: 10 15(16) 6(8) 2(4) 8 23(24)

Notes

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.

West Region Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–E) Team Qualifying method App. (last)   Al-Sadd 2020–21 Qatar Stars League champions and 2021 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 17th (2021)   Al-Duhail 2020–21 Qatar Stars League runners-up 11th (2021)   Al-Rayyan 2020–21 Qatar Stars League third place 12th (2021)   Al-Gharafa 2020–21 Qatar Stars League fourth place 12th (2021)   Al-Hilal[Note TH] 2020–21 Saudi Professional League champions 18th (2021)   Al-Faisaly 2020–21 King Cup winners 1st   Al-Shabab 2020–21 Saudi Professional League runners-up 10th (2015)   Foolad 2020–21 Hazfi Cup winners 5th (2021)   Sepahan 2020–21 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 13th (2020)   Al-Jazira 2020–21 UAE Pro League champions 11th (2018)   Shabab Al-Ahli 2020–21 UAE President's Cup winners 2020–21 UAE Pro League third place 10th (2021)   Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2020–21 Iraqi Premier League champions and 2020–21 Iraq FA Cup winners 6th (2021)   Pakhtakor Tashkent 2021 Uzbekistan Super League champions 18th (2021)   Al-Wehdat 2021 Jordanian Pro League runners-up[Note JOR] 7th (2021)   Mumbai City 2020–21 Indian Super League regular season premiers 1st   Istiklol 2021 Tajikistan Higher League champions 4th (2021)   Ahal 2021 Ýokary Liga runners-up[Note TKM] 1st Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App. (last)   Al-Taawoun 2020–21 Saudi Professional League fourth place[Note KSA] 3rd (2020)   Baniyas 2020–21 UAE Pro League runners-up 3rd (2014)   Sharjah 2020–21 UAE Pro League fourth place 5th (2021)   Al-Zawraa 2020–21 Iraqi Premier League runners-up 7th (2021)   Nasaf Qarshi 2021 Uzbekistan Cup winners 7th (2018)   Al-Jaish 2020–21 Syrian Premier League runners-up[Note SYR] 3rd (2005)

East Region Group stage direct entrants (Groups F–J) Team Qualifying method App. (last)   Shandong Taishan 2021 Chinese Super League champions and 2021 Chinese FA Cup winners 10th (2019)   Guangzhou 2021 Chinese Super League third place 11th (2021)   Kawasaki Frontale 2021 J1 League champions 9th (2021)   Urawa Red Diamonds 2021 Emperor's Cup winners 8th (2019)   Yokohama F. Marinos 2021 J1 League runners-up 5th (2020)   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2021 K League 1 champions 15th (2021)   Jeonnam Dragons 2021 Korean FA Cup winners 3rd (2008)   BG Pathum United 2020–21 Thai League 1 champions 3rd (2021)   Chiangrai United 2020–21 Thai FA Cup winners 5th (2021)   Melbourne City 2020–21 A-League regular season premiers and 2021 A-League Grand Final winners 1st   United City 2020 Philippines Football League champions[Note PHI] 5th (2021)   Hoang Anh Gia Lai 2021 V.League 1 first-placed team[Note VIE] 3rd (2005)   Johor Darul Ta'zim 2021 Malaysia Super League champions 8th (2021)   Lion City Sailors 2021 Singapore Premier League champions 3rd (2019)   Kitchee 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League champions 7th (2021) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in play-off round Team Qualifying method App. (last)   Vissel Kobe 2021 J1 League third place 2nd (2020)   Ulsan Hyundai 2021 K League 1 runners-up 10th (2021)   Daegu FC 2021 K League 1 third place 3rd (2021)   Buriram United 2020–21 Thai League 1 runners-up 10th (2020)   Port 2020–21 Thai League 1 third place 3rd (2021)   Melbourne Victory 2021 FFA Cup winners 9th (2020) Qualifying play-off participants: Entering in preliminary round Team Qualifying method App. (last)   Sydney FC 2020–21 A-League regular season second place 7th (2020)   Kaya FC–Iloilo 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara winners[Note PHI] 2nd (2021) Withdrawn teams Team Qualifying method App. (last)   Changchun Yatai[Note WDN2] 2021 Chinese Super League fourth place 3rd (2010)   Shanghai Port[Note WDN3] 2021 Chinese Super League runners-up 7th (2021)   Shan United[Note WDN1] 2020 Myanmar National League champions 3rd (2020)

Notes

 

 

Qatar

 

Riyadh

 

Al-Faisaly

 

Al-Taawoun

 

Foolad

 

Sepahan

 

Abu Dhabi

 

DSA Metropolitan

 

Baghdad

 

Pakhtakor

 

Nasaf

 

Al-Wehdat

 

Mumbai City

 

Istiklol

 

Ahal

 

Al-Jaish

 

Guangzhou

 

Shandong

 

Kobe

 

Kanto

 

Jeonbuk

 

Gyeongsang

 

Jeonnam

 

Bangkok

 

Chiangrai U

 

Buriram U

 

Sydney FC

 

Melbourne

 

United City

 

Kaya–Iloilo

 

Hoang Anh Gia Lai

 

Johor Darul Ta'zim

 

Lion City Sailors

 

Kitchee

 

Baghdad teams
  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
  Al-Zawraa

Qatar teams
  Al-Sadd
  Al-Duhail
  Al-Rayyan
  Al-Gharafa

Riyadh teams
  Al-Hilal
  Al-Shabab

 

Gyeongsang teams
  Ulsan Hyundai
  Daegu FC

Kanto teams
  Kawasaki Frontale
  Urawa Red Diamonds
  Yokohama F. Marinos

Greater Bangkok teams
  BG Pathum United
  Port

Melbourne teams
  Melbourne City
  Melbourne Victory

 

Abu Dhabi teams
  Al-Jazira
  Baniyas

DSA Metropolitan teams
  Shabab Al-Ahli
  Sharjah

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Location of teams of the 2022 AFC Champions League.
  Brown: Group A;   Red: Group B;   Orange: Group C;   Yellow: Group D;   Pink: Group E;
  Green: Group F;   Blue: Group G;   Cyan: Group H;   Turquoise: Group I;   Purple: Group J;
  Qualifying play-offs

The schedule of the competition was as follows. The final version was originally announced on 13 January 2022, with the following modifications made on 9 December 2022: the West Region knockout stage matches were pushed back by two weeks in February, while the final was moved from 19 and 26 February to 29 April and 6 May 2023.

Original schedule

The original schedule of the competition, as planned in 2019 before the pandemic, included a two-legged knockout stage.

In June 2021, a minor revision was made to the schedule of the preliminary and play-off stages: matches were moved one week earlier in January.

First major revision to schedule

On 5 July 2021, the AFC announced the first revised schedule of the competition, featuring a centralized group stage and single-leg knockout stage matches.

Second major revision to schedule

On 13 January 2022, the AFC announced the second revised schedule of the competition, with the knockout stage of the West Region pushed back to February 2023, and a two-legged format restored for the final.

In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined based on each team's association ranking and their seeding within their association, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same tie. The seven winners of the play-off round (three from West Region and four from East Region) advanced to the group stage to join the 33 direct entrants.

Preliminary round

A total of two teams played in the preliminary round.

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Sydney FC	5–0	Kaya–Iloilo
Melbourne Victory	Cancelled	Shan United

Play-off round

West Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Al-Taawoun	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Al-Jaish
Baniyas	0–2	Nasaf Qarshi
Sharjah	1–1 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p)	Al-Zawraa

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Changchun Yatai	Cancelled	Sydney FC
Vissel Kobe	4–3 (a.e.t.)	Melbourne Victory
Ulsan Hyundai	3–0	Port
Daegu FC	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p)	Buriram United

The draw for the group stage was held on 17 January 2022 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 40 teams were drawn into ten groups of four: five groups each in the West Region (Groups A–E) and the East Region (Groups F–J). For each region, teams were seeded into four pots and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking and their seeding within their association, in consideration of the technical balance between groups. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.

In the group stage, each group was played in a double round-robin format in centralised venues. The winners of each group and three best runners-up from each region advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HIL	RYN	SHJ	IST
1	Al-Hilal (H)	6	4	1	1	11	5	+6	13	Advance to Round of 16		—	0–2	2–1	1–0
2	Al-Rayyan	6	4	1	1	10	7	+3	13			0–3	—	3–1	1–0
3	Sharjah	6	1	2	3	7	11	−4	5			2–2	1–1	—	2–1
4	Istiklol	6	1	0	5	5	10	−5	3			0–3	2–3	2–0	—