2018 AFC Champions League
Tournament details | |
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Dates | Qualifying: 16–30 January 2018 Competition proper: 12 February – 10 November 2018 |
Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 46 (from 20 associations) |
Final positions | |
Champions | Kashima Antlers (1st title) |
Runners-up | Persepolis |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 126 |
Goals scored | 364 (2.89 per match) |
Attendance | 1,876,986 (14,897 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Baghdad Bounedjah (13 goals) |
Best player(s) | Yuma Suzuki |
Fair play award | Persepolis |
The 2018 AFC Champions League was the 37th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title.
Association team allocation
The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014,
- The associations were split into two regions:
- West Region consists of the associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), and the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
- East Region consists of the associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
- In each region, there are four groups in the group stage, including a total of 12 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
- The top 12 associations in each region as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
- The top six associations in each region get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots (as well as AFC Cup group stage slots):
- The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot.
- The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots.
- The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots.
- The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
- The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot.
- The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
- If any association gives up its direct slots, they are redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of three direct slots.
- If any association gives up its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.
For the 2018 AFC Champions League, the associations are allocated slots according to their
Participation for 2018 AFC Champions League | |
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Participating | |
Not participating |
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- Notes
- A-League, only have nine Australia-based teams in the 2016–17 season, so Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots (Entry Manual 5.4).[4]
Teams
The following 46 teams from 20 associations entered the competition.
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.
- Notes
- 2017 Liga 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, Bali United, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.[9]