2023–24 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs

The 2023–24 AFC Cup qualifying play-offs were played from 8 to 23 August 2023.^[1] A total of twenty teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide seven of the 36 places in the group stage of the 2023–24 AFC Cup.^[2]

Teams

The following 20 teams, split into five zones (West Asia Zone, Central Asia Zone, South Asia Zone, ASEAN Zone, East Asia Zone), entered the qualifying play-offs, consisting of three rounds:

• 2 teams entered in the preliminary round 1.
• 9 teams entered in the preliminary round 2.
• 9 teams entered in the play-off.

Zone	Teams entering in play-off round	Teams entering in preliminary round 2	Teams entering in preliminary round 1
West Asia Zone	Al-Khaldiya Al-Nahda Al-Ittihad Shabab Al-Khalil
South Asia Zone		Mohun Bagan SG Dhaka Abahani Club Eagles	Machhindra Paro
Central Zone	Khujand	Merw Mary Alay Osh
ASEAN Zone	Tampines Rovers PSM Makassar	Yangon United Phnom Penh Crown Young Elephants DPMM
East Asia Zone	Monte Carlo Taichung Futuro

Format

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.^[3]

Schedule

Round	Match date
Preliminary round 1	8 August 2023
Preliminary round 2	15–16 August 2023
Play-off round	22–23 August 2023

Bracket

The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined based on each team's association ranking, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. The seven winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 29 direct entrants.

South Asia play-off

	Preliminary round 1				Preliminary round 2				Play-off round
					Mohun Bagan SG	3
					Machhindra	1
	Machhindra	3
	Paro	2
									Mohun Bagan SG	3
									Dhaka Abahani	1
					Dhaka Abahani	2
					Club Eagles	1

West Asia play-off

	Play-off round
	Al-Khaldiya	2
	Al-Nahda	3

	Play-off round
	Al-Ittihad	2
	Shabab Al-Khalil	1

Central Asia play-off

	Preliminary round 2				Play-off round
					Khujand	1
					Merw Mary	2
	Merw Mary	1
	Alay Osh	0

ASEAN play-off

	Preliminary round 2				Play-off round
					Tampines Rovers	2
					Phnom Penh Crown	3
	Phnom Penh Crown	3
	Young Elephants	0

	Preliminary round 2				Play-off round
					PSM Makassar	4
					Yangon United	0
	Yangon United	2
	DPMM	1

East Asia play-off

	Play-off round
	Monte Carlo	1
	Taichung Futuro	2

Preliminary round 1

Summary

A total of two teams played in the preliminary round 1.

South Asia Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Machhindra	3–2	Paro

South Asia Zone

8 August 2023 (2023-08-08)

17:30 UTC+5:45

Machhindra	3–2	Paro
Magar 12' Ghalan 15' Oladipo 38'	Report	B. Shrestha 7' (o.g.) Asante 71'

Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu

Attendance: 4,150

Referee: Ngô Duy Lân (Vietnam)

Preliminary round 2

Summary

A total of ten teams played in the preliminary round 2: nine teams which entered in this round, and one winner of the preliminary round 1.

South Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Mohun Bagan SG	3–1	Machhindra
Dhaka Abahani	2–1	Club Eagles

Central Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Merw Mary	1–0	Alay Osh

ASEAN Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Phnom Penh Crown	3–0	Young Elephants
Yangon United	2–1	DPMM

South Zone

16 August 2023 (2023-08-16)

19:00 UTC+5:30

Mohun Bagan SG	3–1	Machhindra
Ali 38', 86' Cummings 59'	Report	Oloumou 78'

Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata

Attendance: 20,892

Referee: Ahmed Eisa Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

---

16 August 2023 (2023-08-16)

15:15 UTC+6

Dhaka Abahani	2–1	Club Eagles
Stewart 21' Quipapá 89'	Report	Rizuvan 63'

Sylhet District Stadium, Sylhet

Attendance: 1,823

Referee: Zainiddinov Sayyodjon (Tajikistan)

Central Zone

15 August 2023 (2023-08-15)

16:30 UTC+5

Merw Mary	1–0	Alay Osh
Nurnazarov 13'	Report

Sport Toplumy Stadium, Mary

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Ammar Ashkanani (Kuwait)

ASEAN Zone

16 August 2023 (2023-08-16)

18:00 UTC+7

Phnom Penh Crown	3–0	Young Elephants
Shimizu 58' (pen.) Ogawa 78' Nieto 90+3'	Report

RSN Stadium, Phnom Penh

Attendance: 1,350

Referee: Pranjal Banerjee (India)

---

16 August 2023 (2023-08-16)

15:30 UTC+6:30

Yangon United	2–1	DPMM
Valencia 79' Zaw Win Thein 90'	Report	Noor 78'

Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon

Attendance: 4,785

Referee: Seyed Vahid Kazemi (Iran)

Play-off round

Summary

A total of fourteen teams played in the play-off round: nine teams which entered in this round, and five winners of the preliminary round 2.

West Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Al-Khaldiya	2–3	Al-Nahda
Al-Ittihad	2–1	Shabab Al-Khalil

South Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Mohun Bagan SG	3–1	Dhaka Abahani

Central Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Khujand	1–2	Merw Mary

ASEAN Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Tampines Rovers	2–3	Phnom Penh Crown
PSM Makassar	4–0	Yangon United

East Zone

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Monte Carlo	1–2	Taichung Futuro

West Zone

22 August 2023 (2023-08-22)

19:00 UTC+3

Al-Khaldiya	2–3	Al-Nahda
Abdullatif 69' Dabo 84'	Report	Al-Sabhi 7' Al-Malki 55' Al-Sinaidi 77'

Al Muharraq Stadium, Arad

Attendance: 725

Referee: Ahmed Al Ali (Jordan)

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22 August 2023 (2023-08-22)

17:00 UTC+3

Al-Ittihad	2–1	Shabab Al-Khalil
Al Ahmad 16' Dahan 45'	Report	Taweel 33'

King Fahd Sports City, Taif (Saudi Arabia)

Attendance: 200

Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)

South Zone

22 August 2023 (2023-08-22)

19:00 UTC+5:30

Mohun Bagan SG	3–1	Dhaka Abahani
Cummings 37' (pen.) Soleimani 58' (o.g.) Sadiku 60'	Report	Stewart 17'

Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata

Attendance: 10,625

Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)

Central Zone

22 August 2023 (2023-08-22)

16:30 UTC+5

Khujand	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Merw Mary
Boqiev 82'	Report	Ýakşiýew 54' Ovezmyradov 114'

20 Years of Independence Stadium, Khujand

Attendance: 4,500

Referee: Yahya Al-Mulla (United Arab Emirates)

ASEAN Zone

23 August 2023 (2023-08-23)

19:30 UTC+8

Tampines Rovers	2–3	Phnom Penh Crown
Kopitović 10, 26'	Report	Ogawa 44' Andrés Nieto 52' Shimizu 53'

Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore

Attendance: 763

Referee: Mamood Al-Majarafi (Oman)

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23 August 2023 (2023-08-23)

19:00 UTC+8

PSM Makassar	4–0	Yangon United
Adilson Silva 6', 61' Everton 36' Yakob 50'	Report

Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar

Attendance: 156

Referee: Majed Al-Shamrani (Saudi Arabia)

East Zone

23 August 2023 (2023-08-23)

19:30 UTC+8

Monte Carlo	1–2	Taichung Futuro
Jackson 77'	Report	Liang Meng-hsin 7' Takayama 17'

Estádio Campo Desportivo, Taipa

Attendance: 1,238

Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar (India)