According to AFC, "The members were informed that 20 teams, who have confirmed their entries for the qualifiers, would be drawn into five groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group and one third best-placed team from among all the groups would qualify for the Finals."
According to QFA, "On the margin of the AFC executive committee meetings, it was confirmed that the qualification stage draw for the 2015 Asian Cup - Australia will be held on October."
AFC had reserved two match days in September 2012 for a possible preliminary round (1 and 5 Sep), but they won't be used.
These are the match days (2013 and 2014):
MD 1: 6 February 2013
MD 2: 22 March 2013
MD 3: 15 October 2013
MD 4: 15 November 2013
MD 5: 19 November 2013
MD 6: 5 March 2014
Alternative match dates: 11 January 2014, 18 January 2014 and 25 January 2014. Why are they needed? Because MD 3 and 5 collide with the AFC-CONMEBOL World Cup play-off.
Now, about participation. This is the list I've received from AFC (yes, they've finally replied to my e-mails!): Uzbekistan, Qatar, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, China, Bahrain, Syria, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Thailand, Yemen, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Lebanon and Hong Kong.
Based on the 2011 Asian Cup performance ranking, the bottom 23 will participate in the AFC Challenge Cup, while the top 23 will be involved in the main qualifiers. Obviously, the top 3 (Japan, Australia and Korea Republic) have direct entry and that leaves 20 teams to participate in the qualifiers.
Korea DPR are a special case. Although they are in the top 23, the AFC Executive Committee has allowed them to play in the AFC Challenge Cup because of difficulties in hosting home-and-away games in Korea DPR. If the North Koreans would have confirmed their participation in the main qualifiers, there would have been a preliminary round involving Lebanon and Hong Kong.
Now, there's only one problem. Based on 2011 Asian Cup performance, India are 16th. Why won't they participate in the main qualifiers? No answer from AFC (yet) regarding this.
These will be the pots for the October draw:
Pot 1: Uzbekistan, Qatar, Jordan, Iran, Iraq
Pot 2: China PR, Bahrain, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait
Pot 3: Saudi Arabia, Oman, Thailand, Yemen, Vietnam
Pot 4: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Lebanon and Hong Kong.
Thailand should be below Yemen, but this doesn't affect the seeding.
Group of death: Iran, China PR, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon.
Showing posts with label AFC Challenge Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AFC Challenge Cup. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
FIFA Ranking: Challenge Cup impact (II)
Last Friday I posted the top 20 differences in peak rankings achieved in the "normal" FIFA rankings compared with those recomputed considering AFC Challenge Cup matches as continental qualifiers. In order to do this, I've computed the April 2008 through March 2012 rankings with AFC Challenge Cup matches as continental qualifiers.
I've been asked to post a list of point differences.
Top 15 point differences
Team - Peak points in the normal rankings - Peak points in the modified rankings - Difference
Top 20 differences (in %)
Team - Peak points in the normal rankings - Peak points in the modified rankings - Difference (%)
I've been asked to post a list of point differences.
Top 15 point differences
Team - Peak points in the normal rankings - Peak points in the modified rankings - Difference
| Turkmenistan | 182 | 409 | 227 |
| Tajikistan | 250 | 407 | 157 |
| Myanmar | 163 | 306 | 143 |
| Maldives | 156 | 295 | 139 |
| India | 174 | 281 | 107 |
| Philippines | 139 | 244 | 105 |
| Sri Lanka | 115 | 220 | 105 |
| Afghanistan | 85 | 188 | 103 |
| Bangladesh | 183 | 278 | 95 |
| Pakistan | 111 | 193 | 82 |
| Korea DPR | 399 | 474 | 75 |
| Chinese Taipei | 116 | 191 | 75 |
| Mongolia | 106 | 173 | 67 |
| Palestine | 137 | 196 | 59 |
| Macau | 39 | 92 | 53 |
Top 20 differences (in %)
Team - Peak points in the normal rankings - Peak points in the modified rankings - Difference (%)
| Macau | 39 | 92 | 135.90% |
| Turkmenistan | 182 | 409 | 124.73% |
| Afghanistan | 85 | 188 | 121.18% |
| Sri Lanka | 115 | 220 | 91.30% |
| Maldives | 156 | 295 | 89.10% |
| Myanmar | 163 | 306 | 87.73% |
| Philippines | 139 | 244 | 75.54% |
| Pakistan | 111 | 193 | 73.87% |
| Chinese Taipei | 116 | 191 | 64.66% |
| Mongolia | 106 | 173 | 63.21% |
| Tajikistan | 250 | 407 | 62.80% |
| India | 174 | 281 | 61.49% |
| Bangladesh | 183 | 278 | 51.91% |
| Palestine | 137 | 196 | 43.07% |
| Cambodia | 114 | 158 | 38.60% |
| Bhutan | 33 | 42 | 27.27% |
| Nepal | 193 | 241 | 24.87% |
| Kyrgyzstan | 253 | 303 | 19.76% |
| Brunei Darussalam | 52 | 62 | 19.23% |
| Korea DPR | 399 | 474 | 18.80% |
Friday, March 23, 2012
FIFA Ranking: Challenge Cup impact
What would have happened had FIFA upgraded AFC Challenge Cup matches to continental qualifier status way back in April 2008 (the start of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers)?
I've computed the April 2008 through March 2012 rankings with AFC Challenge Cup matches as continental qualifiers.
Looking at the peak for each team in the rankings between April 2008 and March 2012, these are the 20 teams that would have gained the most. 18 of them were involved in the ACC.
Team - Peak in the normal rankings - Peak in the modified rankings - Difference
This will also help fans of AFC Challenge Cup teams see what to expect in the future.
I've computed the April 2008 through March 2012 rankings with AFC Challenge Cup matches as continental qualifiers.
Looking at the peak for each team in the rankings between April 2008 and March 2012, these are the 20 teams that would have gained the most. 18 of them were involved in the ACC.
Team - Peak in the normal rankings - Peak in the modified rankings - Difference
| Turkmenistan | 129 | 81 | 48 |
| Tajikistan | 124 | 79 | 45 |
| Myanmar | 135 | 104 | 31 |
| Maldives | 137 | 108 | 29 |
| Afghanistan | 164 | 136 | 28 |
| Sri Lanka | 148 | 123 | 25 |
| Bangladesh | 138 | 114 | 24 |
| Macau | 181 | 160 | 21 |
| Pakistan | 153 | 133 | 20 |
| India | 130 | 114 | 16 |
| Chinese Taipei | 147 | 131 | 16 |
| Mongolia | 160 | 146 | 14 |
| Palestine | 157 | 145 | 12 |
| Nepal | 135 | 124 | 11 |
| Philippines | 149 | 138 | 11 |
| Cambodia | 154 | 144 | 10 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 124 | 115 | 9 |
| Korea DPR | 83 | 75 | 8 |
| Burundi | 118 | 113 | 5 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 72 | 68 | 4 |
This will also help fans of AFC Challenge Cup teams see what to expect in the future.
Friday, March 9, 2012
FIFA upgrade AFC Challenge Cup to continental qualifier status
Although I would like to claim credit for this, I don't think I can :)
A little bit of history.
In 2008, AFC announced two 2011 Asian Cup spots would be available for the 2008 and 2010 winners of the AFC Challenge Cup.
On 28 July 2008 I wrote to FIFA asking them if they will change the status of AFC Challenge Cup matches for FIFA ranking purposes from friendly (1.0 multiplier) to continental qualifier (2.5 multiplier).
Their answer:
"While we can follow your line of argumentation please note that the AFC Challenge Cup will continue to be rated as 'friendly' (like other regional competitions with developmental character elsewhere in the world). The one Asian Nations Cup spot at stake is regarded as a bonus with the vast majority of participants coming through the one and only preliminary competition."
In February 2011, CAF asked FIFA to include CHAN matches in the FIFA ranking.
On 25 February 2011, I wrote to AFC and all Challenge Cup teams suggesting them to follow CAF's example and ask FIFA to upgrade the AFC Challenge Cup matches to continental qualifier status. I received no answer.
Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Filipino Football about the change of status. You can see it for yourself in the Fixtures and Results section on FIFA.com.
A little bit of history.
In 2008, AFC announced two 2011 Asian Cup spots would be available for the 2008 and 2010 winners of the AFC Challenge Cup.
On 28 July 2008 I wrote to FIFA asking them if they will change the status of AFC Challenge Cup matches for FIFA ranking purposes from friendly (1.0 multiplier) to continental qualifier (2.5 multiplier).
Their answer:
"While we can follow your line of argumentation please note that the AFC Challenge Cup will continue to be rated as 'friendly' (like other regional competitions with developmental character elsewhere in the world). The one Asian Nations Cup spot at stake is regarded as a bonus with the vast majority of participants coming through the one and only preliminary competition."
In February 2011, CAF asked FIFA to include CHAN matches in the FIFA ranking.
On 25 February 2011, I wrote to AFC and all Challenge Cup teams suggesting them to follow CAF's example and ask FIFA to upgrade the AFC Challenge Cup matches to continental qualifier status. I received no answer.
Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Filipino Football about the change of status. You can see it for yourself in the Fixtures and Results section on FIFA.com.
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