Locations of clubs in the 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship group stage. Blue: Group A; Green: Group B; Black: Group C; Red: Group D; Purple: Quarter-finals-finals; Pink: 4th Place; Brown: 3rd Place; Yellow: Runner-up; Orange: Winner.
A total of 12 teams from 12 AFC member associations participated in the tournament.[1]
The draw was held on 6 May 2016 in Bangkok.[2] The 12 teams were drawn into four groups of three teams. Besides the team from the host association Thailand, the teams from Iran, Vietnam and Iraq were also seeded as per the final ranking of the 2015 AFC Futsal Club Championship.
Each team had to submit a squad of 14 players, including a minimum of two goalkeepers.[3]
Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship.
Referees
Ryan Shepheard
Scott Kidson
An Ran
Chan Ka Chung
Mahmoud Reza Nasirlou
Hasan Mohammed Mousa Al-Gburi
Kobayashi Hiroyuki
Kozaki Tomohiro
Husein Mahmoud Husein Khalaileh
Nurdin Bukuev
Mohamad Chami
Helday Idang
Rey Ritaga
Yuttakon Maiket
Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.
Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:[3]
Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
If, after applying criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 apply;
Goal difference in all the group matches;
Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time would be used in the third place match).[3]
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.