2012 AFC Champions League, Allocation of entries per association
On 30 November 2009, the AFC announced 12 more MA's that were keen to join the ACL, in addition to ten participating national associations. Singapore later withdrew. The full list of candidate associations were as follows:


2012 AFC Champions League, Allocation of entries per association
Note: India, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have clubs taking part in play-offs to qualify for the group stages of ACL in 2010.


2012 AFC Champions League, Allocation of entries per association, Entrants per association
It was originally announced that the allocation for entry to the 2012 ACL would stay the same as the previous three seasons with the exception of Vietnam, who were disqualified, and their previous playoff slot was awarded to Qatar. However, following the AFC Executive Committee meeting in November 2011, it was decided that the number of slots for each association to be changed based on evaluation of the AFC Champions League criteria that took place in 2011.


2012 AFC Champions League, Allocation of entries per association, Entrants per association
A total of eleven member associations (see below) which participated in the 2011 AFC Champions League was evaluated for participating in the 2012 AFC Champions League. India, which played in the 2011 ACL play-off, was not evaluated and dropped to the AFC Cup. The other member associations which applied but did not meet the criteria for 2011 ACL was not evaluated at all for 2012.


2012 AFC Champions League, Teams
A total of 37 teams participated in the 2012 AFC Champions League.


2012 AFC Champions League, Qualifying play-off
The draw for the qualifying play-off was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011. The winners advanced to the group stage, while the losers of the final round advanced to the AFC Cup group stage, except the loser of the match between Adelaide United and Persipura Jayapura.


2012 AFC Champions League, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011. Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.


2012 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Round of 16
The matchups for the round of 16 were decided based on the results from the group stage. Each tie was played as one match, hosted by the winners of each group (Team 1) against the runners-up of another group (Team 2).


2012 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 June 2012. It determined the matchups for the quarter-finals and semi-finals as well as the potential host for the final.


2012 AFC Champions League, Knockout stage, Final
The final of the 2012 AFC Champions League was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by a draw. According to the draw on 14 June 2012, the winner of semi-final 2 would host the final. Therefore, Ulsan Hyundai was the home team.


2012 AFC Champions League Final
The 2012 AFC Champions League Final was a football match which was played on Saturday, 10 November 2012, to determine the champion of the 2012 AFC Champions League. It was the final of the 31st edition of the top-level Asian club tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 10th under the current AFC Champions League title.


2012 AFC Champions League Final
The match was played between Ulsan Hyundai from Korea Republic and Al-Ahli from Saudi Arabia. Ulsan Hyundai won 3–0 to win their first title. As winners of the 2012 AFC Champions League, they qualified to enter the quarter-finals of the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup as the AFC representative.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Venue
The AFC decided that the final would be hosted by one of the finalists. On 14 June 2012, the draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final was made. For the final, the winner of semi-final 2 (played between the winners of quarter-finals 3 and 4) would be the home team, while the winner of semi-final 1 (played between the winners of quarter-finals 1 and 2) would be the away team. As a result, Ulsan Hyundai are the home team, and Al-Ahli are the away team.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Venue
The match was played at Ulsan Hyundai's home stadium, Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, at Ulsan, South Korea. It was one of the stadiums used at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Ulsan Hyundai became the third K-League club in four years to be crowned Asian champions with a 3-0 win over Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the final of the AFC Champions League at Ulsan Munsu Stadium on Saturday with goals from captain Kwak Tae-Hwi, Brazilian striker Rafael dos Santos de Oliveira (Rafinha) and Kim Seung-Yong learned last year's K-League Cup winners their first-ever continental crown and a place at next month's FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Ulsan were the fourth Korean side in a row to reach the final and Kim Ho-gon's team join Pohang Steelers and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in lifting the title after their successes in 2009 and 2010 respectively. The win was nothing less than Ulsan deserved against an Al Ahli side who were also making their first appearance in the final of the AFC Champions League but who appeared overawed by the occasion.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Ulsan took command early on with Rafinha firing off an effort from the edge of the area seven minutes in while Kwak headed Kim Seung-yong's corner wide three minutes later. It only took a further three minutes, though, for the Korean side to go in front with Ulsan's prowess from set pieces paying dividends when Kim Seung-yong flicked a free kick into the area and Kwak rose highest to head past Abdullah Al Muaiof.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
The goal did little to wake Al Ahli out of their slumber and, although the time spent in the Ulsan half increased, Karel Jarolim's team did little to make it count. It was at the other end that the majority of the action continued, with Ulsan's Colombian midfielder Juan Estiven Velez trying his luck from range twice in the space of three minutes, but both his efforts were off target.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Indeed, it was Ulsan's complacency at the back that threatened to allow Al Ahli back into the game as the home side gave away possession too easily on several occasions, but only Motaz Al Mosa went close to testing Kim Young-kwang when he shot over the bar with seven minutes left in the half. Al Ahli shook off some of the lethargy that had hampered their play in the opening 45 minutes, but Ulsan still remained in the ascendancy and, by the 67th minute, they had doubled their lead.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Velez's left footed cross from the right was headed across goal by Kim Shin-wook and Rafinha emerged through a trio of Al Ahli defenders to poke the ball over the line and to send most of the 42,153 fans in Ulsan Munsu Stadium into raptures. And eight minutes later Kim Seung-yong confirmed the title would be heading back to Korea with a fierce low left-foot drive that Al Muaiouf could do little to keep out.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Winnig head coach, Kim Ho-Gon hailed Ulsan Hyundai's historic maiden AFC Champions League: "Ulsan have had to wait for a long time to come to final so I told the players we must win the game and to do that we must play a normal game," said Ulsan coach Kim Ho-gon. "The players created a lot of pressure in the first half and all of the players played their part."


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Ulsan were always in control of the contest despite Al Ahli improving after Kwak's 13th-minute header from Kim Seung-yong's free-kick and after Rafinha's fifth goal in as many games seven minutes after the hour mark, Kim Seung-yong sealed the win in spectacular fashion with 15 minutes remaining as Ulsan netted their 27th goal of the campaign. "After the first goal the players felt they could win and they made some mistakes and allowed Al Ahli to create some attacks," added Kim Ho-gon, At half-time I talked to the players and the second half was very good."


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Having won their group with an unbeaten record ahead of Japan's FC Tokyo, Ulsan edged out J.League champions Kashiwa Reysol 3-2 in the Round of 16 to maintain Korean interest in the competition and Ulsan bettered their 2006 run to the semi-finals with wins over Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor in the knockout stage. "After the first group game every game felt like a final, but the final did not feel like a final as we had done so well in the semi-final," added Kim Ho-gon.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Having won the AFC Champions League title for the first, Ulsan have also earned an appearance at next month's FIFA Club World Cup in Japan with Kim Ho-gon's side set to meet Mexico's Monterrey in the quarter-finals. "I am so happy for the players," added Kim Ho-gon. "They wanted to play in the FIFA Club World Cup and it is the same for me. This is the happiest day in my coaching career."


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
A despondent Karel Jarolim poured praise on the players of Ulsan Hyundai: "Maybe we are expecting a lot from the players and it's true they didn't perform well, but it's not because they didn't want to but because Ulsan are a strong team and they played well," said Jarolim. "Most of the players did their best but Ulsan are strong and they deserved to win. This is football."


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Al Ahli went behind after just 13 minutes, when Kwak scored with a header, but with the Saudi side unable to pull themselves back into the game, Rafinha's strike midway through the second half all but killed the game before Kim put the seal on the victory. "After the first goal I think we created a few chances to score at least one goal in the first half, but the strikers didn't score and they didn't work with the ball very well," said Jarolim.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
"I was planning to make some changes in the second half but I was surprised when Ulsan scored and after that I thought our players lost their concentration and didn't focus well on the match. Ulsan controlled the ball and won the match." While Ulsan may be champions, the Korean side are unlikely to qualify for next year's competition given their poor showing in the latter stages of the K-League's championship round, but Al Ahli have already booked their spot in the 2013 edition by finishing second in last year's Saudi Professional League.


2012 AFC Champions League Final, Summary
Jarolim is hoping his players have learned lessons from their run to this year's final that they can put in place for the 2013 campaign. "The team learned a lot this year by playing against different strong teams," said the coach. "Al Ahli is a very young team and these players have gained experience this season and they will work hard for next year and will try to do our best."


2012 AFC Champions League group stage
The 2012 AFC Champions League group stage was contested by a total of 32 teams (16 from West Zone and 16 from East Zone). They included:


2012 AFC Champions League group stage
The draw for the group stage was held at the AFC house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011, 16:00 UTC+08:00. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group.


2012 AFC Champions League group stage
In each group, teams played each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 6–7 March, 20–21 March, 3–4 April, 17–18 April, 1–2 May, and 15–16 May 2012. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.


2012 AFC Champions League group stage, Tiebreakers
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers are in following order:


2012 AFC Champions League group stage, Groups
Each team had been numbered from 1 to 4, the numbers determine the order of the fixtures:


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage
The 2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage was contested by a total of 16 teams (8 from West Zone and 8 from East Zone). They included the 8 group winners and the 8 group runners-up from the group stage.


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage
Each round of this single-elimination tournament was played over one or two matches. In the round of 16, each tie was played in one match, hosted by the winners of each group against the runners-up of another group. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played over two legs on a home-and-away basis. The final was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by draw. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shootout would be used to decide the winner if necessary.


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage
The matchups for the round of 16 were decided based on the results from the group stage. After the completion of the round of 16, the draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held at the AFC house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 June 2012, 16:00 UTC+08:00. In this draw, the "country protection" rule was applied: if there are exactly two clubs from the same country, they may not face each other in the quarter-finals; however, if there are more than two clubs from the same country, they may face each other in the quarter-finals.


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Bracket
While the bracket below shows the entire knockout stage, the draw for the round of 16 matches was determined at the time of the group draw, and kept teams from West Zone and East Zone completely separate for that round.


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Bracket
The draw for the quarter-finals and beyond was held separately, after the conclusion of the round of 16.


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Round of 16
The matches were played 22 and 23 May (West Zone) and 29 and 30 May 2012 (East Zone).


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Quarter-finals
The first legs were played 19 September 2012, and the second legs were played 2 and 3 October 2012.


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Semi-finals
The first legs were played 22 and 24 October 2012, and the second legs were played 31 October 2012.


2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage, Final
The final of the 2012 AFC Champions League was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by a draw. According to the draw on 14 June 2012, the winner of semi-final 2 would host the final. Therefore, Ulsan Hyundai was the home team.


2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
The 2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off was contested by nine teams (five from West Zone, four from East Zone).


2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
The draw for the qualifying play-off was held at the AFC house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011, 15:00 UTC+08:00. The draw, without any seeding or country protection, determined the brackets as well as host of each play-off match. The semi-final round was played on 10 February 2012, and the final round was played 16 and 18 February 2012.


2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
Extra time and penalty shootout would be used to decide the winner if necessary. The four winners of the final round (two from West Zone, two from East Zone) advanced to the group stage to join the 28 teams which directly entered the group stage. The three losers of the final round (two from West Zone, one from East zone) advanced to the 2012 AFC Cup group stage, except the loser of the match between Adelaide United and Persipura Jayapura.


2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, Matches, East Zone
The following team was also slated to enter the qualifying play-off in the East Zone, but did not enter the competition:


2012 AFC Cup
The 2012 AFC Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia.


2012 AFC Cup
Al-Kuwait from Kuwait won their second AFC Cup title in four years, defeating Erbil from Iraq with a 4–0 win in the final.


2012 AFC Cup, Allocation of entries per association
The following allocation of berths for the 2012 AFC Cup was approved by the AFC in November 2011. The four associations (Yemen, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar) with the lowest points according to the AFC evaluation system have one team entering the group stage and one team entering the play-off.


2012 AFC Cup, Qualified teams
A total of 33 teams participated in the 2012 AFC Cup, including 3 teams which joined as 2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off final round losers:


2012 AFC Cup, Qualifying play-off
The draw for the qualifying play-off was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011. The winner advanced to the group stage.


2012 AFC Cup, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011. Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.


2012 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Round of 16
The matchups for the round of 16 were decided based on the results from the group stage. Each tie was played as one match, hosted by the winners of each group (Team 1) against the runners-up of another group (Team 2).


2012 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 June 2012. It determined the matchups for the quarter-finals and semi-finals as well as the potential host for the final.


2012 AFC Cup, Knockout stage, Final
The final of the 2012 AFC Cup was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by a draw. According to the draw on 14 June 2012, the winner of semi-final 2 would host the final. Therefore, Erbil was the home team.


2012 AFC Cup Final
The 2012 AFC Cup Final was a football match which was played on 3 November 2012, to determine the champion of the 2012 AFC Cup. It was the final of the 8th edition of the AFC Cup, a competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia.


2012 AFC Cup Final
The final was played between Arbil from Iraq and Al-Kuwait from Kuwait. It was the first continental final to be hosted in Iraq since the first leg of the 1989 Asian Club Championship Final. Al-Kuwait won 4–0 to win their second AFC Cup title in four years.


2012 AFC Cup Final, Venue
The AFC decided that the final would be hosted by one of the finalists. On 14 June 2012, the draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final was made. For the final, the winner of semi-final 2 (played between the winners of quarter-finals 3 and 4) would be the home team, while the winner of semi-final 1 (played between the winners of quarter-finals 1 and 2) would be the away team. As a result, Arbil are the home team, and Al-Kuwait are the away team.


2012 AFC Cup Final, Venue
The match was played at Arbil's home stadium, Franso Hariri Stadium, at Arbil, Iraq.


2012 AFC Cup group stage
The 2012 AFC Cup group stage was contested by a total of 32 teams (20 from West Asia Zone and 12 from East Asia Zone). They included:


2012 AFC Cup group stage
The draw for the group stage was held at the AFC house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011, 15:00 UTC+08:00. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group.


2012 AFC Cup group stage
In each group, teams played each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 6–7 March, 20–21 March, 3–4 April, 10–11 April, 24–25 April, and 8–9 May 2012. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.


2012 AFC Cup group stage, Tiebreakers
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers are in following order:


2012 AFC Cup group stage, Groups
Each team had been numbered from 1 to 4, the numbers determine the order of the fixtures:


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage
The 2012 AFC Cup knockout stage was contested by a total of 16 teams (10 from West Asia Zone and 6 from East Asia Zone). They included the 8 group winners and the 8 group runners-up from the group stage.


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage
Each round of this single-elimination tournament was played over one or two matches. In the round of 16, each tie was played as one match, hosted by the winners of each group against the runners-up of another group. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played over two legs on a home-and-away basis. The final was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by draw. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shootout would be used to decide the winner if necessary.


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage
The matchups for the round of 16 were decided based on the results from the group stage. After the completion of the round of 16, the draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held at the AFC house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 June 2012, 15:00 UTC+08:00. In this draw, the "country protection" rule was applied: if there are exactly two clubs from the same country, they may not face each other in the quarter-finals; however, if there are more than two clubs from the same country, they may face each other in the quarter-finals.


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage, Bracket
While the bracket below shows the entire knockout stage, the draw for the round of 16 matches was determined at the time of the group draw.


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage, Bracket
The draw for the quarter-finals and beyond was held separately, after the conclusion of the round of 16.


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals
The first legs were played 18 September 2012, and the second legs were played 25 and 26 September 2012.


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals
The first legs were played 2 October 2012, and the second legs were played 23 October 2012.


2012 AFC Cup knockout stage, Final
The final of the 2012 AFC Cup was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by a draw. According to the draw on 14 June 2012, the winner of semi-final 2 would host the final. Therefore, Arbil was the home team.


2012 AFC Cup qualifying play-off
The 2012 AFC Cup qualifying play-off was contested by two teams (both from West Asia Zone).


2012 AFC Cup qualifying play-off
The draw for the qualifying play-off was held at the AFC house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011, 15:00 UTC+08:00. The draw determined the host of the play-off match, which was played on 18 February 2012.


2012 AFC Cup qualifying play-off
Extra time and penalty shootout would be used to decide the winner if necessary. The winner advanced to the group stage to join the 28 teams which directly entered the group stage and the 3 losers of the 2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off final round.


2012 AFC Cup qualifying play-off, Matches, East Asia Zone
The following two teams were originally slated to enter the qualifying play-off in the East Asia Zone:


2012 AFC Cup qualifying play-off, Matches, East Asia Zone
After the withdrawal of Liaoning Whowin and disqualification of Persipura Jayapura from the 2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off East Asia Zone, only three teams were left, meaning only one final round loser would enter the AFC Cup in the East Asia Zone instead of two. As a result, no qualifying play-off was necessary for the East Asia Zone and both Terengganu and Ayeyawady United automatically advanced to the group stage. Persipura Jayapura were later provisionally reinstated to the 2012 AFC Champions League, but the AFC decided that the loser of the qualifying play-off match between Adelaide United and Persipura Jayapura would not advance to the 2012 AFC Cup group stage.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship
The 2012 AFC Futsal Championship was held in United Arab Emirates from 25 May to 1 June 2012. 16 countries took part in the 12th edition of the tournament. It was also be the qualification event for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup to be held in Thailand. The AFC Futsal Committee pushed the dates for the event forward from the original May 18 to May 25.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship
In its first meeting for the 2011-2015 term under the chairmanship of Guam's Richard Lai, the AFC Futsal Committee decided to award the championship to United Arab Emirates.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship, Draw
The draw for the tournament was held on 11 March 2012 in United Arab Emirates.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification
The 2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification was held in late 2011 and early 2012 to determine 12 spots to the final tournament in United Arab Emirates. The teams finishing first, second and third in the 2010 AFC Futsal Championship, and the host nation for the 2012 competition, receive automatic byes to Finals.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, System
Twenty-seven teams registered in qualifying action for 12 places in the finals. Reigning champions Iran, runners-up Uzbekistan, Japan and 2012 edition hosts UAE have direct entry into the tournament proper.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Zones, ASEAN
This zone was originally scheduled to take place from November 26 to December 1, 2011. However, the AFC announced on November 9 that it would be postponed due to the flood situation in Bangkok. It has been rescheduled from February 21 to 26, 2012.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Zones, East
Matches played in Malaysia from November 13 to November 18, 2011. All times are Malaysia Time (MYT) – UTC+8.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Zones, South & Central
This zone was originally scheduled to take place from November 25 to 27, 2011 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. However, the Maldives withdrew in early November and the AFC Futsal Committee decided to award automatic qualification to the remaining teams; Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.


2012 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Zones, West
The matches will be played in Kuwait from December 9 to December 16, 2011.


2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship
The 2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship was the 3rd AFC Futsal Club Championship. It was held in Kuwait City, Kuwait between July 1 and July 6, 2012.


2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship
On 21 November 2011 the AFC Futsal Committee, under the chairmanship of Guam's Richard Lai, proposed to award the hosting rights of the 2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship to Kuwait The draw for the tournament was held on 26 April 2012 in Movenpick Hotel, Kuwait City.


2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Qualification
The national league champions of the three best placed teams in the 2011 Championship received a bye to the final as well as the host nation's champion. The remaining four spots were decided in two Asian qualifying tournaments.


2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship qualification
The 2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship qualification will be held in late 2012 to determine 4 spots to the final tournament in Kuwait City. The teams finishing first, second and third in the 2011 AFC Futsal Club Championship, and the host Champion for the 2012 competition, receive automatic byes to Finals.


2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship qualification, Format
Fifteen teams registered in qualifying action for 4 places in the finals. Reigning champions Japan, runners-up Iran, Lebanon and 2012 edition hosts Kuwait have direct entry into the tournament proper. The remaining eleven team will play in the qualification rounds. The result of the draw for the groups was announced on 26 January 2012. Zone 1 teams will play a round robin with the top two qualifying to the final tournament. Zone 2 will play a round-robin groupstage, with the top two teams qualifying to the semi-finals. The winner of both semi-finals will the prograss to the final tournament as well.


2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship qualification, Zones, West, South and Central Asian (Zone 1)
The matches will be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from March 19 and 24, 2012.


2012 AFC Futsal Club Championship qualification, Zones, ASEAN/East (Zone 2)
The matches will be played in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from March 19 and 24, 2012.


2012 AFC President's Cup
The 2012 AFC President's Cup was the eighth edition of the AFC President's Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia.


2012 AFC President's Cup
Teams from 11 member associations entered the competition. Istiqlol became the second team from Tajikistan to win the AFC President's Cup, defeating Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari from Palestine with a 2–1 win in the final.


2012 AFC President's Cup, Qualifying teams
The following 11 associations were represented in the 2012 AFC President's Cup.


2012 AFC President's Cup, Group stage
In the group stage, the twelve teams were divided into three groups of four teams each. Each group was played in a single round-robin format at a centralized venue. The top two teams from each group qualified for the final stage. The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers are in following order:


2012 AFC President's Cup, Group stage
On 2 March 2012, the AFC announced that the three hosts for the qualification round were Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodia), KRL (Pakistan), and Istiqlol (Tajikistan). The draw for the group stage was held at the AFC house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 March 2012, 15:00 UTC+08:00.


2012 AFC President's Cup, Final stage
The final stage was played at a centralized venue, to be chosen from one of the final stage qualifiers. The six teams which qualified for the final stage were divided into two groups of three teams each, played in a single round-robin format. The winner from each group qualified for the single-match final to decide the title.


2012 AFC President's Cup, Final stage
Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodia), Istiqlol (Tajikistan) and Dordoi Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) showed interest to organise the finals. On 18 July 2012, the AFC Competitions Committee decided to award the hosting rights of the finals to Tajikistan, and the decision was approved by the AFC Executive Committee on 19 July 2012. The draw for the finals was held in Dushanbe on 31 July 2012, 11:00 UTC+05:00.


2012 AFC President's Cup, Final stage, Final
Assistant referees:Kim Sung-Il (Korea Republic)Abu Bakar Salim Mahad Al-Amri (Oman)Fourth official:Jumpei Iida (Japan)


2012 AFC U-16 Championship
The 2012 AFC U-16 Championship was the 15th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC approved Iran as hosts of the championship on 23 November 2011. The top 4 teams qualified for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Qualification for the tournament started in 2011.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship, Host Selection
The Organising Committee for AFC Youth Competitions for the 2011–2015 term announced that Iran and Palestine were interested in hosting the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship Finals.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship, Host Selection
Per decision of the AFC Competitions Committee, the host nation should qualify for the final tournament. The decision on the hosts was taken in the committee’s meeting on 21 November 2011 based on the results of the qualifiers.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship, Draw
The draw for the competition was held on 10 May 2012 in Tehran, Iran.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship, Group stage
In the group stage the tie-breaking criteria is direct matches before goal difference.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship, Group stage, Group B
Iraq and Australia played a penalty shootout after their final group match to determine their ranking. Iraq won that 3–2.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship, Countries to participate in 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The four semi-finalists qualified for 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Format
Forty teams have entered the fray for this edition of the tournament and have been divided into two zones – West (22) and East (18). The teams will be divided into seven groups of six and five teams each.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Format
West Zone will have two groups of six and two of five teams while East will have three groups of six teams each.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Format
Top two teams from each of the groups and best third team from West and East zones will qualify for the tournament.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Seedings
The draw for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification took place at AFC House on 30 March 2011.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Seedings
Five teams decided not to enter the qualifiers:  Bhutan,   Jordan,  Mongolia,  Philippines,  Turkmenistan. Brunei was suspended at the time of the draw by FIFA.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Groups, Group B
All matches were held in Kuwait City and Hawally, Kuwait (UTC+3).


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Groups, Group G
All matches were held in Nonthaburi (Nonthaburi) and Bangkok, Thailand (UTC+7).


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Third-placed qualifiers
At the end of the first stage, a comparison was made between the third placed teams from West and East zones will qualify for the tournament. The best third-placed team from each region advanced to the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship. Due to the varying number of teams per group, teams in different group would have played different number of matches. Therefore, in order to ensure equality when comparing the runner-up teams of all the groups, all teams will be compared across similar number of matches. AFC will decide on the number of matches. In principle, the results of the matches between the runner-up team and the bottom placed team in the group will be considered null and void.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Third-placed qualifiers
In western Zone Saudi Arabia qualified as best third-place finisher.


2012 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Third-placed qualifiers
In the Eastern zone Laos qualified as best third-place finisher.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship
The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship is the 37th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC approved UAE as hosts of the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship on 23 November 2011. The top four teams will qualify directly to the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup hosted by Turkey.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship, Hosts
The Organising Committee announced that Bangladesh, Iran, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan had expressed an interest to host the finals.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship, Hosts
The decision of the Committee, the member associations should qualify for the finals to be eligible to host the competition. The decision on the hosts was taken in the committee’s next meeting on 23 November 2011 based on the results of the qualifiers.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship, Draw
The draw for the Final tournament was held on 13 May 2012 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship, Goalscorers
There were 93 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship, Countries to participate in 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Top 4 teams qualified for 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Format
The teams have been divided into two zones – West (23) and East (16). The teams will be divided into seven groups of six and five teams each. West Zone will have three groups of six and one of five teams while East will have one group of six teams each and two of five. Top two teams from each of the groups and third best team from West and East zones will qualify for the tournament proper.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Seedings
The draw for the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification will take place at AFC House on 30 March 2011.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Seedings
Six teams will not take part in this edition:  Cambodia,  Kyrgyzstan,  Mongolia,  Philippines,  Sri Lanka,  Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Hong Kong,   Nepal.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Groups, Group D
All matches were played in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UTC+4).


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Groups, Group F
All matches were played in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (UTC+7).


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Groups, Group G
All matches were held in Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia (UTC+8).


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Third-placed qualifiers
At the end of the first stage, a comparison will be made between the third placed teams of each group. The one best third-placed teams from the West Zone (Group A to D) and one best third-placed team from the East (Group E to G) would also advanced to the AFC U-19 Championship 2012.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Third-placed qualifiers, West Zone
Because three groups has one team fewer than the others, following the withdrawal of Afghanistan and Nepal, matches against the sixth-placed team in each group are not included in this ranking. As a result, four matches played by each team will count for the purposes of the third-placed table.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship squads
The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship was an international under-19 age group football tournament held in United Arab Emirates from 3 – 17 November 2012. The sixteen national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of maximum 23 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.


2012 AFC U-19 Championship squads
The age listed for each player is on 3 November 2012, the first day of the tournament. The nationality for each club reflects the national association (not the league) to which the club is affiliated. A flag is included for coaches that are of a different nationality than their own national team. Players in boldface have been capped at full international level at some point in their career.


2012 AFF Championship
The 2012 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and officially known as the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup, was the 9th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of Southeast Asia. It was co-hosted by Malaysia and Thailand and took place from 24 November to 22 December 2012.


2012 AFF Championship
Singapore became the first side to win the AFF Championship four times, beating Thailand 3–2 on aggregate in the finals. Singapore coach Radojko Avramović also became the most successful coach in tournament history, adding to his wins in 2004 and 2007.


2012 AFF Championship, Hosts
On 17 December 2010, the Philippine Football Federation declared their interest to host the 2012 AFF Championship. However, with no other reported interest and following the meeting of the AFF Council on 19 February 2011, Malaysia and Thailand were announced as hosts of the preliminary round.


2012 AFF Championship, Venues
There were two main venues; the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur and the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok. The secondary venues; the Shah Alam Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor State and the Supachalasai Stadium in Bangkok for the final round of group games on 30 November and 1 December. The Supachalasai Stadium replaced the Muang Thong Stadium as the alternative venue for the final match day in Group A on 27 November, after itself had been replaced by the Muang Thong Stadium on 17 October.


2012 AFF Championship, Venues
If Thailand reached the semifinals and finals, their home games were played at the Supachalasai Stadium as the Rajamangala was hosting the 2012 Race of Champions. Philippines and Singapore also hosted games due to making the knockout stages. The Philippines hosted at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, the first time an AFF Championship game was held in the Philippines and Singapore hosted at the Jalan Besar Stadium.


2012 AFF Championship, Qualification
Qualification took place from 5 to 13 October 2012. It involved the five lower ranked teams in Southeast Asia. All teams played in a round-robin tournament format with the top two teams qualifying for the tournament proper. Six teams have qualified directly to the finals.


2012 AFF Championship, Draw
The draw for the tournament as well as the qualification tournament took place on the afternoon of 11 July 2012 at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Bangkok. The teams that qualified via the qualifying stages were not yet determined at the time of the draw. The eight finalists were divided into four pots of two teams each based on team rankings.


2012 AFF Championship, Final tournament, Group Stage, Tie-breaking criteria
If two or more teams are equal on the basis on the above three criteria, the place shall be determined as follows:


2012 AFF Championship, Final tournament, Group Stage, Tie-breaking criteria
However, these criteria would not apply if two teams tied on points, goals scored, and conceded played against each other in their final group match, are still level at the end of that match, and no other team in group finishes with same points; in that case, the tie would be broken by a penalty shootout.


2012 AFF Championship, Player statistics, Discipline
In the final tournament, a player was suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting red card or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches.


2012 AFF Championship, Player statistics, Discipline
• Player who get a card during the semifinals and final doesn't include here.


2012 AFF Championship qualification
The 2012 AFF Championship qualification tournament was the qualification process for the 2012 AFF Championship, the ninth edition of the ASEAN Football Championship. It was held in Yangon, Myanmar from 5 to 13 October 2012, and involved the five lower ranked teams in Southeast Asia. The format was a single  round-robin tournament with the top two teams qualifying for the tournament proper.


2012 AFF Championship qualification
Brunei made a comeback, after being re-instated towards the end of May 2011 by FIFA, following their suspension since September 2009. While the Philippines were one of the six seeded teams and gained direct entry to the main tournament, after reaching the semi-finals for the first time in the 2010 edition. They replaced Myanmar, who finished bottom of their group in 2010 and will be entering the qualification phase for the first time since 1998.


2012 AFF Championship squads
Below are the squads for the 2012 AFF Championship, co-hosted by Malaysia and Thailand, which took place between 24 November and 22 December 2012. The player's total caps, their club teams and age are as of 24 November 2012, the tournament's opening day. Players marked (c) were named as captain for their national team for the tournament.


2012 AFF Futsal Championship
The 2012 AFF Futsal Championship was the ninth edition of the tournament which was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 19 April to 27 April 2012. It was originally scheduled for the 17 to 27 April but was moved back by two days at the request of the Timor-Leste Football Federation due to the majority of their players coming from the Police Force who are required to vote in the local elections, and would not be able to leave the country without doing so. All member nations of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) have entered except for Singapore.


2012 AFF Futsal Championship
Due to certain logistical complications, all matches were played at the Chanchai Acadium, after initially having a schedule of concurrent matches at Kiraves Indoor Stadium, Thai-Japanese Stadium.


2012 AFF Futsal Championship, Goalscorers
List is incomplete due to unknown scorers in several matches


2012 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
The  2012 AFF U-16 Youth Championship is an international football tournament that was held from 2 June to 8 June 2012, hosted by Laos for the second time.


2012 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
This year's edition will feature four nations. Laos and Thailand representing the AFF and guests Australia and Japan who are invited as all four nations have qualified for the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship to be played later in the year. All four teams will play in a round robin group with the top two meeting in a final and the bottom two playing off for 3rd place.


2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
The  2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship was held from 2 September to 8 September 2012, hosted by Vietnam. All games were played at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam and Thailand were due to represent the AFF but Thailand withdrew and were replaced by Iran. Australia and Uzbekistan are the other competing nations.


2012 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
The competition was held as preparation for the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship.


2012 AFF Women's Championship
The  2012 AFF Women's Championship was football tournament held from 13 September to 22 September 2012 in Vietnam. All games were played at the Thong Nhat Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City.


2012 AFL Grand Final
The 2012 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2012. It was the 116th annual grand final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers for the 2012 AFL season. The match, attended by 99,683 spectators, was won by Sydney by 10 points, marking the club's fifth VFL/AFL premiership victory. Sydney's Ryan O'Keefe was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Background
Hawthorn entered the 2012 season having been eliminated in the preliminary finals in 2011 by Collingwood. Hawthorn's start to the year was average, with a record of 5–4 after nine matches; the team then won its next eight matches by an average of 81 points. A narrow loss against Geelong in Round 19 was its only other loss of the season, and Hawthorn finished the regular season on top of the AFL ladder with a win-loss record of 17–5. Hawthorn defeated Collingwood in its first qualifying final by 38 points to progress to the preliminary final, then beat Adelaide in a close preliminary final by five points to qualify for the grand final.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Background
Sydney entered the 2012 season having been eliminated in the semi-finals by Hawthorn in 2011. Sydney won its first five matches of the season, before losing three of its next four matches to fall to 6–3; it then won its next nine matches by an average of 46.5 points; this streak took Sydney to the top of the ladder in Round 15, a position that the Swans held for seven weeks. Sydney lost three of its last four matches, including narrow losses to top four teams Hawthorn and Collingwood, to finish third with a record of 16–6. Sydney led from start to finish and beat Adelaide by 29 points in the qualifying final, then defeated Collingwood for the first time in 12 matches by 26 points in the preliminary final to qualify for the grand final.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Background
The two matches between Hawthorn and Sydney were split this season. Sydney recorded a convincing 37-point victory at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania in Round 5, and Hawthorn recorded a narrow 7-point victory at the SCG in Round 22; it was the latter result which saw Hawthorn move ahead of Sydney on the premiership ladder.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Background
Hawthorn was contesting its first grand final since its victory in 2008, and Sydney its first since being defeated in 2006. It was the first time the two clubs had met in a grand final.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
The match was televised by the Seven Network. The coverage commentators included Brian Taylor, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling, Michael Malthouse, Tom Harley, Luke Darcy and Leigh Matthews.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
The primary match commentary was by Bruce McAvaney and Dennis Cometti


2012 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
The network's coverage of the match peaked at 5.084 million viewers as the match neared its conclusion, with Sydney recording 795,000 and Melbourne recording a peak of 1.574 million.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
Seven's parent company Seven West Media said the grand final reached "more than 6 million Australians" during the course of coverage.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Pre-match entertainment
Following criticism of the performance of Meat Loaf at the 2011 AFL Grand Final, the AFL changed the format of the entertainment to have a small pre-match show, a larger half-time show, and, for the first time, a free concert open to the public at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after the match. Tim Rogers, who was featured in the AFL's finals series advertising campaign, and Paul Kelly performed before the game, and Marina Prior performed the national anthem; The Temper Trap performed at half-time on a stage on the arena. Kelly and The Temper Trap played at the post match concert.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Pre-match entertainment
The annual Grand Final Sprint was moved from half time to pre-match to accommodate the new entertainment schedule. Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide) won his second consecutive Grand Final Sprint, with Harry Cunningham (Sydney) second and Angus Litherland (Hawthorn) third.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary
The match was played in dry, gusty conditions. Throughout most of the lead-up to the match, weather forecasts had been predicting heavy rain, with potential hail and thunderstorms for the match, but the worst of these predictions did not eventuate. Light rain fell during the halftime entertainment, but the weather for the match itself was primarily cloudy but dry with winds at the MCG trending towards the City End.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
Hawthorn won the toss and chose to attack the City End first. The first minutes of the match saw the ball move back and forth along the ground. Within a minute of play, Hawthorn's Lance Franklin had the first set shot on goal but missed to the left. Two minutes later, after a scramble at Sydney's attacking end, Lewis Jetta had a shot on goal that missed to the right. About 5½ minutes in, Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge was forced off the field because of a cut above his right eye.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
This injury would require him to come off the ground several times throughout the game. By six minutes in, Hawthorn pressed an attack at their forward 50 and finally got the first goal of the match from a quick opportunity by Xavier Ellis. One minute later, however, Sydney attacked back, and Nick Malceski hooked a shot from near the boundary to even the score. For the next 9 minutes, neither side could kick a goal. Although Hawthorn pressed an attack and dominated in possession, the end result was only 0.4 for them and 0.1 for Sydney.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
Finally, near the 17th minute, Franklin took a mark on the forward 50 and kicked a goal. Sydney tried to respond with a rally of its own but Craig Bird and Lewis Roberts-Thomson both missed to the left; the trending wind was believed to be a factor in both behinds. Afterwards, Hawthorn got some good bounces and responded with two straight goals (by Luke Breust and Jack Gunston) in the 20th minute to take a nineteen-point lead to quarter time.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
As much as the first quarter was dominated by Hawthorn, Sydney responded even more convincingly in the second, showing considerable improvement in tackling pressure and clearances, denying Hawthorn many opportunities despite plenty of time in the forward 50. At the 1st minute, Josh Kennedy took a mark and kicked a goal to begin closing the gap. Sydney would take two marks full forward and kick goals as a result, closing the gap to just one point: Kieren Jack near the 5th minute and Jarrad McVeigh in the 6th minute.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
Sydney finally took the lead halfway through the quarter on a rapid drive down the middle of the ground finished by a kick by Sam Reid from the forward 50. Hawthorn finally had a shot on goal at the 13th minute from a David Hale mark, but it missed left. Sydney's Mitch Morton then kicked consecutive goals at the 14th and 16th minutes. Hawthorn had two last shots in the closing two minutes, but both Franklin and Clinton Young kicked out on the full to the right. Sydney dominated the quarter with six goals to Hawthorn's lone behind, going from a 19-point deficit to a 16-point lead at half time.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead opened the quarter with a set shot missing to the left. Between spells of back-and-forth play, Sydney managed to make two more goals from set shots: Kennedy in the 3rd minute, then Roberts-Thomson in the 6th minute. Kennedy almost had another in the 8th minute but hit the post to extend the margin to 28: the largest at any point in the match. Then Hawthorn started a 5.2 comeback: goals from David Hale, Franklin (2) Gunston, and Isaac Smith and behinds from Franklin and Matt Suckling (rushed) took them to a four-point lead.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
At this point, Hawthorn took out Xavier Ellis to bring in substitute Shane Savage. However, a crucial moment in the 18th minute in which Sam Mitchell gave away a 50-metre penalty saw Sydney captain McVeigh kick the resultant goal to regain the lead for Sydney. Roughead crumbed one final shot at goal but hit the post, cutting Sydney's lead to just one point going into the final break.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
Within one minute, Breust kicked his second goal, followed by another from Hale one minute later and a Franklin behind to give Hawthorn the lead by 12. After trading behinds with Hawthorn, Sydney finally substituted out Shane Mumford for Luke Parker, and they found opportunities with a goal from Dan Hannebery at the 9th minute. Meanwhile, Hodge's cut re-opened, forcing him off the field for several crucial minutes while they tried to bandage it. After several more back-and-forth minutes, Jack finally leveled the scores at 78 each with his second goal.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
After Sydney forced a rushed behind to take a one-point lead, they stretched the lead to seven with a crumbing goal by Adam Goodes. Hawthorn then pressed a lengthy attack in the forward 50 but could not convert on three opportunities: Gunston hit the post while two quick kicks from Brad Sewell went wide; they would only cut the lead to four. Finally, Sydney cleared the ball and pressed their own attack. With less than 40 seconds left, Nick Malceski snapped the clinching goal from a pack in Sydney's forward line: the final score of the match. Hawthorn made a determined effort to come back, but Sydney played physically to deny them progress, keeping the ball at center square until the final siren. Sydney won by ten points: 14.7 (91) to 11.15 (81).


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Overall report
The match in aggregate was a very even affair, with both sides dominating large passages of play. There is contention in who played better on the day, with Hawthorn missing key opportunities and registering more scoring shots. Despite this, It is generally agreed that Sydney performed at key points in the game, including the last 10 minutes, with goals to Adam Goodes and Nick Malceski effectively sealing the game for Sydney. Overall, the game was called as one of the best in modern times by Bruce McAvaney and Dennis Cometti, who were commentating on the day, for its sportsmanship and contest.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Overall report
Four members of the Sydney Swans' 2005 premiership team – Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes, Ryan O'Keefe and Lewis Roberts-Thomson – joined Vic Belcher as the only dual South Melbourne/Sydney Swans premiership players with the victory.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal was won by Sydney's Ryan O'Keefe, who had 28 disposals and 15 tackles for the match. O'Keefe polled 12 out of a maximum possible 15 votes for the award. Ryan O'Keefe became the first man in South Melbourne/Sydney Swans history to win the Norm Smith Medal, making him one of the club's most decorated players in history with two premierships and a Norm Smith Medal.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
Hawthorn's Brad Sewell finished second, with seven votes. Sydney's Dan Hannebery and Hawthorn's Lance Franklin both polled five votes and Sydney captain Jarrad McVeigh polled one vote.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
Chaired by Brett Ratten, the voters and their choices were as follows:


2012 AFL Grand Final, Teams
Sydney did not change its team from the previous week's preliminary final, while Hawthorn omitted Tom Murphy in favour of the club's captain, Luke Hodge, who had been absent with illness the previous week:


2012 AFL Grand Final, Teams
The umpiring panel for the grand final comprised nine match day umpires and three emergencies. Among the umpires were four grand final debutants: field umpires Matt Stevic and Simon Meredith, boundary umpire Rob Haala and goal umpire Chelsea Roffey. Roffey became the first woman to officiate in an AFL grand final.


2012 AFL Grand Final, Teams
Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired; this number includes 2012 and does not include times selected as an emergency umpire.


2012 AFL Mark of the Year
The Australian Football League celebrates the best mark of the season through the annual Mark of the Year competition. In 2012, this is officially known as the Lifebroker AFL Mark of the Year. Each round three marks are nominated and fans are able to vote online for their favourite here .


2012 AFL Rising Star
The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a stand out young player in the Australian Football League. The 2012 Ron Evans Medal will be awarded to one of the 23 nominees. The 2012 award was won by Daniel Talia of the Adelaide Football Club.


2012 AFL Rising Star, Eligibility
Every round, an Australian Football League rising star nomination is given to a stand out young player. To be eligible for nomination, a player must be under 21 on 1 January of that year and have played 10 or fewer senior games before the start of the season; a player who is suspended may be nominated, but is not eligible to win the award. At the end of the year, one of the 23 nominees is the winner of award.


2012 AFL Under 18 Championships
The 2012 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships was the 17th edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships. Eight teams competed in the championships: Vic Metro, Vic Country, South Australia and Western Australia in Division 1, and New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory (NSW/ACT), Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania in Division 2. The competition was played over five rounds, in seven states and territories, across two divisions. In the first two rounds of the competition, the second-division teams crossed over and played the division one sides, while the final three rounds of matches were played between the teams in each the division.


2012 AFL Under 18 Championships
Vic Metro and the Northern Territory were the Division 1 and Division 2 champions, respectively. The Larke Medal (for the best player in Division 1) was awarded to Vic Country's Lachie Whitfield, and the Hunter Harrison Medal (for the best player in Division 2) was won by the Northern Territory's Jake Neade.


2012 AFL Under 18 Championships, Under 18 All-Australian team
The 2012 Under 18 All-Australian team was named on 6 July 2012:


2012 AFL draft
The 2012 AFL draft consisted of five opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2012/13 Australian Football League off-season.


2012 AFL draft, Player movements
Of the players not yet eligible for free agency, Kurt Tippett from Adelaide, Sharrod Wellingham and Chris Dawes from Collingwood were the highest profile players who were linked to trade discussions. Geelong have reached an agreement with Gold Coast regarding Josh Caddy, which would involve Geelong's mid-first-round compensation pick, for losing Gary Ablett Jr. to the Suns and other picks to be confirmed, with paperwork for this trade to be lodged to the AFL at a later date.


2012 AFL draft, Player movements, Free agency
During the 2012 AFL season, in the leadup to the first ever free agency trade period, there was speculation about high-profile players who had contracts that expired at the end of the season, including Travis Cloke, Travis Boak, Brendon Goddard and Troy Chaplin. However, during the season, Cloke and Boak both re-signed with their current clubs. Brent Moloney from Melbourne became the first player to announce that he would become a free agent He was followed by Carlton pair Bret Thornton and Jordan Russell, West Coast's Quinten Lynch and Port Adelaide's Steven Salopek to declare themselves as free agents.


2012 AFL draft, Player movements, Free agency
The initial list of free agents, published in March 2012, consisted of 62 unrestricted free agents and 19 restricted free agents. A restricted free agent is a player who has served eight or more seasons of AFL football at one club, is one of the top 25 per cent highest-paid players at his club, and is now out of contract for the first time since reaching eight seasons of service.


2012 AFL draft, Player movements, Free agency
Unrestricted free agents are players who have been delisted by their club, played more than ten seasons at one AFL club or has played eight or more seasons at one club and is not one of the top 25 per cent highest-paid players at his club. Restricted free agents must allow their current club to match any offer from a rival club, whereas unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any other club.


2012 AFL draft, Player movements, Free agency
The final free agents list issued on 27 September in the week before the trade period commenced consisted of 28 unrestricted free agents and six restricted free agents, reflecting the number of players that had either re-signed with their current club or retired from the AFL.


2012 AFL draft, Player movements, Trades
Note: the numbering of the draft picks in this trades table may be different to the draft picks known at the time of the trade due to adjustments due to either the insertion of compensation draft picks, Adelaide relinquishing their first two selections or clubs exiting the draft before the later rounds.


2012 AFL draft, Mini-draft
As part of their entry concessions, Greater Western Sydney was allocated up to four selections in a mini-draft, which could be used to recruit seventeen-year-olds who would not otherwise be eligible for that year's national draft. These players could not play senior AFL football until the 2014 season. GWS could not use these draft picks themselves, but could trade them to other clubs prior to either the 2011 or 2012 AFL Drafts. In 2011, Gold Coast and Adelaide negotiated trades with GWS for selections in this draft and selected Jaeger O'Meara and Brad Crouch. The two remaining selections for the 2012 mini-draft were obtained by the Gold Coast (pick No. 1) and Melbourne (pick No. 2). Western Australian youngsters Jack Martin and Jesse Hogan were widely expected to be taken with the two Mini-draft picks.


2012 AFL draft, 2012 national draft
The 2012 AFL national draft was held on 22 November at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.


2012 AFL draft, 2012 national draft
During the free agency and trade period, the Adelaide Football Club was investigated for draft tampering and breaches of the salary cap relating to the 2009 contract extension of Kurt Tippett, who was seeking a trade. Adelaide was likely to incur a loss of draft picks, among other penalties, if found guilty, but the AFL Commission was yet to complete its hearing into the matter when the National Draft was held, so the club was permitted to participate in this year's draft as normal.


2012 AFL draft, 2012 national draft
However, on the day before the draft, the club voluntarily relinquished its highest two remaining selections (No. 20 and 54) as a "gesture of goodwill" ahead of the hearing. When the final penalties were handed down on 30 November, Adelaide was also stripped of its first and second round draft picks in the 2013 National Draft, as well as receiving a fine; Tippett received an 11-match suspension, and a fine.


2012 AFL draft, 2013 pre-season draft
The 2013 AFL pre-season draft was held on 11 December 2012.


2012 AFL draft, 2013 rookie draft
The 2013 AFL rookie draft was held on 11 December 2012.


2012 AFL finals series
The 2012 Australian Football League finals series determined the winner of the 2012 AFL season. The series was scheduled to occur over four weekends in September 2012, culminating with the 116th AFL/VFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2012.


2012 AFL finals series, The finals system
The system is a final eight system. This system is currently used by the National Rugby League, and is different from the McIntyre Final Eight System, which was previously used by both the AFL and the NRL.


2012 AFL finals series, The finals system
The top four teams in the eight receive what is popularly known as the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals. This means that even if a top-four team loses in the first week, it still remains in the finals, playing a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight play knock-out games, in that only the winners survive and move on to the next week.


2012 AFL finals series, The finals system
Home-state advantage goes to the team with the higher seed in the first two weeks, to the qualifying final winners in the third week. Games in Victoria are played at the MCG, regardless of the team's usual home ground, if a crowd larger than the seating capacity of Etihad Stadium (53,359) is expected.


2012 AFL finals series, The finals system
In the second week, the winners of the qualifying finals receive a bye to the third week. The losers of the qualifying final plays the elimination finals winners in a semi-final. In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals from week two play the winners of the qualifying finals in the first week. The winners of those matches move on to the Grand Final at the MCG in Melbourne.


2012 AFL finals series, Scheduling Issues
There was a number of scheduling issues during the 2012 AFL finals series:


2012 AFL season
The 2012 Australian Football League season was the 116th season of the Australian rules football competition and the 23rd under the name 'Australian Football League', having switched from 'Victorian Football League' after 1989. It was the first season in which the new team Greater Western Sydney competed, bringing the number of teams in the competition to a record high eighteen.


2012 AFL season
The season was opened on 24 March with the inaugural Sydney Derby between Sydney and Greater Western Sydney, and concluded on 29 September with the AFL Grand Final with Sydney defeating Hawthorn.


2012 AFL season, Pre-season, Draft
The 2011 National Draft was held on 24 November in Sydney, making it only the second time it was held out of Melbourne. This is due to the entry of Greater Western Sydney.


2012 AFL season, Pre-season, NAB Cup
Adelaide won the 2012 pre-season competition following a 34-point win over the West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium. It was their second pre-season cup premiership.


2012 AFL season, Premiership season
The fixture for this season was officially announced on 28 October 2011. Some of the features of the fixture included:


2012 AFL season, Premiership season
The addition of a ninth match in each round, and the new television rights deal requiring most matches to be shown live, influenced the scheduling of matches, and changed some traditional match starting times. In typical rounds, where nine matches were played between Friday and Sunday, the changes were:


2012 AFL season, Premiership season, Rule changes
Following two high goal umpiring errors in the previous three grand finals, in which goals were awarded to Tom Hawkins (Geelong, 2009)) and Sharrod Wellingham (Collingwood, 2011), video score reviews were introduced to AFL games for the first time. A score review could be initiated by the field umpire, at his own discretion or on request by the goal umpire, and television broadcast footage would be reviewed for visual evidence to overturn an on-field goal umpiring decision.


2012 AFL season, Win/loss table
Bold – Home gameX – ByeOpponent for round listed above margin


2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships
The 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships was held in Qinhuangdao, China from May 9 to May 22, 2012.


2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships
For the first time, this world championship served as a qualifier for the 2012 Summer Olympics. 305 boxers participated from 70 countries.


2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, Results, Flyweight
55 boxers participating in this category that qualifies for the Olympics.


2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, Results, Lightweight
58 boxers participating in this category that qualifies for the Olympics.


2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships, Results, Middleweight
40 boxers participating in this category that qualifies for the Olympics.


2012 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships
The 2012 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships were held in Yerevan, Armenia, from November 25 to December 8, 2012. The competition is under the supervision of the world's governing body for amateur boxing AIBA and is the junior version of the World Amateur Boxing Championships. Boxers aged between 17 and 18 as of 1 January 2013 were eligible to compete.


2012 AIHL season
The 2012 AIHL season is the 13th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 28 April 2012 until 26 August 2012, with the Goodall Cup finals following on the 1 and 2 September. The Newcastle North Stars won the H Newman Ried Trophy after finishing the regular season with the most points. The Melbourne Ice won the Goodall Cup for the third year in a row after defeating the North Stars in the final.


2012 AIHL season, Teams
In 2012 the AIHL had 9 teams competing in the league.


2012 AIHL season, League business
During the off-season the Australian Ice Hockey League announced that Perth Thunder had been accepted as a full member of the league expanding the competition to nine teams. The Mustangs IHC changed their name to the Melbourne Mustangs after the AIHL lifted a condition that prohibited the use of "Melbourne" in their team name. The restriction was originally put in place to protect the brand of the Melbourne Ice. It was also announced that from 2012 the league would be split into two conferences in order to manage costs and length of the season.


2012 AIHL season, League business
The two conferences where named the Bauer Conference and Easton Conference after the AIHL signed a three-year deal with the Skaters Network who is the distributor of the ice hockey brands Bauer Hockey and Easton Hockey. The Bauer Conference will consist of the Canberra Knights, Newcastle North Stars, Sydney Bears, and the Sydney Ice Dogs, while the Easton Conference includes the Adelaide Adrenaline, Gold Coast Blue Tongues, Melbourne Ice, Melbourne Mustangs and the Perth Thunder. Following the announcement of the conference system a change in the finals playoff structure was also announced.


2012 AIHL season, League business
The winners of each conference at the end of the regular season would play in a semi-final against the runner-up of the opposing conference with the winners of the semi-finals progressing to the Goodall Cup final. It was also announced a one-year partnership with Virgin Australia in which the airline would become the leagues preferred supplier for the 2012 season.


2012 AIHL season, League business
In February 2012 the Sydney Bears announced that they were leaving the Penrith Ice Palace as their home arena and were returning to play their games at the Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills where they had previously played from 2003 to 2006. In April 2012 the AIHL announced that the Sydney Ice Dogs would be restricted to the dress of only three import players per game, as opposed to the normal four. The restriction is part of the penalties imposed on the club after it breached the AIHL code of conduct during the 2011 Goodall Cup final series in which a player and two team officials were involved in an assault of a Medibank Icehouse security guard.


2012 AIHL season, League business
Prior to the start of the regular season, three exhibition games were held. The first game was held between the Mustangs and the Melbourne Ice at the Medibank Icehouse with the Mustangs winning the game 5–2. The second and third games were played between the Sydney Bears and the Sydney Ice Dogs, with the Sydney Bears winning the first game 5–2 and the Sydney Ice Dogs winning the second game 5–4 in a shootout.


2012 AIHL season, League business
On 3 June, Gold Coast Blue Tongues' home game against the Melbourne Ice at Bundall Iceland was called off after a shortened first period due to an unplayable surface; it was the second such cancellation in less than a year at Bundall Iceland, with 10 July 2011 match between the Blue Tongues and Sydney Ice Dogs cancelled without play for the same reason.


2012 AIHL season, League business
After the cancelled game, Gold Coast was evicted from the rink by its owners, and on 8 June, it was announced that its remaining seven home games for the season would be played at Iceworld in Acacia Ridge, Brisbane; the matches will begin at 10:30pm, with a better time unable to be negotiated with the rink due to the short notice of the relocation. Although Melbourne was offered a win by forfeit for the cancelled match, the club agreed instead to reschedule the match to Thursday 23 August, to be played in Melbourne (although technically a Gold Coast home game).


2012 AIHL season, League business
During July there will be a weeks break for the first Trans-Tasman Champions League. The formation of the Trans-Tasman Champions League was announced back in August 2011 between the AIHL and the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL). The series will feature two teams from each the AIHL and the NZIHL each playing the others once with the winner being the team who finishes first in the round-robin standings. The two teams chosen from each league will be the 2011 regular season champions and the winner of the 2011 playoffs. In a situation where the winning of both events is the same the runner up of the playoff final will be selected to represent their respective league.


2012 AIHL season, Regular season
The regular season will start on 28 April 2012 and will run through to 26 August 2012 before the teams compete in the playoff series. The Gold Coast Blue Tongues' final seven home games were relocated from Bundall, Gold Coast to Acacia Ridge, Brisbane after the cancelled match on 3 June. All relocated matches were scheduled to commence at 10:30pm, and the dates of some of the matches were adjusted to accommodate the away teams' travel plans.


2012 AIHL season, Regular season
The Newcastle North Stars won the H Newman Reid Trophy after finishing the regular season with the most points, 52. On 29 August the AIHL released the list of finalists for the 2012 awards. Matt Armstrong of the Melbourne Ice, Jeremy Boyer of the Newcastle North Stars, Perth Thunder's Kenny Rolph and Sydney Bears' Tomas Landa were nominated for the Most Valuable Player award, with Boyer and Landa both winning the award.


2012 AIHL season, Regular season
Aaron Barton of Adelaide Adrenaline, Anthony Kimlin of the Gold Coast Blue Tongues and Perth Thunder's Kiefer Smiley were nominated for the Top Goaltender award with Anthony Kimlin being named the winner. Adam Blanchette of the Blue Tongues, Scott Levitt of the Melbourne Mustangs and Newcastle's Rob Lawrance were nominated for the Top Defenceman award with Rob Lawrance being announced as the winner. George Huber of the Adrenaline, Greg Bay of the Blue Tongues, the Mustangs' Brendan McDowell and Perth's David Kudla were all nominated for the Rookie of the Year award with George Huber and Greg Bay tying for the win.


2012 AIHL season, Regular season, Statistics, Scoring leaders
List shows the ten top skaters sorted by points, then goals.


2012 AIHL season, Regular season, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage with a minimum of ten games played.


2012 AIHL season, Goodall Cup playoffs
The 2012 playoffs started on 1 September 2012, with the Goodall Cup final being held on 2 September. Following the end of the regular season the top two teams from each conference advanced to the playoff series with the winner of each conference playing in the semi-final round against the runner-up of the other conference. All three games were held at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Warners Bay, New South Wales, the home of the Newcastle North Stars. The series was a single game elimination with the two winning semi-finalists advancing to the Goodall Cup final. The Melbourne Ice completed the three-peat and won the Goodall Cup for the third year in a row after defeating the Newcastle North Stars in the final. Todd Graham of the Melbourne Ice was named the finals MVP.


2012 AIK Fotboll season
The 2012 AIK Fotboll season was spent in the Allsvenskan.


2012 AIK Fotboll season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 AIK Fotboll season, UEFA Europa League, Results summary
Last updated: 16 May 2013. Source: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League


2012 AMA National Speedway Championship
The 2012 AMA National Speedway Championship Series was staged over a single round, which was held at Auburn on September 28. Billy Hamill took the title, his fifth in total, dropping just one point in his opening ride.


2012 AMA National Speedway Championship, Event format
Over the course of 20 heats, each rider raced against every other rider once. The top eight scorers then reached the semi-finals, with first and second in those semi-finals reaching the final. The final positions were decided upon the placing in that final.


2012 AMA Pro American Superbike Championship
The 2012 AMA Pro American Superbike Championship was the 37th running of the AMA Superbike Championship. The championship covered 11 rounds beginning at Daytona International Speedway on March 17 and concluding at NOLA Motorsports Park on October 7. The champion was Josh Hayes riding a Yamaha.


2012 AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike Championship
The 2012 AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike Championship was the fourth running of the AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike Championship. The championship covered 11 rounds beginning at Daytona International Speedway on March 17 and concluded at NOLA Motorsports Park on October 7. The championship was won by Colombian Martín Cárdenas aboard a Suzuki.


2012 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic
The 2012 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic is an annual curling bonspiel that was held from September 13 to 16 at the Brockville Country Club in Brockville, Ontario as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The winning team of John Epping took home the purse for the men's of CAD$40,700 and Tracy Horgan took home CAD$16,400, after winning the women's event.


2012 ANO 2011 leadership election
A leadership election for ANO 2011 was held on 1 August 2012. Andrej Babiš was elected the first leader of the party. Babiš receive 73 votes of 76 delegates.


2012 ANZ Championship season
The 2012 ANZ Championship season was the fifth season of the ANZ Championship. The 2012 season began on 31 March and concluded on 22 July. With a team coached by Noeline Taurua, captained by Laura Langman and featuring Leana de Bruin, Irene van Dyk, Julianna Naoupu and Casey Williams, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic eventually won the premiership. They became fifth team in as many seasons to win the title. Melbourne Vixens won the minor premiership after winning 10 of their 13 matches. Meanwhile, Magic lost their first four matches.


2012 ANZ Championship season
However, they subsequently won 12 matches in a row to finish third during the regular season and champions overall. In the minor semi-final they defeated Adelaide Thunderbirds and in the preliminary final they defeated Northern Mystics after extra time. In the grand final they defeated Vixens 41–38. As a result, they became the first, and only, New Zealand team to win the Championship. They were also the first and only team to start the season with four defeats and win the title and the first and only team to finish third in the regular season and win the title.


2012 ANZ Championship season, Tauranga Pre-Season Tournament
On 2, 3 and 4 March, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic hosted a pre-season tournament at the TECT Arena in Tauranga. For the first time since 2008, all ten ANZ Championship teams competed at the same tournament. The ten teams were divided into two pools of five. Teams within each pool played each other once and the winners qualified for the final. The other teams also played in a series of play offs to decide final placings. The tournament was won by Queensland Firebirds who defeated Melbourne Vixens 50–30 in the final.


2012 ANZ Championship season, Regular season
Melbourne Vixens finished the regular season as minor premiers. After winning their first six matches, they lost to New South Wales Swifts in Round 7. They then lost three successive matches, another to Swifts and one to Northern Mystics. On 20 May in Round 8, against Mystics, Vixens were undone by Mystics defender Anna Harrison and her Harrison Hoist. Harrison made several vital blocks while being hoisted rugby union lineout-style by her defensive partners, helping Mystics secure a 49–45 win. However, Vixens successively claimed the minor premiership with three wins in the final three rounds.


2012 ANZ Championship season, Regular season, Round 6: Rivalry Round
Round 6 featured five Australia verses New Zealand matches. Goals scored by Australian and New Zealand teams were added together and the country with the most goals won the Rivalry Round Trophy.


2012 ANZ Championship season, Media coverage
A cumulative television audience of over 10.6 million across Australia and New Zealand watched the 2012 ANZ Championship on Network 10 and Sky Sport (New Zealand), representing a 45% increase on 2011 (7.2million).


2012 AON Open Challenger
The 2012 AON Open Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Genoa, Italy between 3 and 9 September 2012.


2012 AON Open Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 AON Open Challenger – Doubles
Dustin Brown and Horacio Zeballos were the defending champions but Zeballos decided not to participate. Brown played alongside Lukáš Dlouhý, losing in the first round. Andre Begemann and Martin Emmrich won the title, defeating Dominik Meffert and Philipp Oswald 6–3, 6–1 in the final.


2012 AON Open Challenger – Singles
Martin Kližan was the defending champion but decided not to participate. Albert Montañés won the title, defeating Tommy Robredo 6–4, 6–1 in the final.


2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards
The 2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards were held on Thursday 13 September 2012 at the Auckland Town Hall, celebrating excellence in New Zealand songwriting. The Silver Scroll Award was presented to New York-based pop artist Stephanie Brown (Lips), and reggae band Herbs was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.


2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, Silver Scroll Award
The Silver Scroll Award celebrates outstanding achievement in songwriting of original New Zealand pop music. The evening's music performances were produced by Shihad frontman Jon Toogood. Each of the nominated songs were covered in a new style by another artist.


2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, Silver Scroll Award, Long list
In July 2012 a top 20 long list was announced.


2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, Silver Scroll Award, Long list
Annah Mac "Girl In Stilettos"Bic Runga "Everything is Beautiful and New"Cairo Knife Fight "The Origin of Slaves"Five Mile Town "Fatal Flaw"Get Well Soon "Hold On"Grand Rapids "Never Be Without You"Great North "Lead Me To The Light"Home Brew "Datura"Jess Chambers "Hopeful Dreamer"Jesse Sheehan "By Your Side"L.A. Mitchell "When it's All Too Much"Lindon Puffin "Outta Reach"Lips "Everything To Me"Lisa Crawley "Blind Eyes"Lydia Cole "Hibernate"Opossom "Getaway Tonight"Ruby Frost "Water to Ice"Six60 "Forever"The Adults "Anniversary Day"The Eastern "State Houses by the River"


2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
Reggae band Herbs were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame by Che Fu. The inducted band members were Dilworth Karaka, Toni Fonoti, Phil Toms, Spencer Fusimalohi, John Berkley, Fred Faleauto and Charles Tumahai, Maurice Watene, Tama Lundon, Jack Allen, Carl Perkins, Willie Hona, Thom Nepia, Tama Renata, Gordon Joll, Grant Pukeroa and Kristen Hapi. Reggae band Kora covered Herbs' song "Rust In Dust", and Dave Dobbyn performed their collaboration "Slice of Heaven".


2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, Other awards
Four other awards were presented at the Silver Scroll Awards: APRA Maioha Award (for excellence in contemporary Maori music),  SOUNZ Contemporary Award (for creativity and inspiration in composition) and two awards acknowledging songs with the most radio and television play in New Zealand and overseas.


2012 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, APRA song awards
Outside of the Silver Scroll Awards, APRA presented four genre awards in 2012. The APRA Best Pacific Song was presented at the Pacific Music Awards, the APRA Best Country Music Song was presented at the New Zealand Country Music Awards and the APRA Children’s Song of the Year and What Now Video of the Year were presented at StarFest.


2012 ARCA Racing Series
The 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards was the 60th season of the ARCA Racing Series. The season began on February 18 with the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 and ended on October 19 with the Kansas ARCA 150. Chris Buescher won the championship over Frank Kimmel by 75 points after a heated battle. Alex Bowman was named Rookie of the Year after battling Brennan Poole all season.


2012 ARCA Racing Series, Results and standings, Drivers' championship
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led. * * – All laps led.


2012 ASA Midwest Tour season
The 2012 ASA Kwik-Trip Midwest Tour presented by Echo Outdoor Power Equipment and grandstay.net will be the sixth season of the American Speed Association's Midwest Tour. The championship will be held over 13 races, beginning May 6 in Oregon, Wisconsin, and ending October 7 in West Salem, Wisconsin.


2012 ASB Classic
The 2012 ASB Classic was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 27th edition of the ASB Classic, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2012 WTA Tour. It took place at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, from 2 to 8 January 2012.


2012 ASB Classic, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 ASB Classic, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 ASB Classic, Champions, Doubles
Andrea Hlaváčková /  Lucie Hradecká defeated  Julia Görges /  Flavia Pennetta 6–7(2–7), 6–2, [10–7]


2012 ASB Classic – Doubles
Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik were the defending champions but were defeated in the semifinals by Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká.


2012 ASB Classic – Doubles
Hlaváčková and Hradecká went on to win the title, defeating Julia Görges and Flavia Pennetta in the final, 6–7(2–7), 6–2, [10–7].


2012 ASB Classic – Singles
Gréta Arn was the defending champion, but lost to Julia Görges in the first round.


2012 ASB Classic – Singles
Unseeded Zheng Jie won the tournament, after her opponent Flavia Pennetta retired in the final.


2012 ASEAN University Games
The  2012 ASEAN University Games officially known as the 16th ASEAN University Games was a Southeast Asian university multi-sports event held in Vientiane, Laos. This was the first time Laos hosted the games. Laos is the eighth nation to host the ASEAN University Games after Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Vietnam.


2012 ASEAN University Games
The games was held from 12 to 20 December 2012, although several events had commenced from 11 December 2012. Around 1700 athletes participated at the event which featured 240 events in 17 sports. It was opened and closed by Thongsing Thammavong, the Prime Minister of Laos at the New Laos National Stadium.


2012 ASEAN University Games
The final medal tally was led by Malaysia, followed by Vietnam and Thailand with host Laos in fifth place.


2012 ASEAN University Games, Development and preparation
The Organising Committee of the 16th ASEAN University Games was formed to oversee the staging of the games.


2012 ASEAN University Games, Development and preparation, Venues
The 16th ASEAN University Games had 16 venues for the games.


2012 ASEAN University Games, Marketing, Logo
The 2012 ASEAN University Games logo is a "Nark" or "Naga" a worshipped animal throughout the ASEAN nations. According to Laotian myths, "Nark" or "Naga" appeared 450 years ago in the Lao saga before the establishment of Vientiane in which it took its name "Vientiane Chanthabury Sisattanabhut". It is said to be an animal full of omnipotent power and it's believed to parry spirits and evilness. The "Naga" logo bears the Plumeria alba, commonly known as Frangipani and locally known as Dok Champa, the symbolic and national flower of Laos, symbolises Laos as the host nation of the games. Overall, the logo represents the ASEAN University Games aim of creating good will of spiritual solidarity, friendship and peace within the ASEAN community.


2012 ASEAN University Games, Marketing, Mascot
The official mascot of the 2012 ASEAN University Games is a pair of bees named Mr. Santiphap and Miss Mittaphap. The adoption of the Bee as the games' mascot is to relate the bees who work together in solidarity, strength and efficiency to the savants and architectures of the ASEAN nations. The name of the male mascot, Mr. Santiphab (Mr. Peace) represents the Peace between the ASEAN nations whereas the name of the female mascot, Miss Mittaphab (Miss Friendship) represents the Friendship between the ASEAN nations.


2012 ASEAN University Games, Marketing, Motto
The official motto of the games is "We Are ASEAN Family". It was chosen to highlight the unity of the ASEAN countries through sport as well as the purpose of ASEAN University Games in creating solidarity, friendship and peace within the ASEAN Community.


2012 ASEAN University Games, The games, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held on 12 December 2012 at 17:30 (LST) at the New Laos National Stadium. The opening ceremony begins with the parade of athletes from participating nations into the stadium. The Laos contingent was led by Sonexay Mangkhuela, the gold medalist of Taekwondo event at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. This was followed by the speech of the minister of Sports and Education of Laos, Phankham Viphavanh, the declaration of the games' opening by Thongsing Thammovong, then Prime minister of Laos and the athlete and referee oath and the lighting of the games cauldron. The ceremony concludes with the song and dance performance by 1600 Laotian primary school students.


2012 ASEAN University Games, The games, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony was held on 20 December 2012 at 17:30 (LST) at the New Laos National Stadium in which Deputy Prime Minister of Laos, Mr Asang Laoly declared the Games closed.


2012 ASEAN University Games, The games, Sports
The 2012 ASEAN University Games programme featured 334 events in 17 sports and disciplines. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


2012 ASP World Tour
The 2012 ASP World Championship Tour was a professional competitive surfing league run by the Association of Surfing Professionals. Men and women competed in separate tours with events taking place from late February to mid-December, at various surfing locations around the world.


2012 ASP World Tour
Surfers received points for their best events. The surfer with the most points at the end of the tour was announced the 2012 ASP World Tour Champion.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour was the secondary professional tennis circuit organized by the ATP. The 2012 ATP Challenger Tour calendar comprised 15 top tier Tretorn SERIE+ tournaments, and approximately 150 regular series tournaments, with prize money ranging from $35,000 up to $150,000.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour, Statistical Information
These tables present the number of singles (S) and doubles (D) titles won by each player and each nation during the season, within all the tournament categories of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour: the Tretorn SERIE+ tournaments, and the regular series tournaments. The players/nations are sorted by: 1) total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation); 2) cumulated importance of those titles (one Tretorn SERIE+ win > one regular tournament win); 3) a singles > doubles hierarchy; 4) alphabetical order (by family names for players).


2012 ATP Challenger Tour, Statistical Information
To avoid confusion and double counting, these tables should be updated only after an event is completed.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals
The 2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals was a tennis tournament played at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil, between November 27 and December 1, 2012. It was the second edition of the event. It was run by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. The event took place on indoor hard courts. It served as the season ending championships for players on the ATP Challenger Tour. The seven best players of the season and a wild card awardee qualified for the event and were split into two groups of four.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals
During this stage, players competed in a round robin format (meaning players played against all the other players in their group). The two players with the best results in each group progressed to the semifinals where the winners of a group faced the runners-up of the other group. This stage, however, was a knock out stage.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
2 Seedings were determined according to the ATP Singles Rankings as of November 26, 2012.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
The top seven players with the most points accumulated in ATP Challenger tournaments during the year plus one wild card entrant from the host country qualified for the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals. Countable points include points earned in 2012 until November 5, plus points earned at late-season 2011 Challenger tournaments played after November 14. However, players were only eligible to qualify for the tournament if they played a minimum of eight ATP Challenger Tour tournaments during the season. Moreover, the accumulated year-to-date points were only countable to a maximum of ten best results.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
The tournament line-up was initially announced on 7 November 2012 at the tournament's website, based on the 2012 ATP Year-To-Date Challenger Rankings up to that date.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
Victor Hănescu, Paolo Lorenzi, Aljaž Bedene and Evgeny Donskoy qualified directly to the tournament, whereas Guido Pella, Andreas Haider-Maurer and Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo were given their berths after Martin Kližan, Andrey Kuznetzov, Jerzy Janowicz, Tatsuma Ito, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Roberto Bautista-Agut and Grega Žemlja chose not to participate. Thomaz Bellucci, the Brazilian No. 1, was given the wildcard entry to the tournament for the second consecutive year.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
In the week before the tournament and after the line-up was closed, Andreas Haider-Maurer and Evgeny Donskoy withdrew from the tournament due to injury and personal reasons, respectively. They were replaced by the designated alternates Gastão Elias and Adrian Ungur.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
Victor Hănescu, Romanian No. 1 and former World No. 26, qualified as the leader of the ATP Challenger Tour ranking. He won 3 Challenger Tour titles in Szczecin, Banja Luka and Timișoara, finished runner-up on another 3 occasions in Sibiu, Bercuit and Arad and was semifinalist on yet another 3 tournaments in Cordenons, Milan and Marrakech.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
Paolo Lorenzi entered the tournament just after achieving a career-high World No. 63 ranking. He won 2 Challenger Tour titles in Cordenons and Medellin, and had 5 runner-up showings in Sarasota, Guadalajara, Todi, San Luis Potosí and Salinas. He entered the tournament as the Italian No. 3 in the singles rankings.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
Aljaž Bedene, Slovenian No. 3,  achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 79 during the 2012 season, boosted by 4 Challenger Tour titles at Wuhan, Kosice, Barletta and Casablanca, a runner-up finish in An-Ning and a semifinal appearance in Prague. He won the most ATP Challenger Tour singles titles between the qualified players.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
Guido Pella is another of the players who achieved career-high rankings shortly before the tournament. The Argentinian No. 7 earned a career-high ranking of World No. 108 following 3 Challenger Tour titles at Campinas, Manta and Salinas. He also reached the final in Guayaquil and the semifinals in Rio de Janeiro and Lima.


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo, Spanish No. 12 and former World No. 50, won 2 Challenger Tour titles in Tunis and San Luis Potosí, finished runner-up in Pereira, and reached the semifinals in Guayaquil twice (both in the 2011 and 2012 editions).


2012 ATP Challenger Tour Finals, Qualification
Gastão Elias  achieved career-high rankings of World No. 133 and Portuguese No. 2 during the 2012 season. He won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Rio de Janeiro, and had 3 runner-up finishes at Caltanissetta, Porto Alegre and São Paulo, as well as a semifinalist showing in Tampere.