2016 AFC Cup, Top scorers
Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-off are not counted when determining top scorer (see regulations, Article 77.4).


2016 AFC Cup Final
The 2016 AFC Cup Final was the final match of the 2016 AFC Cup, the 13th edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from 'developing countries' in Asia according to the Vision Asia plan.


2016 AFC Cup Final
The final was contested as a single match between Iraqi team Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Indian team Bengaluru FC. The match was hosted by Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on 5 November 2016.


2016 AFC Cup Final
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya defeated Bengaluru FC 1–0 to become the first Iraqi team to win the AFC Cup title.


2016 AFC Cup Final, Venue
As Iraqi teams were not allowed to host their home matches in their country, the final was played at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, also known as Qatar SC Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is the home stadium of Qatar Sports Club and holds 13,000 spectators.


2016 AFC Cup Final, Background
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya qualified for the 2016 AFC Cup group stage as the 2014–15 Iraqi Premier League runners-up. This was their first appearance in the AFC Cup.


2016 AFC Cup Final, Background
Bengaluru FC qualified for the 2016 AFC Cup as the 2014–15 Indian Federation Cup winners. This was their second consecutive appearance in the AFC Cup.


2016 AFC Cup Final, Background
Both teams reached the AFC Cup final for the first time, and Bengaluru FC were the first team from India to reach the final.


2016 AFC Cup Final, Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2016 AFC Cup Final, Rules
The final was played as a single match, with the host team decided by draw. If tied after regulation, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner.


2016 AFC Cup Final, Match
Assistant referees:Yoon Kwang-yeol (South Korea)Kim Young-ha (South Korea)Fourth official:Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)Fifth official:Park Sang-jun (South Korea)


2016 AFC Cup group stage
The 2016 AFC Cup group stage was played from 23 February to 11 May 2016. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout stage of the 2016 AFC Cup.


2016 AFC Cup group stage, Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.


2016 AFC Cup group stage, Draw
The seeding of each team in the draw was determined by their association and their qualifying position within their association. The mechanism of the draw was as follows:


2016 AFC Cup group stage, Draw
The following 32 teams (16 from West Zone, 16 from East Zone) entered into the group stage draw, which included the 28 direct entrants and the four winners of the qualifying play-off, whose identity were not known at the time of the draw.


2016 AFC Cup group stage, Format
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.


2016 AFC Cup group stage, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations Article 11.5):


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage
The 2016 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 24 May to 5 November 2016. A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2016 AFC Cup.


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Qualified teams
The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage qualified for the knockout stage. Both West Zone and East Zone had eight qualified teams.


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Format
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 12.4).


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Format
Starting from this season, the knockout stage was split between the two zones until the final, similar to the AFC Champions League (Regulations Article 12.3).


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Bracket
The bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Round of 16
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Zone were drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone were drawn into the other two ties, with the order of legs also decided by the draw.


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.


2016 AFC Cup knockout stage, Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the host team decided by a draw, held after the quarter-final draw.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying play-off
The 2016 AFC Cup qualifying play-off was played on 9 February 2016. A total of eight teams competed in the qualifying play-off to decide four of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2016 AFC Cup.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying play-off, Teams
The following eight teams (all from West Zone) entered the qualifying play-off, which consisted of one round only (play-off round):


2016 AFC Cup qualifying play-off, Teams
No qualifying play-off was held in the East Zone due to lack of teams (all teams directly entered the group stage).


2016 AFC Cup qualifying play-off, Format
In the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10.2). The four winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 28 direct entrants.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying play-off, Bracket
The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round
The 2016 AFC Cup qualifying round was played from 11 to 15 August 2015. A total of six teams competed in the qualifying round to decide two places in the competition proper of the 2016 AFC Cup.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round
The AFC Cup qualifying round was held to replace the AFC President's Cup, whose last edition was held in 2014, as starting from 2015, league champions of "emerging countries" were eligible to participate in the AFC Cup qualifying play-off.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round, Teams
A total of six teams six nine AFC associations competed in the qualifying round. Teams were not split into zones for the qualifying round.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round, Teams
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count all those since the 2004 season (including both competition proper and qualifying rounds).


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round, Draw
The draw for the qualifying round was held on 29 June 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The six teams were drawn into two groups of three.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round, Draw
For the draw, the pre-selected hosts were placed in their own pot, while the remaining teams were seeded according to the performance of their association in the 2014 AFC President's Cup.


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round, Format
In the qualifying round, each group was played on a single round-robin basis at the pre-selected hosts. The winners of each group advanced to either the qualifying play-off or the group stage (depending on number of teams in each zone and geographical location).


2016 AFC Cup qualifying round, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC Futsal Championship
The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship was the 14th edition of the AFC Futsal Championship, the biennial international futsal championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in Uzbekistan between 10–21 February 2016. A total of 16 teams played in the tournament.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship
The tournament was originally meant to be held in Taiwan (i.e. the Republic of China). It was originally scheduled for 12–27 March 2016, but this was changed following the adoption of the FIFA futsal international match calendar.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship
Same as previous editions held on the same year as the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the tournament acted as the AFC qualifiers for the World Cup. The top five teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia as the AFC representatives.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship
Champions Iran, runners-up Uzbekistan, third-placed Thailand, fourth-placed Vietnam and fifth place's play-off winners Australia qualified for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup as the AFC representatives.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Qualification
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 2 September 2015. Four teams qualified directly for the final tournament by their 2014 performance, while the other entrants competed in the qualifying stage for the remaining 12 spots. The qualifiers were played between 1 October and 19 November 2015.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Qualification, Qualified teams
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. Kuwait were replaced by Saudi Arabia due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Squads
Each team had to submit a squad of 14 players, including a minimum of two goalkeepers.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 2 December 2015, 18:00 UZT (UTC+5), at the Zafarshan Hall in Tashkent. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2014.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2016 AFC Futsal Championship.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Group stage
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time would be used in the third place match).


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
Winners qualified for 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup. Losers enter fifth place play-offs.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Goalscorers
There were 234 goals scored in 35 matches, for an average of 6.69 goals per match.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Final ranking, Qualified teams for FIFA Futsal World Cup
The following five teams from AFC qualified for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup


2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification
The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification was a men's futsal competition which decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC Futsal Championship. A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan (hosts), who qualified directly as the top three finishers of the 2014 AFC Futsal Championship. Since third-placed Uzbekistan qualified automatically as hosts, Kuwait, who finished fourth, would have also qualified as the next best-ranked team, but they were later replaced due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification
The top five teams of the final tournament qualified for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Teams
A total of 26 AFC member national teams entered the qualifying stage, split into zones according to their regional affiliations.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Teams
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 2 September 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Only the groups in West Asia were drawn, as no draw was necessary for Central Asia and East Asia, and the draw for the 2015 AFF Futsal Championship had already been held on 16 June 2015 in Singapore.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Teams
Apart from the four direct qualifiers, the remaining twelve slots in the final tournament were allocated as follows:


2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams played each other once at a centralised venue. The top two teams of each group (total 12 teams) qualified for the final tournament.


2016 AFC Futsal Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC Futsal Championship squads
This article lists the confirmed national futsal squads for the 2016 AFC Futsal Championship tournament held in Uzbekistan.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship
The 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship was the 7th edition of the AFC Futsal Club Championship, the annual Asian futsal club championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament was held in Bangkok, Thailand between July 17 and July 23, 2016.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Qualified teams
A total of 12 teams from 12 AFC member associations participated in the tournament.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Venue
The matches are played at the Bangkok Arena in Bangkok.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Draw
The draw was held on 6 May 2016 in Bangkok. The 12 teams were drawn into four groups of three teams. Besides the team from the host association Thailand, the teams from Iran, Vietnam and Iraq were also seeded as per the final ranking of the 2015 AFC Futsal Club Championship.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Squads
Each team had to submit a squad of 14 players, including a minimum of two goalkeepers.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Group stage
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time would be used in the third place match).


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, Statistics, Tournament team rankings
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship Finals
The 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship Finals was the finals of the 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, the 7th edition of the top-level Asian club futsal tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 7th under the current AFC Futsal Club Championship title.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship Finals
The final was contested between Nagoya Oceans and Naft Al-Wasat.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship Finals
The third place play-off was contested between Dibba Al-Hisn and Chonburi.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship Finals, Venues
The matches will play at the Bangkok Arena in Bangkok.


2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship Finals, Rules
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time would be used in the third place match).


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup
The 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup was the inaugural edition of the AFC Solidarity Cup, an international football tournament. It took place between 2–15 November 2016 in Malaysia.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup
The tournament was created by the Asian Football Confederation as a replacement for the AFC Challenge Cup which was played for the last time in 2014.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup
A total of nine teams were eligible to compete in this edition of the tournament. Six teams were eligible to compete after losing in the first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification competition, while three teams were eligible to compete after losing in the play-off round 2 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification competition. After Pakistan and Bangladesh withdrew, only seven teams competed in the tournament.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Qualified teams
The following six teams qualified after losing in the first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification competition:


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Qualified teams
The following three teams qualified after losing in the play-off round 2 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification competition:


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Venues
The tournament was held in Kuching at the Sarawak Stadium and Sarawak State Stadium.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Draw
The draw took place on 8 September 2016, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Draw
The seedings were based on the FIFA Ranking of August 2016. As the draw was held before the play-off round 2 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification competition was played, the identities of the Round 2 losers, as well as the number of teams which would enter the competition, were not known at the time of the draw.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Squads
Each national association must submit a list of 18–23 players, three of those players must be goalkeepers.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Group stage
The tournament's format would change depending upon the number of teams that agree to partake in the competition. Should nine teams enter, the two group winners advance to the final. Should only eight teams enter, the two group winners and two group runners-up advance to the semi-finals. Since at the end only seven teams entered, the top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Group stage
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order:


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Knockout stage, Final
Due to the withdrawal of Guam and the suspension of Kuwait, the AFC decided to invite both Nepal and Macau, the top two teams of the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, to re-enter 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification as replacements in order to maintain 24 teams in the third round of the competition.


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2016 AFC Solidarity Cup squads
Below are the squads for the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup in Malaysia, which took place between 2 and 15 November 2016. The players' listed age is their age on the tournament's opening day.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship
The 2016 AFC U-16 Championship was the 17th edition of the AFC U-16 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-16 national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in India, as announced by the AFC on 3 June 2015, and was played between 15 September and 2 October 2016. A total of 16 teams played in the tournament.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship
Same as previous editions, the tournament acted as the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The top four teams of the tournament qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup also in India as the AFC representatives, besides India who qualified automatically as hosts. If India were among the top four teams, three play-off matches would be played to decide the fifth-placed team which also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup; however, this was not necessary as India were eliminated in the group stage.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship
This marked the first time a U-17 World Cup host nation hosts the AFC U-16 Championship.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship
Iraq won the tournament after beating Iran 4–3 on penalties in the final match.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Qualification
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 5 June 2015. A total of 45 teams were drawn into eleven groups, with the eleven group winners and the four best runners-up qualifying for the final tournament, together with India who qualified automatically as hosts but also competed in the qualifying stage.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Qualification
The qualifiers were played between 12–20 September 2015, except for Group H which were played between 2–6 September 2015.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Qualification, Qualified teams
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. Nepal were replaced by Kyrgyzstan due to one of their players failing an MRI bone test.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Qualification, Qualified teams
On 12 April 2016, the AFC Competitions Committee decided that if the FIFA suspension of the Kuwait Football Association was not lifted by 13 May 2016, the next highest ranked team in the AFC U-16 Championship qualifying competition would replace Kuwait in the competition.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Qualification, Qualified teams
On 13 May 2016, the FIFA Congress confirmed the suspension of Kuwait, and asked the FIFA Council to lift the suspension as soon as the necessary requirements are fulfilled. As a result, Kuwait were replaced by Yemen, the next highest ranked team in the AFC U-16 Championship qualifying competition.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 26 May 2016, 15:00 IST (UTC+5:30), in Goa (postponed from 4 May 2016). The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous edition in 2014.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Group stage
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner if necessary (extra time is not used).


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Tournament ranking
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Tournament ranking, Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 World Cup
The following five teams from AFC qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, including India which qualified as hosts.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Ban on North Korean manager and goalkeeper
On 4 November 2016, the AFC announced that North Korean manager Yung Jong-su and goalkeeper Jang Paek-ho were banned for a year for bringing the game into disrepute following the deliberate conceding of a goal during their final group match against Uzbekistan. The goal in question was conceded in the 49th minute, which Jang appeared to duck out of the way of a direct kick from the Uzbek goalkeeper. Uzbekistan won the match 3–1 and finished top of the group, meaning they would meet Iraq in the quarter-finals, and they went on to lose. North Korea, as group runners-up, met Oman in the quarter-finals, which they won to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The ban means both Yung and Jang are suspended from the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship, Ban on North Korean manager and goalkeeper
The North Korean team were also placed on a suspended ban from the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship. While they will be allowed to compete in the qualifiers, if the team engage in similar behaviour, they will be automatically ejected from the competition.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification
The 2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship. The tournament is the 17th edition of the AFC U-16 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-16 national teams of Asia.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification
A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including India who qualified automatically as hosts but also competed in the qualifying stage.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification
Same as previous editions, the tournament acts as the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The top four teams of the final tournament will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India as the AFC representatives, besides India who qualified automatically as hosts. If India are among the top four teams, the fifth-placed team (i.e., the losing quarter-finalist with the best record in the tournament) will also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Draw
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 5 June 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 45 teams entered the qualifying stage and were drawn into eleven groups.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Draw
The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2014.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Player eligibility
Players born on or after 1 January 2000 were eligible to compete in the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams played each other once at a centralised venue. The eleven group winners and the four best runners-up from all groups qualified for the final tournament. If India were one of the group winners or best runners-up, the fifth-best runner-up also qualified for the final tournament.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Groups
The matches were played between 2–6 September 2015 for Group H; 12–20 September 2015 for Group G (five-team group); 16–20 September 2015 for all other groups.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
The ranking among the runner-up team of all groups are determined as follows:


2016 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
In order to ensure equality when comparing the runner-up team of all groups, the results of the matches against the fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams in the groups having four or five teams are ignored due to Groups D, F and K having only three teams after one of the teams in the group withdrew.


2016 AFC U-16 Championship squads
The 2016 AFC U-16 Championship squads are squads which participated in the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship
The 2016 AFC U-19 Championship was the 39th edition of the AFC U-19 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia. The tournament was hosted by Bahrain, as announced by the AFC on 3 June 2015, and was scheduled to be played between 13–30 October 2016. A total of 16 teams played in the tournament.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship
Same as previous editions, the tournament acted as the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The top four teams of the tournament qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea as the AFC representatives, besides South Korea who qualified automatically as hosts. If South Korea were among the top four teams, three play-off matches would be played to decide the fifth-placed team which also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup; however, this was not necessary as South Korea were eliminated in the group stage.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship
Japan conquered the title for the first time after beating Saudi Arabia in the final's penalty shootout, and also set a record in the competition for being the first team to win the tournament without conceding a single goal.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship
On 25 October 2016, the AFC President, Salman Al-Khalifa, congratulated Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Islamic Republic of Iran and Japan on qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup South Korea 2017. The four teams will join hosts South Korea to make up Asia's five representatives at the tournament.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Qualification
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 5 June 2015. A total of 43 teams were drawn into ten groups, with the ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualifying for the final tournament, together with Bahrain who qualified automatically as hosts but also competed in the qualifying stage.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Qualification
The qualifiers were played between 28 September – 6 October 2015.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 30 April 2016, 19:00 AST (UTC+3), in Manama. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous edition in 2014.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1997 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team can register a maximum of 23 players (minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers).


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Group stage
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Group stage, Group A
Bahrain is ahead of   Saudi Arabia on head-to-head records : Bahrain 3-2 Saudi Arabia. While  Saudi Arabia is ahead of  South Korea on numbers of goals which scored (excluding results against  Thailand) : Saudi Arabia 4 goals, South Korea 3 goals


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Tournament team rankings
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship, Tournament team rankings, Qualified teams for U-20 World Cup
The following five teams from AFC qualified for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, including South Korea which qualified as hosts.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
The 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship. The tournament is the 39th edition of the AFC U-19 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-19 national teams of Asia.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Bahrain who qualified automatically as hosts but also competed in the qualifying stage.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
Same as previous editions, the tournament acts as the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The top four teams of the final tournament will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea as the AFC representatives, besides South Korea who qualified automatically as hosts. If South Korea are among the top four teams, the fifth-placed team (i.e., the losing quarter-finalist with the best record in the tournament) will also qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Draw
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 5 June 2015 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 43 teams entered the qualifying stage and were drawn into ten groups.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Draw
The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2014.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Player eligibility
Players born on or after 1 January 1997 are eligible to compete in the tournament.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams play each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the five best runners-up from all groups qualify for the final tournament. If Bahrain are one of the group winners or best runners-up, the sixth-best runner-up also qualifies for the final tournament.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Groups
The matches are played between 28 September – 6 October 2015 for Groups G and H (five-team groups); 2–6 October 2015 for all other groups (four-team groups).


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
The ranking among the runner-up team of all groups are determined as follows:


2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
In order to ensure equality when comparing the runner-up team of all groups, the results of the matches against the fifth-placed team in the groups having five teams are ignored due to the other groups having only four teams.


2016 AFC U-19 Championship squads
Player names marked in bold went on to earn full international caps.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship
The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2016 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. The tournament was held in Qatar between 12–30 January 2016. A total of 16 teams compete in the tournament. The tournament was also renamed from the "AFC U-22 Championship" to the "AFC U-23 Championship".


2016 AFC U-23 Championship
For the first time, the AFC U-23 Championship acted as the AFC qualifiers for the Olympic football tournament, replacing the previous process of home-and-away Olympic qualifiers. The top three teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil as the AFC representatives.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship
Japan won the tournament with a 3–2 final win over South Korea. Both finalists and third-placed Iraq qualified for the Olympics.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Host selection
Qatar was one of the countries which came forward wishing to host the finals competition. They were selected over the other bidding nations Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Qualification
The qualifiers draw was held on Thursday, 4 December 2014. A total of 43 teams were drawn into ten groups, with the ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualifying for the final tournament, together with Qatar who qualified automatically as hosts.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Qualification
Qualification rounds were played between 23–31 March 2015, except for Group B which was scheduled to be held in Lahore, Pakistan, but was postponed due to the Lahore church bombings.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Venues
The tournament was hosted in four stadiums, all located in Doha.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 12 September 2015, 12:00 AST (UTC+3), at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous edition in 2013.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team could register a maximum of 23 players (minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers).


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Squads
As the tournament was not held during the FIFA International Match Calendar, clubs were not obligated to release the players.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Group stage
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Statistics, Tournament team rankings
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Statistics, Qualified teams for Olympics
The following three teams from AFC qualified for the Olympic football tournament.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship, Controversies
Qatar, Syria and Yemen each had at least two players born on 1 January 1993, the cut off date for eligibility in this tournament.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification was a men's under-23 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship. Players born on or after 1 January 1993 were eligible to compete in the tournament.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
A total of 16 teams qualified to play in the final tournament, including Qatar who qualified automatically as hosts.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
The top three teams of the final tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics men's football tournament in Brazil.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Draw
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 4 December 2014, 11:00 UTC+8, at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 43 AFC member national teams entered the qualifying stage and were drawn into ten groups.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Draw
The teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2013.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Format
In each group, teams played each other once at a centralised venue. The ten group winners and the best five runners-up from all groups qualified for the final tournament.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Group stage
The matches were played between 23 and 31 March 2015 for Groups A and C (five-team groups); 27–31 March 2015 for Groups D–J (four-team groups); 16–20 May 2015 for Group B (due to postponement).


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
In order to ensure equality when comparing the runner-up team of all groups, the results of the matches against the 5th-placed team in Groups A and C were ignored due to the other groups having only four teams.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, Ranking of second-placed teams
The best runner-up teams among those ranked second in the groups were determined as follows:


2016 AFC U-23 Championship squads
The following is a list of squads for each national team competing at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, The tournament took place during January 2016 in Qatar. It was the second U-23 age group competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. As the tournament was not held during the FIFA International Match Calendar, clubs were not obligated to release the players.


2016 AFC U-23 Championship squads
Each team had to submit 23 players in their national team squads. The full squad listings are below.


2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The 2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament was the 4th edition of the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the quadrennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine which women's national teams from Asia qualify for the Olympic football tournament.


2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The top two teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics women's football tournament in Brazil as the AFC representatives.


2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
On 7 March 2016, with one round of matches remaining to be played, Australia and China were confirmed qualification to the Olympics.


2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Teams
A total of 18 AFC member national teams entered the qualifying stage. The format is as follows:


2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Teams
The draw for the qualifiers was held on 4 December 2014 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Teams
Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia Guam Indonesia Iraq Kyrgyzstan Kuwait Lebanon Macau1 Malaysia Maldives Mongolia   Nepal Northern Mariana Islands1 Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Syria Tajikistan Timor-Leste Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Yemen


2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Qualified teams for Olympics
The following two teams from AFC qualified for the Olympic football tournament.


2016 AFF Championship
The 2016 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and officially known as the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016, was the 11th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The whole tournament ran from 19 November to 17 December 2016. After the recognition by FIFA as a "category A" tournament, the 2016 edition of the tournament would grant international ranking points for each match.


2016 AFF Championship
The group stages of the championships were held for the first time at Myanmar and the Philippines from 19–26 November 2016.


2016 AFF Championship, Hosts
At the 11th ASEAN Football Federation Council meeting in Naypyidaw on 21 December 2013, Myanmar and the Philippines were named as co-hosts of the tournament. This will mark the first time that both countries will host the group stages of said competition.


2016 AFF Championship, Hosts
The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) initially withdrew as co-host of the group stages in February 2016, citing issues with the Rizal Memorial Stadium as well as the availability of another venue. The replacing host were said to be announced on 12 March 2016, with Malaysia and 2014 co-hosts Singapore and Vietnam announcing they have or were to apply. The Philippines also later announced that they would appeal to keep their hosting rights.


2016 AFF Championship, Hosts
On 7 March, the AFF accepted the appeal of the Philippines while Malaysia were named 'standby host', with Vietnam and Singapore withdrawing their bids. The Philippines were given until 11 March in order to secure a contract to use the Philippine Sports Stadium (PSS) as a venue. Rizal Memorial Stadium is to be used as a secondary venue during the final simultaneous group matches. On 12 March, it was confirmed that the Philippines retained hosting rights, following an AFF Council Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam. The PFF was able to present a contract with the PSS to the AFF as well as a letter of guarantee from the Philippine Sports Commission.


2016 AFF Championship, Qualification
Also during the AFF Council Meeting in Naypyidaw (Myanmar), Cambodia were named as hosts for the qualification tournament. Myanmar and the Philippines automatically qualify to the final round as hosts.


2016 AFF Championship, Qualification
The Football Association of Indonesia was suspended by FIFA and they wouldn't have been able to participate in the tournament if suspension imposed on them won't be lifted by in time for the tournament. The AFF had given Indonesia a deadline of before 5 August 2016 to have the suspension lifted. The suspension was lifted at the 66th FIFA Congress.


2016 AFF Championship, Draw
The draw for the 2016 AFF Championships was made on 2 August 2016, with Indonesia placed in the bottom pot after the FIFA's suspension. The identity of the eighth qualified team (Cambodia) was yet to be determined at the time of the draw.


2016 AFF Championship, Group stage
If two or more teams are equal on the basis on the above three criteria, the place shall be determined as follows:


2016 AFF Championship, Knockout phase, Bracket
Scores after extra time are indicated by (a.e.t. ), and penalty shoot-out are indicated by (pen. ).


2016 AFF Championship, 2016 AFF Championship best XI
The best XI team was a squad consisting of the eleven most impressive players at the tournament.


2016 AFF Championship, Statistics, Discipline
In the final tournament, a player is suspended for the subsequent match in the competition for either getting a red card, or accumulating two yellow cards in two different matches.


2016 AFF Championship, Statistics, Discipline
*Players who received a card during the final are not included here.


2016 AFF Championship, Statistics, Tournament team rankings
This table will show the ranking of teams throughout the tournament.


2016 AFF Championship, Marketing, Match balls
The official ball for AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 used the Mitre Delta Fluo Hyperseam. Based on the Delta Hyperseam design, the ball will be the first fluo coloured official match ball in the AFF Suzuki Cup.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
On 23 November, three days before the match between Malaysia and Myanmar, the Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sport Khairy Jamaluddin said that he had petitioned his country football association to boycott Myanmar as the group B host because of Myanmar government's alleged persecution to the Rohingya Muslims after repeated calls from West Malaysian Malay Muslim individuals and political groups of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), People's Justice Party (PKR), National Trust Party (AMANAH) Penang branch as well from Malay extreme group of Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa to boycott the country.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
In response, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) warned Malaysia if they suddenly withdraw from the ongoing tournament without giving any valid reasons for the team problems just because of political concerns, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will facing a long-term sanction from FIFA for letting political interference spread into the association. Two days latter on 25 November, FAM stated that they will not going to boycott the tournament and said that they would continue playing their last group match against Myanmar, with both of the team coaches playing down the issues before the match. However, in the last group B match, Myanmar shocked Malaysia with a 1–0 score and advance to the semi-finals for the first time since 2004, while Malaysia failed to advance for the first time since 2010.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
During the second leg of the semi-final match in Hanoi between Indonesia and Vietnam, the decision by China referee Fu Ming was deemed as bias by most Vietnamese supporters as the referee did not give any action for any fouls committed by the Indonesian side, while heavily punishing the Vietnamese side when their goalkeeper Trần Nguyên Mạnh given a red card on the 76th minute in a sudden controversial decision.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Following the heavy disappointment from Vietnamese supporters when their national team failed to qualify for the finals which mainly has been blamed due to the awful decision by the China referee, some Vietnamese supporters who lost their patience follow the Indonesian team bus after the end of the match while the team was on their way back to their hostel, throwing the bus with two large rocks resulting in a slight injury of an Indonesian goalkeeping coach and their team doctor. This was heavily criticised by Indonesian fans for the unsportsmanlike conduct shown by some of the Vietnamese supporters.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
One of the Indonesian players, Evan Dimas, describes the attacks as "what could end someone's career" as he witnessed "the two big rocks almost hit someone in the face while striking the bus window" which led their bus driver to make a U-turn back to Mỹ Đình National Stadium for protection from the Vietnamese authorities especially when the large angry crowd of motorcyclists began to number and try to surround their bus. A replacement bus was eventually dispatched with heavy security from the Vietnamese authorities following the attacks with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and other Vietnamese fans issuing an apology over the incident.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
At the first leg final in Bogor between Indonesia and Thailand, while Thai player Theerathon Bunmathan was taking up a free kick, his face was seen targeted with green laser light from Indonesian supporters. The laser lights continue to be pointed to other Thai players especially to Thai goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan who later complained to Japanese referee Jumpei Iida for the lights that disrupted his concentration. Indonesia scored two goals shortly when Thai players began losing concentration.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
During the media session shortly after the end of the match, Thai coach Kiatisuk Senamuang openly stated about the laser light attacks affecting their team performances, in which it was also acknowledged by Indonesian coach Alfred Riedl who "criticised and felt shame on the behaviour of some of the Indonesian supporters although they won the first leg match in their home ground as their victory in the match could be perceived as unfair by their team opponent because of the incident". The Indonesian fans would later express their apology to all Thai fans over the incident. However, the Thai coach did not blame the laser incident to Indonesian side as it is "the duty of referee to make call on the incident" and adding that it is caused by "our own players mistake and Indonesian players have showed their great fighting spirit".


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
At the second leg final in Bangkok, one Indonesian player Abduh Lestaluhu was sent off in the 90th minute after he suddenly kicking the ball to Thai bench players as a sign of protest for their lack of sportsmanship. The incident start when the ball that was out from the touch of Thai defender and rolling towards the Thai bench was held by one of the Thai official sitting in the bench.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
When he want to take the ball to throw it back into the field, the Thai official refuse to give him in what he describe as "an act of delaying the time" when the Indonesian team are desperately in need to seek at least one quicker goal in the stoppage time to balance the aggregate.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
The ball was only given when he complained the issue to United Arab Emirates referee Abdulla Hassan, but in the way that he perceive as disrespectful and as a result he kicking the ball to them as a sign of protest where he was then approached by most of the players in the bench and given a red card by the referee. Shortly after he being sent off, he was seen showing his middle finger to Thai fans. His action were however not condemned by most Indonesian supporters and instead been back up by them, with the blame was put to the Thai side for their lacking of sportmanship in the event.


2016 AFF Championship, Incidents and controversies
Following the flare throwing incident in the second leg final by Thai supporters comprising mostly from the members of Ultras Thailand shortly after their first leading goal scored by Siroch Chatthong for the Thai national team as well during the end of the match, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) launched an investigation following complains from Thai public that the group has caused damage to the image of Thai football. The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) also been fined with US$30,000 by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on 5 January 2017.


2016 AFF Championship Final
The 2016 AFF Championship Final was the final of the 2016 AFF Championship, the 11th edition of the top-level Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).


2016 AFF Championship Final
The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Indonesia and Thailand. The first leg was hosted by Indonesia at the Pakansari Stadium in Bogor on 14 December 2016, while the second leg was hosted by Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on 17 December 2016.


2016 AFF Championship Final, Background
Based on previous records, Indonesia had reached the AFF Championship final four times (2000, 2002, 2004 and 2010), finishing runners-up in all attempts. Thailand had reached the AFF Championship final seven times (1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2014) and had won the tournament four times (1996, 2000, 2002 and 2014). The two sides last met on 7 December 2010 in the group stage of the 2010 AFF Championship.


2016 AFF Championship Final, Background
Indonesia, who began the 2016 AFF Championship as an underdog, was ranked 179 in the FIFA World Rankings and tenth among AFF teams while Thailand, who entered the tournament as a clear favorite, was ranked 146 overall and fourth among AFF teams. Thailand entered the 2016 AFF Championship as four-time ASEAN champions. Thailand was first crowned champions of ASEAN in the 1996 that was held in Singapore with a final score of 1–0 against Malaysia. In the 2000, Thailand taking home the title through a 4–1 victory against Indonesia. In the 2002, Thailand won against Indonesia through a penalty shoot-out.


2016 AFF Championship Final, Background
In the 2007 and 2008, Thailand reached the final to meet Singapore and Vietnam but however loses in the final games. In the 2012, Thailand again failed after losing by 2–3 on aggregate against Singapore. But in the 2014, Thailand managed to return by winning 4–3 on aggregate against Malaysia. The 2016 final was Indonesia's fifth consecutive time contesting an AFF Championship final, after losing four times against Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.


2016 AFF Championship Final, Background
Up until the beginning of the tournament, Indonesia had just set everything in control after a series of internal upheavals within the PSSI, which cost the country's qualification attempts for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Having just ended the crisis, Indonesia's perpetration was in total disarray and thus they had to take back their old boss, Alfred Riedl, to manage the team and fix the messes. In comparison, Thailand's perpetration was largely smooth and problem-free. Therefore, not many people even imagined Indonesia could progress for the semi-finals, leave alone winning the tournament.


2016 AFF Championship Final, Route to the final
Both Indonesia and Thailand were drawn into Group A of the 2016 AFF Championship, along with powerhouse sides Philippines and Singapore. After winning all three group matches, Thailand finished first in the group. Indonesia finished second in the group to progress to the knockout phase of the tournament. Thailand's first match victory was against Indonesia with a score of 4–2. From there, they continue the path by beating both Singapore and the Philippines by 1–0. Thailand progressed to the semi-finals to face Group B runner-up and subsequent host of Myanmar.


2016 AFF Championship Final, Route to the final
In the first-leg in Yangon, Thailand won 2–0 before winning the second-leg in Bangkok by 4–0 with a total aggregate of 6–0. Indonesia's lose their first match against Thailand before drawing 2–2 against the host Philippines. In the third match against Singapore, they won 2–1 before progressing to the semi-finals to face Group B winner of Vietnam. In the first-leg in Bogor, Indonesia won 2–1 before drawing 2–2 in the extra time in the second-leg in Hanoi with a total aggregate of 4–3.


2016 AFF Championship Final, Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2016 AFF Championship Final, Matches, First leg, Indonesia vs Thailand
Assistant referees: Akane Yagi (Japan) Shinji Ochi (Japan)Fourth official:Takuto Okabe (Japan)


2016 AFF Championship Final, Matches, Second leg, Thailand vs Indonesia
Assistant referees:Ahmed Yousuf Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)Hassan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates)Fourth official:Yaqoub Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)


2016 AFF Championship Group A
The Group A of the 2016 AFF Championship was one of the two groups of competing nations in the 2016 AFF Championship. It consisted of Philippines (host), Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. Group A play began on 19 November and ended on 25 November.


2016 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Thailand vs Indonesia
Assistant referees:Andrey Tsapenko (Uzbekistan)Hsu Min-yu (Chinese Taipei)Fourth official:Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)


2016 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Thailand vs Singapore
Assistant referees:Bang Gi-yeol (South Korea)Andrey Tsapenko (Uzbekistan)Fourth official:Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)


2016 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Indonesia vs Philippines
Assistant referees:Hsu Min-yu (Chinese Taipei)Zakariya Kanat (Syria)Fourth official:Masoud Tufaylieh (Syria)


2016 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Singapore vs Indonesia
Assistant referees:Zakariya Kanat (Syria)Hsu Min-yu (Chinese Taipei)Fourth official:Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)


2016 AFF Championship Group A, Matches, Philippines vs Thailand
Assistant referees:Samar Pal (India)Bang Gi-yeol (South Korea)Fourth official:Arumughan Rowan (India)


2016 AFF Championship Group B
The Group B of the 2016 AFF Championship was one of the two groups of competing nations in the 2016 AFF Championship. It consisted of Myanmar (host), Malaysia, Vietnam and qualification winner of Cambodia. Group B play began on 20 November and ended on 26 November.


2016 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Malaysia vs Cambodia
Assistant referees:Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan)Wellabada Sanjeewa (Sri Lanka)Fourth official:Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)


2016 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Cambodia vs Myanmar
Assistant referees:Abu Bakar Al-Amri (Oman)Wellabada Sanjeewa (Sri Lanka)Fourth official:Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)


2016 AFF Championship Group B, Matches, Myanmar vs Malaysia
Assistant referees:Abu Bakar Al-Amri (Oman)Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan)Fourth official:Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)


2016 AFF Championship knockout stage
The knockout stage of the 2016 AFF Championship was the second and final stage of the 2016 AFF Championship, following the group stage. It was played from 3 to 17 December with the top two teams from each group (two in total) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.


2016 AFF Championship knockout stage
Thailand won the finals 3–2 on aggregate against Indonesia for their fifth titles.


2016 AFF Championship knockout stage, Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the two groups advanced to the knockout stage. In Group A, Thailand secured the group top spots with 9 points after defeating host Philippines by 1–0 in their last match while Indonesia became the group runners-up with 4 points after beating Singapore by 2–1. Meanwhile, in Group B, Vietnam secured the group top spots with 9 points after defeating Cambodia by 2–1 in their last match while host Myanmar became the group runners-up with 6 points after defeating Malaysia by 1–0.


2016 AFF Championship knockout stage, Bracket
Scores after extra time are indicated by (a.e.t. ), and penalty shoot-out are indicated by (pen. ).


2016 AFF Championship knockout stage, Semi-finals, First leg, Indonesia vs Vietnam
Assistant referees:Anton Shchetinin (Australia)Park In-sun (South Korea)Fourth official:Chan Ming Siu (Hong Kong)


2016 AFF Championship knockout stage, Finals, First leg, Indonesia vs Thailand
Assistant referees: Akane Yagi (Japan) Shinji Ochi (Japan)Fourth official:Takuto Okabe (Japan)


2016 AFF Championship knockout stage, Finals, Second leg, Thailand vs Indonesia
Assistant referees:Ahmed Yousuf Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)Hassan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates)Fourth official:Yaqoub Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)


2016 AFF Championship qualification
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2016 AFF Championship qualification
The 2016 AFF Championship qualification tournament was the qualification process for the 2016 AFF Championship, the eleventh edition of the AFF Championship. It was held in Cambodia and involved either teams that finished last in the group stage of 2014 AFF Championship or lower ranked teams in Southeast Asia. The format was a single round-robin tournament with the top team qualifying for the tournament proper.


2016 AFF Championship qualification
The matches were originally scheduled to be held between the dates of 13 to 22 October, before being announced as shifting forward slightly to the 15 and 21 October 2016 on the day Yanmar and Suzuki confirmed their sponsorship.


2016 AFF Championship squads
Below are the squads for the 2016 AFF Championship, co-hosted by Myanmar and Philippines, which takes place between 19 November and 17 December 2016.


2016 AFF Championship squads
Each team is allowed to register 22 official players (at least 2 goalkeepers) and one more reserve player.


2016 AFF Championship statistics, Overall results
Team(s) rendered in italics represent(s) the host nation(s). The competition's winning team is rendered in bold. (1) – Total games lost not counted in total games played (total games lost = total games won)(2) – Total number of games drawn (tied) for all teams = Total number of games drawn (tied) ÷ 2 (both teams involved)(3) – As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2016 AFF Futsal Championship
The 2016 AFF Futsal Championship is the 13th edition of the tournament which been held from 23 January 2017 to 29 January 2017. It was initially planned to be held from 31 October to 6 November 2016.


2016 AFF Futsal Championship
Following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the Football Association of Thailand postponed to host the 2016 AFF Futsal Championship. Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) offered to host 2016 AFF Futsal Championship after Thailand postponed. The event was rescheduled to 9 – 15 November 2016.


2016 AFF Futsal Championship
On 21 October 2016, AFF officially announced that the event will be cancelled due to the withdrawing from being the host of PSSI. AFF asked Singapore to be the new host but they were unable to operate the event in short time of the preparation. Due to difficulties of finding new hosts for the tournament, at the 7th AFF Council Meeting held in 29 October 2016, it was decided that the tournament is to be hosted in early 2017 instead.


2016 AFF Futsal Championship
On 17 December 2016, AFF officially announced the new schedule of the tournament. The tournament had been held in Bangkok. Vietnam and Singapore have pulled out from the tournament due to the internal reasons.


2016 AFF Futsal Championship, Qualified teams
A total of seven AFF member national teams participated in the tournament. Australia, Cambodia, Singapore and Vietnam didn't participated in this tournament.


2016 AFF Futsal Championship, Group stage
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:


2016 AFF Futsal Club Championship
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2016 AFF Futsal Club Championship
2016 AFF Invitational Futsal Club Championship is the second edition of AFF Futsal Club Championship. The tournament was held in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, start from 10 until 16 July 2016. The futsal clubs from AFF member countries will be invited to compete in this tournament. Thai Port (men) and Thai Son Nam (women) are the title holders from the previous edition.


2016 AFF Futsal Club Championship, Venue
All matches of 2016 AFF Futsal Club Championship were held in Sport Complex Indoor Stadium, commonly named Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium, in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
The 2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship was the 11th edition of the AFF U-16 Youth Championship, organised by the ASEAN Football Federation for the men's under-16 national teams of Southeastern Asia. It is hosted by Cambodia for the third time after the 2007 AFF U-17 Youth Championship and 2015 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, and won by Australia. It is played between 10 July to 23 July 2016.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
A total of 11 teams played in the tournament. The Indonesian Football Association was suspended by football's world governing body FIFA because of government interference in the Southeast Asian country's national league on 30 May 2015 but this was lifted on 13 May 2016. However, Indonesia withdrew from the tournament.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship
Players born on or after 1 January 2000 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team can register a maximum of 23 players (minimum three of whom must be goalkeepers).


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Participant teams
All twelve member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation were set to take part in the tournament featuring three groups of four teams, but with Indonesia's suspension, they were omitted and the AFF reverted to two groups featuring six and five teams.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Venues
The two venues to host matches are Olympic Stadium and Army Stadium in Phnom Penh. The matches of Group A will hold in Olympic Stadium and Army Stadium, the matches of Group B will hold in Olympic Stadium and the matches of Knockout stage will hold in Olympic Stadium.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Schedule and draw
The following groups were drawn at the AFF Council meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam on 13 March 2016.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Schedule and draw, Seeding
The seeding are based on the 2015 AFF U-16 Youth Championship (shown in parentheses below)The 12 teams are seeded into Six pots:


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Schedule and draw, Seeding
Each group is contain one team from each of the six pots.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Group stage
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner if necessary (extra time is not used).


2016 AFF U-16 Youth Championship, Final ranking
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship
The 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship was the 14th edition of the AFF U-19 Youth Championship, organised by the ASEAN Football Federation, and known for sponsorship reasons as the AFF Vietcombank U19 Championship. It was hosted by Vietnam for the sixth time after the 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014 editions. It was played from 11 to 24 September 2016. Eleven out of the twelve member associations of the ASEAN Football Federation took part in the tournament featuring two groups of five and six teams.


2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship squads
The 2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship was an international football tournament that was held in Vietnam from 11 September to 24 September. The 10 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 23 players; only players in these squads are eligible to take part in the tournament. Ages are as of the first day of the tournament, 11 September 2016.


2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship squads, Group B, Australia
The following 23 players were selected: Caps and goals correct as of 7 October 2015.


2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship squads, Group B, Cambodia
The following 23 players were called up for the Cambodia Squad


2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship squads, Group B, Indonesia
The following 23 players were called up for the Indonesia squad.


2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship squads, Group B, Myanmar
The following 23 players were called up for the Myanmar Squad.


2016 AFF U-19 Youth Championship squads, Group B, Thailand
The following 23 players were called up for the Thailand squad.


2016 AFF Women's Championship
The 2016 AFF Women's Championship was the 9th edition of the AFF Women's Championship, an international women's football tournament organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). The tournament was held in Mandalay, Myanmar between 26 July–4 August 2016.


2016 AFF Women's Championship, Participating teams
8 teams were set to take part in the tournament in Mandalay, Myanmar. Indonesia was suspended by FIFA at the time the group was announced. Australia sent its under-20 team. Japan, Chinese Taipei and South Korea were invited to participate as the eighth team in the tournament. However none of the three confirmed their participation and Timor Leste was named as the tournament's eighth team.


2016 AFF Women's Championship, Tournament, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.


2016 AFF Women's Championship, Tournament, Group stage
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:


2016 AFF Women's Championship, Controversy
In the 6th round of the penalty shoot-out of the final between Vietnam and Thailand, Thailand's Rattikan Thongsombut shot out while Vietnam's Nguyễn Thị Liễu effort hit goalkeeper Waraporn Boonsing and rolled its way past the goal line before being shot away by the goalkeeper. Myanmar referee Thein Thein Aye first recognised for a goal but reversed her decision after discussing with two lineswomen, Singapore's Mohd Nasir and Merlo Albano from the Philippines stated the ball had not entirely crossed the goal line. Vietnamese media calls the event as a "stolen championship".


2016 AFF Women's Championship squads
Below are the squads for the 2016 AFF Women's Championship, hosted by Myanmar, which is taking place between 26 July - 4 August 2016.


2016 AFL Europe Championship
The 2016 AFL Europe Championship was an 18-a-side Australian rules football competition held in London, United Kingdom between European countries. This was the third AFL Europe Championship, run by AFL Europe. Matches were played at Motspur Park in London. Contested between four national teams, the Championships were won by Great Britain.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final
The 2016 AFL First Preliminary Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and Western Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium on 24 September 2016. It was staged as part of the 2016 AFL finals series to determine which of the two clubs would qualify for that season's Grand Final.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final
In their fifth season in the AFL, and first finals series, the Giants were attempting to reach their first Grand Final, while the Bulldogs were looking to reach their first Grand Final since 1961.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
The 2016 AFL season was contested by eighteen clubs between March and October 2016. The top eight clubs qualified for the finals series, which was conducted under the AFL finals system introduced in 2000 AFL season.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
At the conclusion of the regular season, Greater Western Sydney finished fourth on the ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses, meaning it would face minor premiers and cross-town rivals Sydney in a Qualifying final. Contrary to expectations, the Giants won by 36 points at Stadium Australia, advancing directly to the preliminary final.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
Meanwhile, the Western Bulldogs had finished seventh with 15 wins and 7 losses following a season in which several key players suffered serious injuries, among them captain Robert Murphy,  midfielder Mitch Wallis and forward Jack Redpath, while they were also without forward Stewart Crameri who was serving a season-long suspension for his role in his former club Essendon's controversial sports supplements program during the 2012 AFL season.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
In 2016, the AFL had introduced a bye week before the finals series in an attempt to stop clubs resting players ahead of the finals. The move was met with mixed reactions across the clubs, but for the Bulldogs, it allowed the club's medical staff to work on helping Jack Macrae, Easton Wood and Tom Liberatore recover from various injuries. All three would play critical roles in the Bulldogs' quest for premiership glory.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
The Bulldogs were drawn to play West Coast at Domain Stadium in the second elimination final. Despite having never previously won an interstate final, the Bulldogs defeated the previous year's Grand Finalists by 47 points, thus progressing to a semi-final against three-time defending premiers Hawthorn, which had lost its qualifying final against Geelong the previous week. The Bulldogs produced a strong second half to defeat the Hawks by 23 points and reach their first preliminary final since 2010, while also ending the Hawks' bid for a record-equalling fourth consecutive flag.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
Going into this match, the Western Bulldogs had won four of the six matches played between the pair dating back to their first meeting in round five, 2012. The two teams met only once during the regular season, in round nine, with Greater Western Sydney winning by 25 points.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
The winner of the preliminary final would progress to the Grand Final on 1 October, against the Sydney Swans, who had won the Second Preliminary Final the previous night.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
Despite this only being their fifth season in the AFL, and missing 2007 Norm Smith Medallist Steve Johnson through suspension, Greater Western Sydney was the favourite to win the preliminary final and progress to the Grand Final. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, had lost nine of their previous ten preliminary finals, the most recent in 2010.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Background
In the week leading up to the match, bookmakers were offering odds of $1.45 for a GWS victory and $2.85 for a Western Bulldogs victory.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Match summary
In the lead-up to the game, there had been some controversy over the AFL's decision to play the match at Spotless Stadium due to its relatively small capacity. When member tickets were released for sale on the Monday (19 September) leading up to the game, Bulldog members had moved quickly, buying 8,100 tickets compared to 6,200 from Giants members. Further tickets for general admission were later made available, but there was initial frustration from supporters due to slow processing and "legalised scalping" via online ticket agencies. During the course of the week, several thousands of Bulldogs fans travelled up the Hume Highway from Melbourne to Sydney in cars and buses to attend the match.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Match summary, First half, First quarter
After over five minutes of play, Greater Western Sydney registered the first score of the match, a behind to Dylan Shiel, before Clay Smith (Western Bulldogs) kicked the first goal of the match less than a minute later. Two goals to each side saw the Bulldogs lead by two points at the quarter-time break.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Match summary, First half, Second quarter
The Bulldogs then kicked four goals to three in the second quarter, during which two players suffered game-ending injuries: Bulldogs ruckman Jordan Roughead, who had a ball kicked in his face, and Giants co-captain Callan Ward, who was accidentally kneed in the head by Zaine Cordy. At half-time, the Bulldogs led by nine points.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Match summary, Second half, Third quarter
Three minutes into the third quarter, Rory Lobb kicked a goal for the Giants to bring the margin back to one point, before a rushed behind brought the scores level at 41–apiece. However, Tory Dickson would kick a goal shortly after to give his side back the lead; another goal to Lobb and one to Jonathan Patton would see the Giants open up an eleven-point lead, before late goals to Marcus Bontempelli and Caleb Daniel saw the Giants' lead reduced to one point at three-quarter-time.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Match summary, Second half, Final quarter
Two goals to the Giants to start the final quarter saw them take a 14-point lead, the biggest by any side during the match, before goals to Dickson, Bontempelli and Cordy saw the Bulldogs reclaim the lead. Shortly after, Patton would kick a goal for the Giants and with less than five minutes remaining, scores would be tied at 82–apiece.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Match summary, Second half, Final quarter
Jack Macrae, who to that point of the season had only kicked one goal, was then paid a mark inside the Bulldogs' forward 50 despite a late spoil from Nick Haynes; he then kicked the match's final goal and despite some desperation from the Giants, the Bulldogs would ultimately hang on to win by six points.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Aftermath
By winning, the Western Bulldogs progressed to the 2016 AFL Grand Final the following week against the Sydney Swans. It was to be just their third appearance in a Grand Final, but first since 1961.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Aftermath
The Bulldogs ultimately went on to win their second flag, defeating the Swans by 22 points with Jason Johannisen winning the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on ground. They thus became the first team since Adelaide in 1997 to win four consecutive finals, as well as the first ever team to win the premiership after finishing seventh at the conclusion of the home-and-away season.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Aftermath
Subsequent meetings between the two sides saw the Giants won by two points in round six, 2017, by 48 points in round 21, 2017 and by 82 points in round one, 2018, before the Bulldogs won by 61 points in round 22, 2019, in what was their first match at the Sydney Showground Stadium since the 2016 preliminary final. The Giants, however, won their next finals meeting, defeating the Bulldogs by 58 points in the 2019 second elimination final to progress to a semi-final against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.


2016 AFL First Preliminary Final, Legacy
The match attracted an average television viewership of 2.387 million viewers across the Seven Network and Fox Footy, making it the second-most watched AFL game outside of a grand final ever and the most watched AFL game outside of a grand final since the 2007 preliminary final between Geelong and Collingwood. It was also considered by many fans to be the best AFL match played in the 2010s.


2016 AFL Grand Final
The 2016 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Sydney Swans and the Western Bulldogs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2016. It was the 120th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers of the 2016 AFL season. The match, attended by 99,981 spectators, was won by the Bulldogs by a margin of 22 points, marking the club's second VFL/AFL premiership victory and first since 1954. It was the first time in VFL/AFL history that a team won the premiership from seventh place on the ladder. Jason Johannisen of the Bulldogs was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Background
Minor premiers for the ninth time,  the Sydney Swans finished the home-and-away season with a 17-5 record. They were defeated by the GWS Giants in the qualifying final by 36 points, but bounced back with a semi-final victory against Adelaide, and then a 37-point preliminary final win against Geelong at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for their third grand final appearance in five years.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Background
Injuries ended the 2016 season for key Western Bulldogs players: captain Robert Murphy (round 3) and Jack Redpath  (round 18) ruptured their anterior cruciate ligament, and midfielder Mitch Wallis (round 18) fractured his left tibia and fibula. Jason Johannisen and Matt Suckling also sat out for extended periods. The Bulldogs nevertheless won 15 games to finish 7th on the home-and-away ladder and qualify for the finals for the second consecutive year. Against the odds, they eliminated both 2015's grand finalists, West Coast and Hawthorn, in the elimination and semi-finals respectively.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Background
The Bulldogs then beat the Giants at Spotless Stadium by six points to qualify for their first grand final appearance since 1961. In doing so, the Bulldogs became the first team since Carlton in 1999 to reach a grand final after finishing the home-and-away season outside of the top four and the first team to do so under the current finals format that was introduced in 2000.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Background
Sydney and the Western Bulldogs met in round 15 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Returning from injury and with just four seconds remaining, Bulldogs defender Johannisen kicked a goal to defeat the Swans 11.13 (79) to 13.5 (83).


2016 AFL Grand Final, Background
The AFL had introduced a pre-finals bye in 2016 to discourage teams from resting players en masse in the final round of the home-and-away season. Therefore, rather than on the traditional last Saturday of September, the Grand Final was held on the first Saturday in October.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
The match was televised by the Seven Network. The match commentary was conducted by Bruce McAvaney and Dennis Cometti for the Seven Network, marking it the duo's eighth grand final appearance together as commentators since 2008 and their twelfth overall. It was Cometti's eighteenth grand final and McAvaney's sixteenth. This was the final match of commentary by Cometti after he announced that 2016 would be the end of his 30-year commentary career.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
The sports film Year of the Dogs, which covered the Western Bulldogs' turbulent 1996 season in which they finished second-last, was aired on 7mate the day prior to the Grand Final.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
All four radio partners, 1116 SEN, 3AW, ABC Grandstand, and Triple M broadcast the match live, with Triple M simulcasting nationally to their local channels and to 92.5 Gold FM in the Gold Coast and Mix 94.5 in Perth.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Media coverage
6.5 million in-home viewers watched some part of Seven's telecast across the day. A peak audience at 5.2 million viewers tuned-in at one stage, with an average of 4.089 million across the metro cities and regional homes during the game. It was the most-watched football match since the network attained free-to-air grand final screening rights a decade earlier, and the fifth most-watched match in VFL/AFL history. It would be the most-watched AFL match until the 2021 Grand Final (another game featuring the Western Bulldogs), which maintained an average viewership of 4.11 million.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Entertainment
Similar to previous grand finals, the 2016 AFL Grand Final provided both pre-match and post-match entertainment. Artists to perform were Melburnian musicians Vance Joy and band the Living End, and British rocker Sting. Sister duo Vika and Linda Bull performed the national anthem, and Mike Brady performed a new version of his famous football song "One Day in September".


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
Easton Wood won the coin toss for the Bulldogs and chose to kick towards the city end of the MCG. The Swans had an early injury scare when Lance Franklin was taken off the field with a suspected foot injury after four minutes; he returned later in the quarter and played out the full game, but needed medical attention at quarter time. The Swans were the first to score (a behind) in the 10th minute with Kieren Jack taking a courageous mark before colliding into the incoming Wood.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, First quarter
The first goal came in the thirteenth minute to the Swans as Luke Parker scored from a distance of 35 m (38 yd). The Bulldogs first score came in the 20th minute, when Zaine Cordy scored a goal from the boundary line; three minutes later, the Bulldogs scored again via a mark from Tory Dickson, to take a four point lead. There were no other scores in the low-scoring first quarter, and the Bulldogs led 2.0 (12) to 1.2 (8) at quarter time.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
In a much more high scoring second quarter, goals came at regular intervals. Tom Boyd opened the scoring for the Bulldogs after three minutes. Nick Smith kicked Sydney's second goal in the 6th minute, before two goals to the Bulldogs from Dickson (10th minute) and Liam Picken (12th minute) extended the Bulldogs' lead to 16 points.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Second quarter
Sydney then put on a run of four consecutive goals in eight minutes to take an 8 point lead: Tom Mitchell (13th minute); Gary Rohan (16th minute); and two to Josh Kennedy (18th and 20th minutes), whose work in the midfield was also largely responsible for the Swans revival, with 22 first half disposals. The Bulldogs fought back in time-on, Tom Boyd kicking his second goal for the Bulldogs in the 27th minute, Tom Mitchell kicking his second for Sydney in the 29th minute, and Toby McLean kicking his first for the Bulldogs in the 32nd minute. At half time, Sydney led by two points, 7.3 (45) to 7.1 (43).


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
Dickson kicked his third goal to take the lead for the Bulldogs after four minutes. Thereafter began an arm-wrestle of a quarter, in which only two more goals were kicked: in the 17th minute, Toby McLean conceded a fifty metre penalty against Kennedy for a late bump in a marking contest, and Kennedy converted the kick into his third goal, giving Sydney a 1-point lead; three minutes later, Clay Smith kicked a goal for the Bulldogs. For the remainder of the quarter, the Bulldogs attacked relentlessly, managing four behinds but no further goals. At three quarter time, the Bulldogs 9.7 (61) lead Sydney 8.5 (53) by eight points.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Third quarter
After accurate goalkicking had dominated the first half, the third quarter saw several missed shots on goal for both teams, but particularly for the Bulldogs – who dominated general play but managed only 2.6 (18) for the quarter to Sydney's 1.2 (8). Bulldogs' forward Jake Stringer was particularly off target, with one behind and three shots out of bounds on the full to this point in the game.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
Early in the final quarter, Swans midfielder Dan Hannebery suffered an injury to his left knee when he collided awkwardly with Easton Wood who had gone in low to claim the ball on the ground. He was promptly helped off the field for treatment and attempted to continue playing after having his knee strapped, only to return to the bench after taking a free kick with the injured leg.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
Despite this, Sydney attacked early, and when Lance Franklin kicked his first goal – the first and only goal kicked by one of the Swans recognised forwards in the match – the Bulldogs' lead was narrowed to one point. Jake Stringer extended the margin to 7 points with his only goal in the 11th minute, and George Hewett scored another for the Swans to draw the margin back to 1 point in the 13th minute, the score at that stage reading Bulldogs 10.7 (67) leading Sydney 10.6 (66).


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
With only seven minutes of playing time remaining, Liam Picken kicked his second goal from broken play in the Bulldogs forward line in the 18th minute to extend the margin to 7 points. The Bulldogs attacked again from the next centre bounce, and a minute later, Jason Johannisen pounced on an errant Sydney rebound and kicked a score from 50m which was initially called a goal, but changed to a behind on video review after being touched on the goal line by Jeremy Laidler (Sydney). The ensuing kick-in was turned over, resulting in another touched behind to the Bulldogs. Then, in the 22nd minute, Dale Morris (Bulldogs) tackled Lance Franklin in the centre square, and Tom Boyd gathered the loose ball to kick his third goal and put the Bulldogs 15 points ahead with five minutes to play.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
Sydney won the ensuing centre clearance, ending with Ben McGlynn mark and set shot from 40m which missed narrowly to the left. It was Sydney's last score and last time inside its attacking 50m arc, as the Bulldogs rebounded, and finished with three more scores: a behind to Boyd, Liam Picken's third goal in the 27th minute, and a behind on the final siren to Toby McLean. The Bulldogs kicked 3.4 (22) against Sydney's 0.1 (1) in the final seven minutes of playing time, and won the game 13.11 (89) d. 10.7 (67).


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Final quarter
During the regular season, the Bulldogs ranked 12th for points scored, making them the weakest-scoring premiership side since the Sydney Swans in 2005.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
Jason Johannisen was named the Norm Smith Medallist (best on ground) with ten votes, having spend much of the game playing a rebounding role across the middle of the ground, accumulating 33 possessions and launching nine inside 50s. Johannisen won the award ahead of Sydney midfielder Josh Kennedy with eight votes (34 disposals and 3 goals), Tom Boyd with seven votes (6 contested marks and 3 goals) and Liam Picken with five votes (25 disposals, 3 goals).


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Norm Smith Medal
Chaired by Michael Voss, the voters and their choices were as follows:


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Presentation
During the official on-field presentation, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge invited injured Bulldogs' captain Bob Murphy – a popular Bulldogs' stalwart who had played with the club continuously since 2000, but who had missed all but the first three games of the premiership season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament – onto the podium. Beveridge then gave his own Jock McHale medal to Murphy, and urged Murphy to hoist the premiership trophy alongside acting captain Easton Wood instead of following the tradition of the captain and coach hoisting the cup. Murphy chose to return the medal to Beveridge the following day, and Beveridge then donated the medal to the Western Bulldogs club museum.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Presentation, Best players
Among the star players were Tom Boyd (six contested marks, three goals and two points), Picken (25 possessions and three goals) and Jack Macrae (32 possessions). Kennedy was the stand out player for the Swans taking a total of 34 possessions and three goals. Statistically, Dane Rampe was effective in defence (24 possessions and nine rebound 50s), as were Jack (22 possessions) and Mitchell (26 possessions and two goals) in midfield.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Match summary, Presentation, Impact of Essendon supplements saga
Stewart Crameri missed being part of the Western Bulldogs' premiership win after being suspended for twelve months in January for being part of the controversial supplements and sports science program that took place at his former club, Essendon, during the 2012 AFL season. He had only been permitted to return to club training in the week leading to the Grand Final.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Teams
The teams were announced on 29 September 2016. Sydney made two changes to its lineup from the preliminary final, with co-captain Jarrad McVeigh and Rising Star winner Callum Mills both returning from injury. They replaced Aliir Aliir, who suffered a knee injury in the preliminary final, and Harrison Marsh, who was omitted. The Bulldogs remained unchanged from its preliminary final.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Teams
The umpiring panel, comprising three field umpires, four boundary umpires, two goal umpires and an emergency in each position is given below. The most notable appointment was field umpire Scott Jeffery's selection for his first grand final. An AFL review of the umpiring post game found it was not up to the standard expected, with three or four key decisions incorrectly going against Sydney among an overall free kick count of 20–8 favouring the Bulldogs. The differential of 12 was the biggest in a Grand Final since the three-umpire system was introduced.


2016 AFL Grand Final, Teams
Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 2016.


2016 AFL Mark of the Year
The Australian Football League celebrates the best mark of the season through the annual Mark of the Year competition. Each round three marks are nominated and fans are able to vote online for their favourite. Majak Daw of the North Melbourne Football Club for his mark taken in round 18 against the Collingwood Football Club.


2016 AFL Rising Star
The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. An eligible player is nominated for the award each round during the AFL's regular season, and a panel of experts vote for the winner at the end of the season.


2016 AFL Rising Star
During the 2016 season, the award was sponsored by National Australia Bank. The winner was announced in a presentation held at Crown Palladium on 6 September 2016 and broadcast on subscription television by Fox Footy. The voting panel for the season consisted of ten members, all of whom were AFL officials or former players: Kevin Bartlett, Luke Darcy, Mark Evans, Danny Frawley, Glen Jakovich, Cameron Ling, Gillon McLachlan, Matthew Richardson, Warren Tredrea and Kevin Sheehan.


2016 AFL Rising Star
The winner was Sydney player Callum Mills, who polled 49 votes. Mills was the third Sydney recipient to win the award, and the first New South Wales–born winner. The club that garnered the most individual nominations this season was Melbourne with four players nominated for the award, a record for the club. Essendon player Orazio Fantasia, who received a nomination in round 17, was previously nominated for the award in the 2015 season—becoming the tenth player ever to be nominated twice for a Rising Star award.


2016 AFL Under 18 Championships
The 2016 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships was the 21st edition of the AFL Under 18 Championships. A new format saw nine teams compete in the championships with four teams competing in division two; Northern Territory, NSW/ACT, Queensland, and Tasmania, and five teams compete in division one; Australian Alliance, South Australia, Vic Metro, Vic Country, and Western Australia, with Australian Alliance comprising the best players in division two. Vic Metro won the division one title, with South Australian captain, Jack Graham, winning the Larke Medal as the division one best player. NSW/ACT were the champions of division two, with Queensland midfielder, Jack Bowes, winning the Hunter Harrison Medal as the best player in division two.


2016 AFL Under 18 Championships, All-Australian team
The All-Australian team was selected by Kevin Sheehan (AFL national and international talent manager), Brenton Sanderson (AFL Academy head coach), Michael Ablett (AFL talent football manager), Steve Conole (recruiting manager, Brisbane Lions), Merv Keane (recruiting manager, Essendon), David Walls (recruiting manager, Fremantle), Simon Dalrymple (recruiting manager, Western Bulldogs).


2016 AFL Women's draft
The 2016 AFL Women's draft consisted of the various periods when the eight clubs in the AFL Women's competition recruited players prior to the competition's inaugural season in 2017.