2012 AFC Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18 February – 3 November 2012 |
| Teams | 30+3 (from 18 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Al-Kuwait (2nd title)
|
| Runners-up |
 Arbil
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 118 |
| Goals scored | 366 (3.1 per match) |
| Attendance | 439,955 (3,728 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Amjad Radhi Raja Rafe(9 goals each) |
| Best player |
 Rogerinho
|
The 2012 AFC Cup was the 9th edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. As in previous years, Nike provided the official ball for all matches with a new Nike Seitiro model used throughout the season.
Al-Kuwait from Kuwait won their second AFC Cup title in four years, defeating Arbil from Iraq with a 4–0 win in the final.
The following allocation of berths for the 2012 AFC Cup was approved by the AFC in November 2011. The four associations (Yemen, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar) with the lowest points according to the AFC evaluation system have one team entering the group stage and one team entering the play-off.
A total of 33 teams participated in the 2012 AFC Cup, including 3 teams which joined as 2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off final round losers:
Schedule of dates for 2012 competition.
The draw for the qualifying play-off was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011. The winner advanced to the group stage.
The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011. Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.
The matchups for the round of 16 were decided based on the results from the group stage. Each tie was played as one match, hosted by the winners of each group (Team 1) against the runners-up of another group (Team 2).
The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 June 2012. It determined the matchups for the quarter-finals and semi-finals as well as the potential host for the final.
The final of the 2012 AFC Cup was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by a draw. According to the draw on 14 June 2012, the winner of semi-final 2 would host the final. Therefore, Arbil was the home team.
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