Therefore, there was no standby team from the Philippines as there were only six teams in the league and only teams in the top half were eligible.
The direct slots given up are redistributed to the highest eligible association by the following criteria Articles 5.
The Indian club lost all three matches and were ousted from the competition.
In the group stage, each group was played on a double basis in centralised venues.
The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each zone was determined based on each team's , with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match.
The winners of the Inter-zone play-off final advanced to the final.