[2] The draw for the group stage was held on 27 January 2021, 14:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For each zone, teams were seeded into four pots and drawn into the relevant positions within each group, based on their association ranking and their seeding within their association, in consideration of technical balance between groups.
[4] Originally, 39 teams entered into the group stage draw, which included the 35 direct entrants and the four winners of the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.
However, after the withdrawal of teams from Oman and Myanmar, and promotion of Kaya–Iloilo to AFC Champions League group stage, only 37 teams would compete, including 34 direct entrants, one winner of the play-off round, and two winners of the preliminary round.
If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 8.3):[2] The schedule of each matchday was as follows.