2018 CAF Champions League
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The 2018 CAF Champions League (officially the 2018 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 54th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 22nd edition under the current CAF Champions League title.
Espérance de Tunis won the title for the third time, defeating Al Ahly in the final, and qualified as the CAF representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup, Raja Casablanca, in the 2019 CAF Super Cup.
Wydad AC were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by ES Sétif.
Association team allocation
All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Champions League, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to their CAF 5-year ranking eligible to enter two teams in the competition. As a result, theoretically a maximum of 68 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.
For the 2018 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2012–2016 CAF 5-year ranking, which calculates points for each entrant association based on their clubs' performance over those 5 years in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup. The criteria for points are the following:
| CAF Champions League | CAF Confederation Cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 5 points | 4 points |
| Runners-up | 4 points | 3 points |
| Losing semi-finalists | 3 points | 2 points |
| 3rd place in groups | 2 points | 1 point |
| 4th place in groups | 1 point | 1 point |
The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:
- 2016 – 5
- 2015 – 4
- 2014 – 3
- 2013 – 2
- 2012 – 1
Teams
The following 59 teams from 47 associations entered the competition:
- Teams in bold received a bye to the first round.
- The other teams entered the preliminary round.
This was the second highest number of teams in the history of CAF Champions League. The highest number was recorded in 2007 where 60 teams entered.[citation needed]
Associations are shown according to their 2012–2016 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
Notes
Associations which did not enter a team
- Cape Verde Cape Verde
- Chad Chad
- Djibouti Djibouti
- Eritrea Eritrea
- Namibia Namibia
- Réunion Réunion
- São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe
- Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
- Somalia Somalia
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows (matches scheduled in midweek in italics). The regulations were modified with an additional draw before the quarter-finals. Effective from the Champions League group stage, weekend matches were played on Fridays and Saturdays while midweek matches were played on Tuesdays, with some exceptions. Kick-off times were also fixed at 13:00 (Saturdays and Tuesdays only), 16:00 and 19:00 GMT.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 13 December 2017 (Cairo, Egypt) | 9–11 February 2018 | 20–21 February 2018 |
| First round | 6–7 March 2018 | 16–18 March 2018 | ||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 21 March 2018 (Cairo, Egypt) | 4–5 May 2018 | |
| Matchday 2 | 15 May 2018 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 17 July 2018 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 27–28 July 2018 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 17–18 August 2018 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 28 August 2018 | |||
| Knockout stage | Quarter-finals | 3 September 2018 (Cairo, Egypt) | 14–15 September 2018 | 21–22 September 2018 |
| Semi-finals | 2 October 2018 | 23 October 2018 | ||
| Final | 2 November 2018 | 9 November 2018 |
Qualifying rounds
The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 13 December 2017 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
In the qualifying rounds, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).
Preliminary round
Notes:
First round
The 16 winners of the first round advanced to the group stage, while the 16 losers of the first round entered the Confederation Cup play-off round.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint George Ethiopia | 0–1 | Uganda KCCA | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Zanaco Zambia | 1–3 | Eswatini Mbabane Swallows | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Wydad AC Morocco | 7–4 | Ivory Coast Williamsville AC | 7–2 | 0–2 |
| Aduana Stars Ghana | 1–4 | Algeria ES Sétif | 1–0 | 0–4 |
| Al-Ahly Egypt | 7–1 | Gabon CF Mounana | 4–0 | 3–1 |
| MFM Nigeria | 2–7 | Algeria MC Alger | 2–1 | 0–6 |
| Horoya Guinea | 4–1 | Senegal Génération Foot | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Young Africans Tanzania | 1–2 | Botswana Township Rollers | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Gor Mahia Kenya | 0–1 | Tunisia Espérance de Tunis | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Étoile du Sahel Tunisia | 4–3 | Nigeria Plateau United | 4–2 | 0–1 |
| AS Togo-Port Togo | 3–3 (a) | Sudan Al-Hilal | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| ZESCO United Zambia | 2–2 (a) | Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| TP Mazembe Democratic Republic of the Congo | 4–3 | Mozambique UD Songo | 4–0 | 0–3 |
| Difaâ El Jadidi Morocco | 3–2 | Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Vita Club | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| 1º de Agosto Angola | 1–1 (3–2 p) | South Africa Bidvest Wits | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Rayon Sports Rwanda | 0–2 | South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns | 0–0 | 0–2 |
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 21 March 2018, 19:00 EET (UTC+2), at the Ritz Carlton in Cairo, Egypt. The 16 teams, all winners of the first round of qualifying, were drawn into four groups of four. The teams were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown in parentheses). Each group contained one team from each of Pot 1, Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4, and each team was drawn into one of the positions in their group.
| Pot | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe (75 pts) Egypt Al Ahly (58 pts) Tunisia Étoile du Sahel (49 pts) Morocco Wydad AC (46 pts) | South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns (39 pts) Zambia ZESCO United (26 pts) Tunisia Espérance de Tunis (24.5 pts) Algeria ES Sétif (18.5 pts) | Algeria MC Alger (10 pts) Uganda KCCA (5 pts) Guinea Horoya (5 pts) Eswatini Mbabane Swallows (5 pts) | Angola 1º de Agosto Botswana Township Rollers Morocco Difaâ El Jadidi Togo AS Togo-Port |
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 quarter-finals of the knockout stage.
| 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 were applied in the following order (Regulations III. 20 & 21): Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Away goals scored in all group matches; Drawing of lots. |
Group A
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AHL | EST | KCC | ROL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt Al Ahly | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 13 | Quarter-finals | — | 0–0 | 4–3 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Tunisia Espérance de Tunis | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 11 | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | 4–1 | ||
| 3 | Uganda KCCA | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 6 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Botswana Township Rollers | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TPM | ESS | DHJ | MCA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Algeria ES Sétif | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 8 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 3 | Morocco Difaâ El Jadidi | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Algeria MC Alger | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
Group C
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WAC | HOR | MSD | TGP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco Wydad AC | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Guinea Horoya | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 6 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Togo AS Togo-Port | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — |
Group D
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ESS | AGO | ZES | MBS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tunisia Étoile du Sahel | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Angola 1º de Agosto | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 9 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Zambia ZESCO United | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Eswatini Mbabane Swallows | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 4 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | — |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 26 & 27).
Bracket
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals), which was held on 3 September 2018, 20:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||
| Guinea Horoya | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Egypt Al Ahly | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Egypt Al Ahly | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Algeria ES Sétif | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Algeria ES Sétif | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Morocco Wydad AC | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Egypt Al Ahly | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Tunisia Espérance de Tunis | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Angola 1º de Agosto | 0 | 1 | 1 (a) | ||||||||||||||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe | 0 | 1 | 1 (a) | ||||||||||||||
| Angola 1º de Agosto | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Tunisia Espérance de Tunis | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Tunisia Espérance de Tunis | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Tunisia Étoile du Sahel | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group (teams from same group could not play each other), with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups decided by draw.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1º de Agosto Angola | 1–1 (a) | Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Espérance de Tunis Tunisia | 3–1 | Tunisia Étoile du Sahel | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| ES Sétif Algeria | 1–0 | Morocco Wydad AC | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Horoya Guinea | 0–4 | Egypt Al Ahly | 0–0 | 0–4 |
Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahly Egypt | 3–2 | Algeria ES Sétif | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| 1º de Agosto Angola | 3–4 | Tunisia Espérance de Tunis | 1–0 | 2–4 |
Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs determined by the semi-final draw.
| Al Ahly Egypt | 3–1 | Tunisia Espérance de Tunis |
|---|---|---|
| Soliman 34' (pen.), 77' (pen.) El Solia 58' | Belaïli 64' (pen.) |
Espérance de Tunis won 4–3 on aggregate.
Top goalscorers
Prize money
In 2018, the fixed amount of prize money paid to the clubs is as follows:
| Final position | Prize money |
|---|---|
| Champion | US$2.5 million |
| Runner-up | US$1.25 million |
| Semi-finalists | US$800,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | US$650,000 |
| 3rd in group stage | US$550,000 |
| 4th in group stage | US$550,000 |
Note: National associations receive an additional equivalent share of 5% for each amount awarded to clubs.
See also
External links
- , CAFonline.com