The 2017 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2017 Total CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the CAF Confederation Cup, Africa's secondary club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Starting from this season, the group stage was expanded from eight to 16 teams, divided into four groups of four, and the knockout stage expanded from 4 to 8 teams.

Defending champions TP Mazembe, which entered the Confederation Cup after losing in the 2017 CAF Champions League first round, defeated Supersport United in the final, and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2017 CAF Champions League in the 2018 CAF Super Cup.

Association team allocation

All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Confederation Cup, 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 (plus 16 teams eliminated from the CAF Champions League which enter the play-off round) – although this level has never been reached.

For the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup, the CAF uses the 2011–2015 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 LeagueCAF Confederation Cup
Winners5 points4 points
Runners-up4 points3 points
Losing semi-finalists3 points2 points
3rd place in groups2 points1 point
4th place in groups1 point1 point

The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:

  • 2015 – 5
  • 2014 – 4
  • 2013 – 3
  • 2012 – 2
  • 2011 – 1

Teams

The following 52 teams from 40 associations entered the competition.

  • Teams in bold received a bye to the first round.
  • The other teams entered the preliminary round.

Associations are shown according to their 2011–2015 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.

AssociationTeamQualifying method
Associations eligible to enter two teams (Ranked 1–12)
Tunisia Tunisia (1st – 100 pts)CS Sfaxien2015–16 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
Club Africain2015–16 Tunisian Cup runners-up
Egypt Egypt (2nd – 80 pts)Smouha2015–16 Egyptian Premier League third place
Al-Masry2015–16 Egyptian Premier League fourth place
Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo (3rd – 69 pts)SM Sanga Balende2015–16 Linafoot third place
Renaissance du Congo2016 Coupe du Congo DR winners
Algeria Algeria (4th – 64 pts)JS Kabylie2015–16 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
MC Alger2015–16 Algerian Cup winners
Sudan Sudan (5th – 51 pts)Al-Ahly Shendi2016 Sudan Premier League third place
El-Hilal El-Obeid2016 Sudan Cup runners-up
South Africa South Africa (6th – 27 pts)Platinum Stars2015–16 South African Premier Division third place
SuperSport United2015–16 Nedbank Cup winners
Republic of the Congo Congo (T-7th – 24 pts)Étoile du Congo2016 Congo Ligue 1 third place
CARA Brazzaville2016 Coupe du Congo runners-up
Morocco Morocco (T-7th – 24 pts)IR Tanger2015–16 Botola third place
MAS Fez2016 Coupe du Trône winners
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast (T-9th – 23 pts)SC Gagnoa2015–16 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 third place
ASEC Mimosas2016 Coupe de Côte d'Ivoire runners-up
Mali Mali (T-9th – 23 pts)Djoliba2016 Malian Première Division third place
Onze Créateurs2016 Malian Cup winners
Cameroon Cameroon (11th – 19 pts)Yong Sports Academy2016 Elite One third place
APEJES Academy2016 Cameroonian Cup winners
Nigeria Nigeria (12th – 12 pts)Wikki Tourists2016 Nigeria Professional Football League third place
Ifeanyi Ubah2016 Nigerian FA Cup winners
Associations eligible to enter one team
Angola Angola (13th – 7 pts)Recreativo do Libolo2016 Taça de Angola winners
Ghana Ghana (T-14th – 4 pts)Bechem United2016 Ghanaian FA Cup winners
Libya Libya (T-14th – 4 pts)Al-Hilal Benghazi2016 Libyan Cup runners-up
Zambia Zambia (T-14th – 4 pts)ZESCO United2016 Zambia Super League runners-up
Ethiopia Ethiopia (17th – 3 pts)Defence Force2016 Ethiopian Cup runners-up
Botswana BotswanaOrapa United2015–16 Mascom Top 8 Cup winners
Burkina Faso Burkina FasoAS SONABEL2016 Coupe du Faso runners-up
Burundi BurundiLe Messager Ngozi2016 Burundian Cup winners
Comoros ComorosVolcan Club2016 Comoros Cup winners
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial GuineaRacing de Micomeseng2016 Equatoguinean Cup winners
Gabon GabonAkanda2016 Coupe du Gabon Interclubs runners-up
Guinea GuineaAS Kaloum2016 Guinée Coupe Nationale runners-up
Kenya KenyaUlinzi Stars2016 FKF President's Cup runners-up
Liberia LiberiaMonrovia Club Breweries2016 Liberian Cup winners
Madagascar MadagascarASSM Elgeco Plus2016 Coupe de Madagascar runners-up
Mauritius MauritiusPamplemousses2016 Mauritian Cup winners
Mozambique MozambiqueUD Songo2016 Taça de Moçambique winners
Niger NigerAS Douanes Niamey2016 Niger Cup winners
Rwanda RwandaRayon Sports2016 Rwandan Cup winners
Senegal SenegalASC Niarry Tally2016 Senegal FA Cup winners
Seychelles SeychellesSt Michel United2016 Seychelles FA Cup winners
Sierra Leone Sierra LeoneRSLAF2016 Sierra Leonean FA Cup runners-up
South Sudan South SudanWau Salaam2016 South Sudan National Cup winners
Eswatini SwazilandMbabane Swallows2016 Swazi Cup winners
Tanzania TanzaniaAzam2015–16 Tanzania FA Cup runners-up
Uganda UgandaVipers2016 Ugandan Cup winners
Zanzibar ZanzibarKVZ2015–16 Zanzibar Premier League runners-up
Zimbabwe ZimbabweNgezi Platinum2016 Cup of Zimbabwe winners

A further 16 teams eliminated from the 2017 CAF Champions League enter the play-off round.

Losers of the 2017 CAF Champions League first round
Burkina Faso Rail Club du KadiogoNigeria Rivers UnitedIvory Coast AS TandaGuinea Horoya
Morocco FUS RabatUganda KCCAGabon CF MounanaTanzania Young Africans
Liberia Barrack Young ControllersNigeria Enugu RangersThe Gambia Gambia Ports AuthorityMadagascar CNaPS Sport
South Africa Bidvest WitsDemocratic Republic of the Congo TP MazembeRepublic of the Congo AC LéopardsMauritius AS Port-Louis 2000

Associations which did not enter a team

Notably one team takes part in the competition that does not currently play in their national top-division. They are MAS Fez (2nd tier).

2017 CAF Confederation Cup is located in Africa
Location of teams of the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup. Italics: Teams transferred from the 2017 CAF Champions League Red: Preliminary round; Green: First Round; Purple: Play-off Round; Brown: Group A; Orange: Group B; Yellow: Group C; Blue: Group D.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows (matches scheduled in midweek in italics).

PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
QualifyingPreliminary round21 December 2016 (Cairo, Egypt)10–12 February 201717–19 February 2017
First round10–12 March 201717–19 March 2017
Play-off round21 March 2017 (Cairo, Egypt)7–9 April 201714–16 April 2017
Group stageMatchday 126 April 2017 (Cairo, Egypt)12–14 May 2017
Matchday 223–24 May 2017
Matchday 32–4 June 2017
Matchday 420–21 June 2017
Matchday 530 June – 2 July 2017
Matchday 67–9 July 2017
Knockout stageQuarter-finals15–17 September 201722–24 September 2017
Semi-finals29 September – 1 October 201720–22 October 2017
Final17–19 November 201724–26 November 2017

The calendar was amended from the original one for the following dates:

  • Quarter-finals first leg: moved from 8–10 September to 15–17 September
  • Quarter-finals second leg: moved from 15–17 September to 22–24 September
  • Semi-finals second leg: moved from 13–15 October to 20–22 October

Qualifying rounds

The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 21 December 2016 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

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Monrovia Club Breweries Liberia3–4Algeria JS Kabylie3–00–4
Étoile du Congo Republic of the Congo3–0Equatorial Guinea Racing de Micomeseng2–01–0
Ifeanyi Ubah Nigeria1–1 (0–3 p)Egypt Al-Masry1–00–1
Defence Force Ethiopia1–2Cameroon Yong Sports Academy1–00–2
AS Douanes Niamey Niger1–3Morocco IR Tanger1–20–1
ASSM Elgeco Plus Madagascar1–2South Africa SuperSport United0–01–2
Akanda Gabon0–1Democratic Republic of the Congo Renaissance du Congo0–00–1
Bechem United Ghana3–5Algeria MC Alger2–11–4
RSLAF Sierra Leone2–1Nigeria Wikki Tourists2–00–1
Platinum Stars South Africa2–0Mozambique UD Songo1–01–0
Vipers Uganda1–1 (a)Comoros Volcan Club0–01–1
Orapa United Botswana2–4Eswatini Mbabane Swallows0–12–3
KVZ Zanzibar2–4Burundi Le Messager Ngozi2–10–3
APEJES Academy Cameroon2–2 (a)Senegal ASC Niarry Tally1–01–2
Wau Salaam South Sudan0–6Rwanda Rayon Sports0–40–2
AS SONABEL Burkina Faso0–3Ivory Coast SC Gagnoa0–00–3
MAS Fez Morocco3–2Republic of the Congo CARA Brazzaville3–00–2
Pamplemousses Mauritius1–2Zimbabwe Ngezi Platinum1–10–1
Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid Sudan3–0Seychelles St Michel United2–01–0
Al-Hilal Benghazi Libya1–1 (4–5 p)Kenya Ulinzi Stars1–00–1

First round

The 16 winners of the first round advanced to the play-off round, where they were joined by the 16 losers of the Champions League first round.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Étoile du Congo Republic of the Congo0–1Algeria JS Kabylie0–00–1
Djoliba Maliw/oEgypt Al-Masry2–0—
CS Sfaxien Tunisia6–1Cameroon Yong Sports Academy5–01–1
AS Kaloum Guinea1–3Morocco IR Tanger1–00–3
Al-Ahly Shendi Sudan3–6South Africa SuperSport United3–20–4
MC Alger Algeria3–2Democratic Republic of the Congo Renaissance du Congo2–01–2
Club Africain Tunisiaw/oSierra Leone RSLAF9–1—
Vipers Uganda2–3South Africa Platinum Stars1–01–3
Azam Tanzania1–3Eswatini Mbabane Swallows1–00–3
ZESCO United Zambia4–2Burundi Le Messager Ngozi2–02–2
ASEC Mimosas Ivory Coast2–1Cameroon APEJES Academy2–00–1
Onze Créateurs Maliw/oRwanda Rayon Sports1–0—
MAS Fez Morocco3–2Ivory Coast SC Gagnoa3–10–1
Recreativo do Libolo Angola2–1Zimbabwe Ngezi Platinum2–10–0
SM Sanga Balende Democratic Republic of the Congo1–1 (3–5 p)Sudan Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid1–00–1
Smouha Egypt4–3Kenya Ulinzi Stars4–00–3

Notes:

Play-off round

The draw for the play-off round was held on 21 March 2017, 11:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The winners of the Confederation Cup first round were drawn against the losers of the Champions League first round, with the teams from the Confederation Cup hosting the second leg.

The 16 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Young Africans Tanzania1–4Algeria MC Alger1–00–4
TP Mazembe Democratic Republic of the Congo2–0Algeria JS Kabylie2–00–0
AC Léopards Republic of the Congo3–4Eswatini Mbabane Swallows1–02–4
FUS Rabat Morocco3–2Morocco MAS Fez2–11–1
Enugu Rangers Nigeria2–5Zambia ZESCO United2–20–3
CF Mounana Gabon2–1Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas2–10–0
Rail Club du Kadiogo Burkina Faso1–4Tunisia CS Sfaxien1–20–2
Bidvest Wits South Africa0–1Egypt Smouha0–00–1
CNaPS Sport Madagascar1–1 (a)Angola Recreativo do Libolo1–10–0
KCCA Uganda1–1 (4–3 p)Egypt Al-Masry1–00–1
Gambia Ports Authority The Gambia1–4Sudan Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid1–10–3
AS Port-Louis 2000 Mauritius3–6Tunisia Club Africain1–22–4
Rivers United Nigeria2–0Rwanda Rayon Sports2–00–0
Barrack Young Controllers Liberia1–6South Africa SuperSport United1–10–5
AS Tanda Ivory Coast2–2 (4–5 p)South Africa Platinum Stars2–00–2
Horoya Guinea4–3Morocco IR Tanger2–02–3

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 26 April 2017, 14:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The 16 teams, all winners of the play-off 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).

PotPot 1Pot 2
TeamsDemocratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe (58 pts) Tunisia CS Sfaxien (21 pts) Zambia ZESCO United (15 pts) Morocco FUS Rabat (12 pts)Egypt Smouha (4 pts) Angola Recreativo do Libolo (2 pts) Algeria MC Alger Gabon CF Mounana Guinea Horoya Nigeria Rivers United South Africa Platinum Stars South Africa SuperSport United Sudan El-Hilal El-Obeid Eswatini Mbabane Swallows Tunisia Club Africain Uganda KCCA

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

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationCAFFUSKCCRIV
1Tunisia Club Africain6402136+712Quarter-finals—2–14–03–1
2Morocco FUS Rabat630398+192–1—3–02–1
3Uganda KCCA6303812−492–13–1—2–1
4Nigeria Rivers United6204610−460–21–02–1—

Group B

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationCSSMCAMBSPST
1Tunisia CS Sfaxien6411134+913Quarter-finals—4–01–03–0
2Algeria MC Alger6321770112–1—2–12–0
3Eswatini Mbabane Swallows6123810−251–30–0—4–2
4South Africa Platinum Stars6033613−731–11–12–2—

Group C

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationZESHLURLBSMO
1Zambia ZESCO United631265+110Quarter-finals—3–0 (awd.)1–01–0
2Sudan Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid6312660101–0—2–02–1
3Angola Recreativo do Libolo621345−173–01–0—0–0
4Egypt Smouha613255061–11–12–0—

Group D

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationTPMSSUHORMOU
1Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe633084+412Quarter-finals—2–22–12–0
2South Africa SuperSport United6240138+5100–0—2–24–1
3Guinea Horoya623165+191–10–0—1–0
4Gabon CF Mounana6006414−1000–13–50–1—

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

Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
Sudan Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid101
Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe257
Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe101
Morocco FUS Rabat000
Morocco FUS Rabat101 (5 p)
Tunisia CS Sfaxien011 (4 p)
Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe202
South Africa SuperSport United101
South Africa SuperSport United022 (a)
Zambia ZESCO United022 (a)
South Africa SuperSport United134
Tunisia Club Africain112
Algeria MC Alger101
Tunisia Club Africain022

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group, with the group winners hosting the second leg.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
MC Alger Algeria1–2Tunisia Club Africain1−00–2
SuperSport United South Africa2–2 (a)Zambia ZESCO United0−02–2
FUS Rabat Morocco1–1 (5–4 p)Tunisia CS Sfaxien1−00−1
Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid Sudan1–7Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe1−20–5

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the order of legs decided by an additional draw held after the group stage draw.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
SuperSport United South Africa4−2Tunisia Club Africain1−13−1
TP Mazembe Democratic Republic of the Congo1−0Morocco FUS Rabat1−00−0

Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs decided by an additional draw held after the group stage draw.

TP Mazembe Democratic Republic of the Congo2–1South Africa SuperSport United
Traoré 19' Adjei 67'Mbule 48'
SuperSport United South Africa0–0Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe

TP Mazembe won 2–1 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerTeamMD1MD2MD3MD4MD5MD6QF1QF2SF1SF2F1F2Total
1Democratic Republic of the Congo Ben MalangoDemocratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe111116
2New Zealand Jeremy BrockieSouth Africa SuperSport United2215
Eswatini Sabelo NdzinisaEswatini Mbabane Swallows41
Algeria Hichem NekkacheAlgeria MC Alger1211
5Tunisia Saber KhalifaTunisia Club Africain11114
South Africa Thabo MnyamaneSouth Africa SuperSport United211
7Tunisia Karim AouadhiTunisia CS Sfaxien1113
Tunisia Firas ChaouatTunisia CS Sfaxien12
Cameroon Jean Francis Ebélé DipitaGuinea Horoya111
Morocco Mohamed FouzairMorocco FUS Rabat111
South Africa Bradley GroblerSouth Africa SuperSport United12
Tunisia Manoubi HaddadTunisia Club Africain12
Uganda Derrick NsibambiUganda KCCA12
South Africa Thuso PhalaSouth Africa SuperSport United12

See also

External links

  • , CAFonline.com