2015 CAF Confederation Cup
The 2015 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2015 Orange CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th edition of the CAF Confederation Cup, Africa's secondary club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The winner earned the right to play in the 2016 CAF Super Cup.[1]
| 2015 Orange CAF Confederation Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | 13 February – 29 November 2015 |
| Teams | 55+8 (from 43 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Étoile du Sahel (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Orlando Pirates |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 138 |
| Goals scored | 341 (2.47 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Baghdad Bounedjah Georges Ambourouet Thamsanqa Gabuza(6 goals each) |
Étoile du Sahel of Tunisia won the competition for the second time in their history after a 2–1 aggregate victory over Orlando Pirates of South Africa in the final. Al-Ahly were the defending champions, and after qualifying for the 2015 CAF Champions League, they entered the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup after they lost in the Champions League second round, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals.
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. The title holders can also enter if they have not qualified for the CAF Champions League.[1] As a result, theoretically a maximum of 69 teams could enter the tournament (plus eight teams eliminated from the CAF Champions League which enter the play-off round) – although this level has never been reached.
For the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup, the CAF uses the 2009–2013 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:[2]
| CAF Champions League | CAF Confederation Cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 5 points | 4 points |
| Runner-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:
- 2013 – 5
- 2012 – 4
- 2011 – 3
- 2010 – 2
- 2009 – 1
Teams
The following 63 teams from 43 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 2009–2013 CAF 5-Year Ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.[3]
| Losers of the 2015 CAF Champions League second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 AS Kaloum |
 SM Sanga Balende |
Espérance de Tunis |
CS Sfaxien |
 AC Léopards |
 Al-Ahly |
 Raja Casablanca |
 Stade Malien |
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Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws are held at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt).[4]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 22 December 2014[5] | 13–15 February 2015 | 27 February–1 March 2015 |
| First round | 13–15 March 2015 | 3–5 April 2015 | ||
| Second round | 17–19 April 2015 | 1–3 May 2015 | ||
| Play-off round | 5 May 2015[6] | 15–17 May 2015 | 5–7 June 2015 | |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 26–28 June 2015 | ||
| Matchday 2 | 10–12 July 2015 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 24–26 July 2015 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 7–9 August 2015 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 21–23 August 2015 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 11–13 September 2015 | |||
| Knockout stage | Semi-finals | 25–27 September 2015 | 2–4 October 2015 | |
| Final | 20–22 November 2015 | 27–29 November 2015 | ||
Qualifying rounds
The draw for the preliminary, first and second qualifying rounds was held on 22 December 2014.[7]
Qualification ties were 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 level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).[1]
Preliminary round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MC Alger |
0–2 |  Sahel SC |
0–0 | 0–2 |
| RS Berkane |
2–2 (a) | Onze Créateurs |
2–1 | 0–1 |
Al-Ittihad  |
7–1 |  Elect-Sport |
6–1 | 1–0 |
Al-Ghazal  |
1–7 | Petrojet |
0–1 | 1–6 |
Unisport Bafang  |
2–3 |  Olympique de Ngor |
1–0 | 1–3 |
Hearts of Oak  |
1–0 |  AS Police |
1–0 | 0–0 |
| ASO Chlef |
2–1 |  Kamboi Eagles |
2–0 | 0–1 |
| Horoya |
4–3 |  Fassell |
1–0 | 3–3 |
Leones Vegetarianos  |
1–1 (3–5 p) |  Dolphins |
1–0 | 0–1 |
Côte d'Or  |
2–5 |  Dedebit |
2–3 | 0–2 |
RC Bobo  |
0–4 | Warri Wolves |
0–1 | 0–3 |
| Étoile du Congo |
2–3 | MK Étanchéité |
1–2 | 1–1 |
| Panthère du Ndé |
0–2 |  Rayon Sports |
0–1 | 0–1 |
AS Togo-Port  |
5–3 | CARA Brazzaville |
2–0 | 3–3 |
Al-Khartoum  |
1–2 |  Power Dynamos |
1–0 | 0–2 |
| CF Mounana |
8–1 |  Polisi |
5–0 | 3–1 |
URA  |
4–2 |  ASSM Elgeco Plus |
3–2 | 1–0 |
Sofapaka  |
2–4 |  FC Platinum |
1–2 | 1–2 |
Young Africans  |
3–2 |  Botswana Defence Force |
2–0 | 1–2 |
Benfica de Luanda  |
3–0 |  Le Messager Ngozi |
2–0 | 1–0 |
Volcan Club  |
0–5 | Petro de Luanda |
0–1 | 0–4 |
| Bidvest Wits |
3–3 (6–7 p) |  Royal Leopards |
3–0 | 0–3 |
Petite Rivière Noire  |
3–7 |  Ferroviário da Beira |
1–2 | 2–5 |
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onze Créateurs |
2–1 | Sahel SC |
2–1 | 0–0 |
ASEC Mimosas  |
3–2 | Al-Ittihad |
1–1 | 2–1 |
| Djoliba |
2–1 | Petrojet |
2–1 | 0–0 |
| Hearts of Oak |
5–3 | Olympique de Ngor |
2–1 | 3–2 |
| Horoya |
1–1 (3–5 p) | ASO Chlef |
1–0 | 0–1 |
| Club Africain |
w/o[A] | Dolphins |
— | — |
| Warri Wolves |
2–0 | Dedebit |
2–0 | 0–0 |
| Al-Ahly Shendi |
3–6 | MK Étanchéité |
2–1 | 1–5 |
| Zamalek |
6–1 | Rayon Sports |
3–1 | 3–0 |
| FUS Rabat |
4–2 | AS Togo-Port |
3–0 | 1–2 |
| CF Mounana |
4–3 | Power Dynamos |
4–0 | 0–3 |
| Orlando Pirates |
4–3 | URA |
2–1 | 2–2 |
| Young Africans |
5–2 | FC Platinum |
5–1 | 0–1 |
| Étoile du Sahel |
2–1 | Benfica de Luanda |
1–0 | 1–1 |
| Royal Leopards |
3–2 | Petro de Luanda |
2–2 | 1–0 |
| AS Vita Club |
3–1 | Ferroviário da Beira |
3–0 | 0–1 |
- Notes
Second round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onze Créateurs |
0–3 | ASEC Mimosas |
0–1 | 0–2 |
| Djoliba |
2–2 (a) | Hearts of Oak |
1–2 | 1–0 |
| ASO Chlef |
1–2 | Club Africain |
1–1 | 0–1 |
| Warri Wolves |
3–1 | MK Étanchéité |
2–1 | 1–0 |
| Zamalek |
3–2 | FUS Rabat |
0–0 | 3–2 |
| CF Mounana |
2–5 | Orlando Pirates |
2–2 | 0–3 |
| Young Africans |
1–2 | Étoile du Sahel |
1–1 | 0–1 |
| Royal Leopards |
2–4 | AS Vita Club |
1–0 | 1–4 |
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 May 2015.[10] The winners of the Confederation Cup second round were drawn against the losers of the Champions League second round, with the former hosting the second leg.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahly |
3–3 (5–4 p) | Club Africain |
2–1 | 1–2 |
| Espérance de Tunis |
5–1 | Hearts of Oak |
4–0 | 1–1 |
| AC Léopards |
4–3 | Warri Wolves |
3–0 | 1–3 |
| CS Sfaxien |
3–1 | ASEC Mimosas |
2–0 | 1–1 |
| Stade Malien |
4–3 | AS Vita Club |
2–0 | 2–3 |
| AS Kaloum |
1–6 | Orlando Pirates |
0–2 | 1–4 |
| SM Sanga Balende |
2–3 | Zamalek |
1–0 | 1–3 |
| Raja Casablanca |
2–3 | Étoile du Sahel |
2–0 | 0–3 |
Group stage
Group A.
Group B.The draw for the group stage was held on 5 May 2015.[10] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
- 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 would be applied in the following order:[1]
- Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
- Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
- Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
- If, after applying criteria 1 to 4 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 9 apply;
- Goal difference in all games;
- Goals scored in all games;
- Away goals scored in all games;
- Drawing of lots.
Knockout stage
Knockout ties were 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 level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).[1]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| Orlando Pirates |
1 | 4 | 5 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahly |
0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Orlando Pirates |
1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| Étoile du Sahel |
1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Étoile du Sahel |
5 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||
| Zamalek |
1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the group A winners played the group B runners-up, and the group B winners played the group A runners-up, with the group winners hosting the second leg.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Pirates |
5–3 | Al-Ahly |
1–0 | 4–3 |
| Étoile du Sahel |
5–4 | Zamalek |
5–1 | 0–3 |
Final
In the final, the order of legs was determined by a draw, held after the group stage draw.
| Orlando Pirates | 1–1 | Étoile du Sahel |
|---|---|---|
Gabuza  36' |
Report | Jemal 87' |
| Étoile du Sahel | 1–0 | Orlando Pirates |
|---|---|---|
| Jemal 24' |
Report |
Étoile du Sahel won 2–1 on aggregate.
Top scorers
References
- "Regulations of the CAF Confederation Cup" (PDF). Confédération Africaine de Football. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- "CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites". Cafonline.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- "Two South African clubs for each Interclub Competition". CAF. 29 November 2014.
- "CAF Full Calendar". CAFonline.com. 28 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- "Draws made for 2015 Orange Champions League, Confederations Cup". CAF. 22 December 2014.
- "Twitter @CAF_Online". CAF. 30 April 2015.
- "12th Edition of CAF Confederation Cup CC 2015" (PDF). CAF.
- "Dolphins bundled out of Caf Confederation Cup". Goal.com. 14 March 2015.
- "Dolphins Eliminated". CAF. 19 March 2015.
- "Live report: CAF Interclubs draw". CAFonline.com. 5 May 2015.
External links
- Orange CAF Confederation Cup 2015, CAFonline.com