2018 CAF Champions League

The 2018 CAF Champions League (officially the 2018 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1] 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.

2018 CAF Champions League
2018 Total CAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates10 February – 9 November 2018
Teams59 (from 47 associations)
Final positions
Champions Espérance de Tunis (3rd title)
Runners-up Al-Ahly
Tournament statistics
Matches played146
Goals scored351 (2.4 per match)
Top scorer(s) Walid Soliman
Lazarous Kambole
(5 goals each)

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.[2]

Wydad Casablanca 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.[2] 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:[3]

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:[4]

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.

Associations are shown according to their 2012–2016 CAF 5-Year Ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.

Associations eligible to enter two teams (Ranked 1–12)
Association Team Qualifying method
Egypt (1st – 85 pts) Al-Ahly 2016–17 Egyptian Premier League champions
Misr Lel-Makkasa 2016–17 Egyptian Premier League runners-up
Tunisia (2nd – 76 pts) Espérance de Tunis 2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
Étoile du Sahel 2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
DR Congo (3rd – 70 pts) TP Mazembe 2016–17 Linafoot champions
AS Vita Club 2016–17 Linafoot runners-up
Algeria (4th – 62 pts) ES Sétif 2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
MC Alger 2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
South Africa (5th – 45 pts) Bidvest Wits 2016–17 South African Premier Division champions
Mamelodi Sundowns 2016–17 South African Premier Division runners-up
Morocco (6th – 41 pts) Wydad Casablanca Title holders (2017 CAF Champions League winners)
2016–17 Botola champions
Difaâ El Jadidi 2016–17 Botola runners-up
Sudan (7th – 35 pts) Al-Hilal 2017 Sudan Premier League champions
Al-Merrikh 2017 Sudan Premier League runners-up
Ivory Coast (8th – 21 pts) ASEC Mimosas 2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champions
Williamsville AC 2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runners-up
Zambia (9th – 18 pts) ZESCO United 2017 Zambia Super League champions
Zanaco 2017 Zambia Super League runners-up
Congo (10th – 16 pts) AC Léopards 2017 Congo Ligue 1 champions
AS Otohô 2017 Congo Ligue 1 runners-up
Mali (11th – 15 pts) Stade Malien 2016 Malian Première Division champions[Note MLI]
AS Real Bamako 2016 Malian Première Division runners-up[Note MLI]
Nigeria (12th – 13 pts) Plateau United 2017 Nigeria Professional Football League champions
MFM 2017 Nigeria Professional Football League runners-up
Associations eligible to enter one team
Association Team Qualifying method
Cameroon (13th – 12 pts) Eding Sport 2017 Elite One champions
Libya (14th – 8 pts) Al-Tahaddy 2017 Libyan Premier League CAF competition playoff winners
Ghana (15th – 7 pts) Aduana Stars 2017 Ghanaian Premier League champions
Tanzania (16th – 5 pts) Simba Sports Club 2017–18 Tanzanian Premier League champions
Angola (17th – 3 pts) 1º de Agosto 2017 Girabola champions
Ethiopia (18th – 2 pts) Saint George 2016–17 Ethiopian Premier League champions
Benin Buffles du Borgou 2017 Benin Premier League champions
Botswana Township Rollers 2016–17 Botswana Premier League champions
Burkina Faso Rail Club du Kadiogo 2016–17 Burkinabé Premier League champions
Burundi LLB Académic FC 2016–17 Burundi Premier League champions
Central African Republic Olympic Real de Bangui 2016–17 Central African Republic League champions
Comoros Ngaya Club 2017 Comoros Premier League champions
Equatorial Guinea Leones Vegetarianos 2017 Equatoguinean Primera División champions
Gabon CF Mounana 2016–17 Gabon Championnat National D1 champions
Gambia Armed Forces 2016–17 GFA League First Division champions
Guinea Horoya 2016–17 Guinée Championnat National champions
Guinea-Bissau Sport Bissau e Benfica 2016–17 Campeonato Nacional da Guiné-Bissau champions
Kenya Gor Mahia 2017 Kenyan Premier League champions
Lesotho Bantu 2016–17 Lesotho Premier League champions
Liberia LISCR 2016–17 Liberian First Division League champions
Madagascar CNaPS Sport 2017 THB Champions League champions
Malawi Mighty Wanderers 2017 Malawi Premier Division leaders at entry deadline
Mauritania ASAC Concorde 2016–17 Ligue 1 Mauritania champions
Mauritius Pamplemousses 2016–17 Mauritian Premier League champions
Mozambique UD Songo 2017 Moçambola champions
Niger AS FAN 2016–17 Niger Premier League champions
Rwanda Rayon Sports 2016–17 Rwanda National Football League champions
Senegal Génération Foot 2016–17 Senegal Premier League champions
Seychelles Saint Louis Suns United 2017 Seychelles First Division champions
South Sudan Al-Salam Wau 2017 South Sudan Football Championship champions
Swaziland Mbabane Swallows 2016–17 Swazi Premier League champions
Togo AS Togo-Port 2016–17 Togolese Championnat National champions
Uganda KCCA 2016–17 Uganda Super League champions
Zanzibar JKU 2016–17 Zanzibar Premier League champions
Zimbabwe FC Platinum 2017 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champions
Notes
  1. ^
    Mali (MLI): Mali were represented by Stade Malien and AS Real Bamako, the 2016 Malian Première Division champions and runners-up, as the 2017 Malian Première Division was not completed by the end of the year.[5]
Associations which did not enter a team
Location of teams of the 2018 CAF Champions League.
Red: Preliminary round; Green: First 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).[6] The regulations were modified with an additional draw before the quarter-finals.[7] 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.[8]

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying Preliminary round 13 December 2017
(Cairo, Egypt)[4]		 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)[9]		 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)[10]		 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
Main article: 2018 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds

The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 13 December 2017 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[11][12] 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).[2]

Preliminary round
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Saint George w/o[w/o 1] Al-Salam Wau — —
CNaPS Sport 2–2 (a) KCCA 2–1 0–1
Zanaco 6–1 Armed Forces 3–0 3–1
Bantu 5–5 (a) Mbabane Swallows 2–4 3–1
Stade Malien 1–2 Williamsville AC 1–1 0–1
Al-Tahaddy 1–2 Aduana Stars 1–0 0–2
ES Sétif 6–0 Olympic Real de Bangui 6–0 0–0
Rail Club du Kadiogo 1–2 CF Mounana 1–0 0–2
AS Real Bamako 1–2 MFM 1–1 0–1
AS Otôho 2–9 MC Alger 2–0 0–9
AS FAN 1–3 Horoya 1–3 0–0
Génération Foot 2–0 Misr Lel-Makkasa 2–0 0–0
Young Africans 2–1 Saint Louis Suns United 1–0 1–1
Township Rollers 4–2 Al-Merrikh 3–0 1–2
Gor Mahia 3–1 Leones Vegetarianos 2–0 1–1
ASAC Concorde 1–6 Espérance de Tunis 1–1 0–5
Plateau United 4–0 Eding Sport 3–0 1–0
AC Léopards 3–3 (3–4 p) AS Togo-Port 2–1 1–2
LISCR 1–3 Al-Hilal 1–0 0–3
JKU 0–7 ZESCO United 0–0 0–7
Buffles du Borgou 3–4 ASEC Mimosas 1–1 2–3
Ngaya Club 1–3 UD Songo 1–1 0–2
Difaâ El Jadidi 10–0 Sport Bissau e Benfica 10–0 0–0
AS Vita Club 6–1 Mighty Wanderers 4–0 2–1
1º de Agosto 5–1 FC Platinum 3–0 2–1
Bidvest Wits 2–1 Pamplemousses 2–0 0–1
Rayon Sports 2–1 LLB Académic FC 1–1 1–0

Notes:

  1. Saint George won on walkover after Al-Salam Wau failed to arrive for the first leg.[13]

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. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Saint George 0–1 KCCA 0–0 0–1
Zanaco 1–3 Mbabane Swallows 1–2 0–1
Wydad Casablanca 7–4 Williamsville AC 7–2 0–2
Aduana Stars 1–4 ES Sétif 1–0 0–4
Al-Ahly 7–1 CF Mounana 4–0 3–1
MFM 2–7 MC Alger 2–1 0–6
Horoya 4–1 Génération Foot 2–1 2–0
Young Africans 1–2 Township Rollers 1–2 0–0
Gor Mahia 0–1 Espérance de Tunis 0–0 0–1
Étoile du Sahel 4–3 Plateau United 4–2 0–1
AS Togo-Port 3–3 (a) Al-Hilal 2–0 1–3
ZESCO United 2–2 (a) ASEC Mimosas 0–1 2–1
TP Mazembe 4–3 UD Songo 4–0 0–3
Difaâ El Jadidi 3–2 AS Vita Club 1–0 2–2
1º de Agosto 1–1 (3–2 p) Bidvest Wits 1–0 0–1
Rayon Sports 0–2 Mamelodi Sundowns 0–0 0–2

Group stage
Main article: 2018 CAF Champions League 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.[14][15] 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).[16] 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.[17]

Pot Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Teams

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.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AHL EST KCC ROL
1 Al-Ahly 6 4 1 1 9 5 +4 13 Quarter-finals — 0–0 4–3 3–0
2 Espérance de Tunis 6 3 2 1 8 4 +4 11 0–1 — 3–2 4–1
3 KCCA 6 2 0 4 8 9 −1 6 2–0 0–1 — 1–0
4 Township Rollers 6 1 1 4 2 9 −7 4 0–1 0–0 1–0 —
Source: CAF

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TPM ESS DHJ MCA
1 TP Mazembe 6 3 3 0 10 4 +6 12 Quarter-finals — 4–1 1–1 1–0
2 ES Sétif 6 2 2 2 7 9 −2 8 1–1 — 2–1 0–1
3 Difaâ El Jadidi 6 1 3 2 6 7 −1 6 0–2 1–1 — 2–0
4 MC Alger 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5 1–1 1–2 1–1 —
Source: CAF

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WAC HOR MSD TGP
1 Wydad Casablanca 6 3 3 0 8 2 +6 12 Quarter-finals — 2–0 1–0 3–0
2 Horoya 6 2 3 1 7 7 0 9 1–1 — 2–2 2–1
3 Mamelodi Sundowns 6 1 3 2 5 6 −1 6 1–1 0–0 — 2–1
4 AS Togo-Port 6 1 1 4 4 9 −5 4 0–0 1–2 1–0 —
Source: CAF

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ESS AGO ZES MBS
1 Étoile du Sahel 6 3 3 0 10 4 +6 12 Quarter-finals — 1–1 2–1 2–0
2 1º de Agosto 6 2 3 1 6 5 +1 9 1–1 — 2–1 2–1
3 ZESCO United 6 1 3 2 7 6 +1 6 1–1 0–0 — 1–1
4 Mbabane Swallows 6 1 1 4 3 11 −8 4 0–3 1–0 0–3 —
Source: CAF

Knockout stage
Main article: 2018 CAF Champions League 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).[2]

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.[18][19][20]

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                   
Horoya 0 0 0  
Al-Ahly 0 4 4  
  Al-Ahly 2 1 3  
  ES Sétif 0 2 2  
ES Sétif 1 0 1
Wydad Casablanca 0 0 0  
  Al-Ahly 3 0 3
  Espérance de Tunis 1 3 4
1º de Agosto 0 1 1 (a)  
TP Mazembe 0 1 1 (a)  
  1º de Agosto 1 2 3
  Espérance de Tunis 0 4 4  
Espérance de Tunis 2 1 3
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.[18]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
1º de Agosto 1–1 (a) TP Mazembe 0–0 1–1
Espérance de Tunis 3–1 Étoile du Sahel 2–1 1–0
ES Sétif 1–0 Wydad Casablanca 1–0 0–0
Horoya 0–4 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.[18]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Ahly 3–2 ES Sétif 2–0 1–2
1º de Agosto 3–4 Espérance de Tunis 1–0 2–4

Final
Main article: 2018 CAF Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs determined by the semi-final draw.[18]

Al-Ahly 3–1 Espérance de Tunis
 Report
Attendance: 60,000
Espérance de Tunis 3–0 Al-Ahly
 Report
Attendance: 60,000

Espérance de Tunis won 4–3 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers
  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2  F1   F2  Total
1 Lazarous Kambole ZESCO United 131 5
Walid Soliman Al-Ahly 1112
3 Walid Azaro Al-Ahly 112 4
Anice Badri Espérance de Tunis 2111
Ben Malango TP Mazembe 211
6 Youcef Belaïli Espérance de Tunis 111 3
Lompala Bokamba 1º de Agosto 111
El Habib Bouguelmouna ES Sétif 111
Saad Bguir Espérance de Tunis 12
Meschak Elia TP Mazembe 111
Geraldo 1º de Agosto 111
Ocansey Mandela Horoya 111
Islam Mohareb Al-Ahly 111

Prize money

In 2018, the fixed amount of prize money paid to the clubs is as follows:[21]

Final
position		Prize money
ChampionUS$2.5 million
Runner-upUS$1.25 million
Semi-finalistsUS$800,000
Quarter-finalistsUS$650,000
3rd in group stageUS$550,000
4th in group stageUS$550,000

Note: National associations receive an additional equivalent share of 5% for each amount awarded to clubs.

See also

References
  1. "Total, Title Sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations and Partner of African Football". CAF. 21 July 2016.
  2. "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
  3. "CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites". Cafonline.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  4. "Zambia will have two entrants in both Caf Club competitions". BBC Sport. 9 December 2017.
  5. "Compétitions Africaines: Le Stade en Ligue des champions, le Djoliba en Coupe CAF". footmali.com. 29 November 2017.
  6. "DATES FOR CAF INTERCLUBS COMPETITIONS 2018" (PDF). CAF.
  7. "Decisions of CAF Executive Committee – 10 January 2018". CAF. 10 January 2018.
  8. "Friday & Saturday for Champions League, Sunday for Confederation Cup". CAF. 17 April 2018.
  9. "Accreditation for interclubs group phase draw". CAF. 28 February 2018.
  10. "Accreditation for Interclubs quarter finals 2018". CAF. 6 August 2018.
  11. "Draw results of Interclubs 2018 prelims". CAF. 13 December 2017.
  12. "Results of the draw: Total CAF Champions League 2018" (PDF). CAF.
  13. "South Sudanese clubs Al Salam Wau, Hilal Juba eliminated". CAF. 15 February 2018.
  14. "Draw for the Champions League & Confederation Cup 2018". YouTube. 21 March 2018.
  15. "Results of Group Phase draw". CAF. 21 March 2018.
  16. "Ranking of the clubs qualified to the Group Stage of Total CAF Champions League 2018" (PDF). CAF.
  17. "Draw Procedures for Interclubs Group Phase". CAF. 20 March 2018.
  18. "Draw Procedure of the 22nd Edition of Total CAF Champions League, CL 2018" (PDF). CAF. 2 September 2018.
  19. "CAF Champions League 2018 DRAW". YouTube. 3 September 2018.
  20. "Total CAF Champions League 2018 Draw". CAF.
  21. "CAF Executive Committee decisions". cafonline.com. 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
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