2018 CAF Confederation Cup

The 2018 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2018 Total CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 15th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), under the current CAF Confederation Cup title after the merger of CAF Cup and African Cup Winners' Cup.

2018 CAF Confederation Cup
2018 Total CAF Confederation Cup
Tournament details
Dates9 February – 2 December 2018
Teams54+16 (from 43 associations)
Final positions
Champions Raja Casablanca (1st title)
Runners-up AS Vita Club
Tournament statistics
Matches played170
Goals scored369 (2.17 per match)
Top scorer(s) Mahmoud Benhalib (9 goals)

Raja Casablanca won the title for the first time, defeating AS Vita Club in the final, and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018 CAF Champions League in the 2019 CAF Super Cup.[2]

TP Mazembe were the two-time defending champions, but as they qualified for the 2018 CAF Champions League and reached the group stage, they were not able to defend their title.

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.[2] 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 2018 CAF Confederation Cup, 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 54 teams from 42 associations entered the competition.[4]

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) Zamalek 2016–17 Egyptian Premier League third place
Al-Masry 2016–17 Egypt Cup runners-up
Tunisia (2nd – 76 pts) Club Africain 2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
US Ben Guerdane 2016–17 Tunisian Cup runners-up
DR Congo (3rd – 70 pts) DC Motema Pembe 2016–17 Linafoot third place
AS Maniema Union 2017 Coupe du Congo DR winners
Algeria (4th – 62 pts) USM Alger 2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
CR Belouizdad 2016–17 Algerian Cup winners
South Africa (5th – 45 pts) Cape Town City 2016–17 South African Premier Division third place
SuperSport United 2016–17 Nedbank Cup winners
Morocco (6th – 41 pts) Raja Casablanca 2016–17 Botola third place
RS Berkane 2016–17 Botola fourth place
Sudan (7th – 35 pts) El-Hilal El-Obeid 2017 Sudan Premier League third place
Al-Ahly Shendi 2017 Sudan Cup winners
Ivory Coast (8th – 21 pts) AS Tanda 2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 third place
Africa Sports 2017 Coupe de Côte d'Ivoire winners
Zambia (9th – 18 pts) Nkana 2017 Zambia Super League third place
Green Buffaloes 2017 Zambia Super League fourth place
Congo (10th – 16 pts) CARA Brazzaville 2017 Congo Ligue 1 third place
CS La Mancha 2017 Congo Ligue 1 fourth place
Mali (11th – 15 pts) Djoliba 2016 Malian Première Division third place[Note MLI]
Onze Créateurs 2016 Malian Cup winners[Note MLI]
Nigeria (12th – 13 pts) Enyimba 2017 Nigeria Professional Football League third place
Akwa United 2017 Nigerian FA Cup winners
Associations eligible to enter one team
Association Team Qualifying method
Cameroon (13th – 12 pts) New Star 2017 Cameroonian Cup winners
Libya (14th – 8 pts) Al-Ittihad Tripoli 2017 Libyan Premier League CAF competition playoff runners-up
Ghana (15th – 7 pts) Asante Kotoko 2017 Ghanaian FA Cup winners
Tanzania (16th – 5 pts) Simba 2016–17 Tanzania FA Cup winners
Angola (17th – 3 pts) Petro de Luanda 2017 Taça de Angola winners
Ethiopia (18th – 2 pts) Welayta Dicha 2017 Ethiopian Cup winners
Benin Energie 2017 Benin Premier League runners-up
Botswana Jwaneng Galaxy 2016–17 Mascom Top 8 Cup winners
Burkina Faso Étoile Filante 2017 Coupe du Faso winners
Burundi Olympique Star 2017 Burundian Cup winners
Comoros Ngazi Sport 2017 Comoros Cup winners
Djibouti Gendarmerie Nationale 2017 Djibouti Cup winners
Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Niefang 2017 Equatoguinean Cup winners
Gabon AS Mangasport 2016–17 Gabon Championnat National D1 runners-up
Gambia Banjul Hawks 2017 Gambian Cup winners
Guinea Hafia 2017 Guinée Coupe Nationale winners
Kenya AFC Leopards 2017 FKF President's Cup winners
Liberia ELWA United 2017 Liberian Cup runners-up
Madagascar Fosa Juniors 2017 Coupe de Madagascar winners
Malawi Masters Security 2017 Malawi FAM Cup losing semi-finalists
Mauritania FC Nouadhibou 2017 Coupe du Président de la République winners
Mauritius AS Port-Louis 2000 2017 Mauritian Cup winners
Mozambique Costa do Sol 2017 Taça de Moçambique winners
Niger Sahel 2017 Niger Cup winners
Rwanda APR 2017 Rwandan Cup winners
Senegal Mbour Petite-Côte 2017 Senegal FA Cup winners
Seychelles Anse Réunion 2017 Seychelles FA Cup runners-up
South Sudan Al-Hilal Juba 2017 South Sudan National Cup runners-up
Swaziland Young Buffaloes 2017 Swazi Cup winners
Zanzibar Zimamoto 2016–17 Zanzibar Premier League runners-up
Notes
  1. ^
    Mali (MLI): Mali were represented by Djoliba and Onze Créateurs, the 2016 Malian Première Division third place and 2016 Malian Cup winners, as the 2017 Malian Première Division and 2017 Malian Cup were not completed by the end of the year.[5]

A further 16 teams eliminated from the 2018 CAF Champions League entered the play-off round.

Losers of 2018 CAF Champions League first round
Saint George Zanaco Williamsville AC Aduana Stars
CF Mounana MFM Génération Foot Young Africans
Gor Mahia Plateau United Al-Hilal ASEC Mimosas
UD Songo AS Vita Club Bidvest Wits Rayon Sports
Associations which did not enter a team
Kinshasa
Algiers
Gauteng
Abidjan
Lusaka
Bamako
Dar es Salaam
Lemboumbi-Leyou
Nairobi
Kigali
Algiers teams
USM Alger
Belouizdad

Lemboumbi-Leyou teams
Mangasport
Mounana

Bamako teams
Djoliba
Onze Créateurs

Kinshasa teams
Motema Pembe
Vita Club

Lusaka teams
Green Buffaloes
Zanaco

Abidjan teams
Africa Sports
Williamsville
ASEC Mimosas
Gauteng teams
SuperSport United
Bidvest Wits

Kigali teams
APR
Rayon Sports

Nairobi teams
Leopards
Gor Mahia

Dar es Salaam teams
Simba
Young Africans
Location of teams of the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup.
Italics: Teams transferred from the 2018 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).[6] The regulations were modified with an additional draw before the quarter-finals.[7] Effective from the Confederation Cup group stage, weekend matches were played on Sundays while midweek matches were played on Wednesdays, with some exceptions. Kick-off times were also fixed at 13:00, 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
Play-off round 21 March 2018
(Cairo, Egypt)[9]		 6–8 April 2018 17–18 April 2018
Group stage Matchday 1 21 April 2018
(Cairo, Egypt)[10]		 6 May 2018
Matchday 2 16 May 2018
Matchday 3 18 July 2018
Matchday 4 29 July 2018
Matchday 5 19 August 2018
Matchday 6 29 August 2018
Knockout stage Quarter-finals 3 September 2018
(Cairo, Egypt)[11]		 16 September 2018 23 September 2018
Semi-finals 3 October 2018 24 October 2018
Final 25 November 2018 2 December 2018

Qualifying rounds
Main article: 2018 CAF Confederation Cup qualifying rounds

The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 13 December 2017 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[12][13] 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
Petro de Luanda 5–0 Masters Security 5–0 0–0
Young Buffaloes 0–2 Cape Town City 0–1 0–1
Costa do Sol 2–0 Jwaneng Galaxy 1–0 1–0
Energie 2–1 Hafia 1–0 1–1
APR 6–1 Anse Réunion 4–0 2–1
Djoliba w/o[w/o 1] ELWA United — —
AFC Leopards 1–1 (a) Fosa Juniors 1–1 0–0
Ngazi Sport 2–5 AS Port-Louis 2000 1–1 1–4
AS Mangasport 1–2 AS Maniema Union 0–1 1–1
Olympique Star 1–0 Étoile Filante 0–0 1–0
New Star 2–2 (a) Deportivo Niefang 2–1 0–1
AS Tanda 0–1 CS La Mancha 0–0 0–1
Akwa United 3–2 Banjul Hawks 1–2 2–0
Al-Ittihad Tripoli 4–0 Sahel 1–0 3–0
US Ben Guerdane w/o[w/o 2] Al-Hilal Juba — —
Asante Kotoko 1–1 (6–7 p) CARA Brazzaville 1–0 0–1
Onze Créateurs 1–3 CR Belouizdad 1–1 0–2
Al-Masry 5–2 Green Buffaloes 4–0 1–2
Simba 5–0 Gendarmerie Nationale 4–0 1–0
RS Berkane 3–2 Mbour Petite-Côte 2–1 1–1
Africa Sports 1–2 FC Nouadhibou 1–1 0–1
Zimamoto 1–2 Welayta Dicha 1–1 0–1

Notes:

  1. Djoliba won on walkover after ELWA United withdrew.[14]
  2. US Ben Guerdane won on walkover after Al-Hilal Juba failed to arrive for the first leg.[15]

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 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Petro de Luanda 1–2 SuperSport United 0–0 1–2
Costa do Sol 2–2 (a) Cape Town City 0–1 2–1
Energie 2–5 Enyimba 0–2 2–3
Djoliba 2–2 (a) APR 1–0 1–2
AS Port-Louis 2000 0–3 Fosa Juniors 0–2 0–1
AS Maniema Union 3–3 (a) USM Alger 2–2 1–1
Olympique Star 0–6 Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid 0–0 0–6
DC Motema Pembe 1–2 Deportivo Niefang 1–1 0–1
CS La Mancha 4–2 Al-Ahly Shendi 3–0 1–2
Al-Ittihad Tripoli 1–1 (2–3 p) Akwa United 1–0 0–1
CARA Brazzaville 4–3 US Ben Guerdane 3–0 1–3
CR Belouizdad 3–1 Nkana 3–0 0–1
Simba 2–2 (a) Al-Masry 2–2 0–0
RS Berkane 4–1 Club Africain 3–1 1–0
Raja Casablanca 5–3 FC Nouadhibou 1–1 4–2
Welayta Dicha 3–3 (4–3 p) Zamalek 2–1 1–2

Play-off round

The draw for the play-off round was held on 21 March 2018, 19:00 EET (UTC+2), at the Ritz Carlton in Cairo, Egypt.[16][17] 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 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Zanaco 0–5 Raja Casablanca 0–2 0–3
AS Vita Club 6–1 CS La Mancha 1–0 5–1
Saint George 1–1 (3–4 p) CARA Brazzaville 1–0 0–1
Al-Hilal 3–3 (a) Akwa United 2–0 1–3
Gor Mahia 2–2 (a) SuperSport United 1–0 1–2
UD Songo 4–3 Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid 3–1 1–2
Plateau United 2–5 USM Alger 2–1 0–4
Bidvest Wits 1–1 (a) Enyimba 1–1 0–0
Aduana Stars 7–3 Fosa Juniors 6–1 1–2
Young Africans 2–1 Welayta Dicha 2–0 0–1
Génération Foot 3–3 (a) RS Berkane 3–1 0–2
CF Mounana 2–3 Al-Masry 1–1 1–2
ASEC Mimosas 1–0 CR Belouizdad 1–0 0–0
Williamsville AC 3–2 Deportivo Niefang 2–0 1–2
MFM 0–1 Djoliba 0–1 0–0
Rayon Sports 3–2 Costa do Sol 3–0 0–2

Group stage
Main article: 2018 CAF Confederation Cup group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 21 April 2018, 14:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[18][19] 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).[20] Each group contained one team from Pot 1 and three teams from Pot 2, and each team was drawn into one of the positions in their group.[21]

Pot Pot 1 Pot 2
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 RCA VIT ASE ADU
1 Raja Casablanca 6 3 2 1 14 5 +9 11 Quarter-finals — 0–0 4–0 6–0
2 AS Vita Club 6 3 1 2 8 5 +3 10 2–0 — 3–1 2–0
3 ASEC Mimosas 6 3 0 3 6 8 −2 9 0–1 2–0 — 1–0
4 Aduana Stars 6 1 1 4 5 15 −10 4 3–3 2–1 0–2 —
Source: CAF

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RSB MAS SON HIL
1 RS Berkane 6 4 1 1 7 2 +5 13 Quarter-finals — 0–0 2–1 1–0
2 Al-Masry 6 3 3 0 7 2 +5 12 1–0 — 2–0 2–0
3 UD Songo 6 0 3 3 5 10 −5 3[lower-alpha 1] 0–2 1–1 — 1–1
4 Al-Hilal 6 0 3 3 4 9 −5 3[lower-alpha 1] 0–2 1–1 2–2 —
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Al-Hilal 2–2 UD Songo, UD Songo 1–1 Al-Hilal (UD Songo won on away goals).

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ENY CAR WAC DJO
1 Enyimba 6 4 0 2 5 5 0 12 Quarter-finals — 1–0 1–0 2–0
2 CARA Brazzaville 6 3 0 3 7 5 +2 9 3–0 — 3–1 1–0
3 Williamsville AC 6 2 2 2 5 5 0 8 2–0 1–0 — 0–0
4 Djoliba 6 1 2 3 3 5 −2 5 0–1 2–0 1–1 —
Source: CAF

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification USM RAY GOR YAN
1 USM Alger 6 3 2 1 10 5 +5 11 Quarter-finals — 1–1 2–1 4–0
2 Rayon Sports 6 2 3 1 6 5 +1 9 1–2 — 1–1 1–0
3 Gor Mahia 6 2 2 2 10 7 +3 8 0–0 1–2 — 4–0
4 Young Africans 6 1 1 4 4 13 −9 4 2–1 0–0 2–3 —
Source: CAF

Knockout stage
Main article: 2018 CAF Confederation Cup 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, 19:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[22][23][24]

  Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                   
Rayon Sports 0 1 1  
Enyimba 0 5 5  
  Enyimba 0 1 1  
  Raja Casablanca 1 2 3  
CARA Brazzaville 1 0 1
Raja Casablanca 2 1 3  
  Raja Casablanca 3 1 4
  AS Vita Club 0 3 3
Al-Masry 1 1 2  
USM Alger 0 0 0  
  Al-Masry 0 0 0
  AS Vita Club 0 4 4  
AS Vita Club 3 1 4
RS Berkane 1 1 2  

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.[22]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Rayon Sports 1–5 Enyimba 0–0 1–5
CARA Brazzaville 1–3 Raja Casablanca 1–2 0–1
Al-Masry 2–0 USM Alger 1–0 1–0
AS Vita Club 4–2 RS Berkane 3–1 1–1

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.[22]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Enyimba 1–3 Raja Casablanca 0–1 1–2
Al-Masry 0–4 AS Vita Club 0–0 0–4

Final
Main article: 2018 CAF Confederation Cup Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs determined by the semi-final draw.[22]

Raja Casablanca 3–0 AS Vita Club
 Report
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Maguette N'Diaye (Senegal)
AS Vita Club 3–1 Raja Casablanca
 Report
Attendance: 75,000

Raja Casablanca 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 Mahmoud Benhalib Raja Casablanca 212211 9
2 Jean-Marc Makusu Mundele AS Vita Club 21211 7
3 Zakaria Hadraf Raja Casablanca 211 4
Soufiane Rahimi Raja Casablanca 112
5 Bonfilscaleb Bimenyimana Rayon Sports 111 3
Mouhcine Iajour Raja Casablanca 21
Cabwey Kivutuka CARA Brazzaville 111
Fabrice Luamba Ngoma AS Vita Club 111
Alain Traoré RS Berkane 111
Jacques Tuyisenge Gor Mahia 111

See also

References
  1. "Total, Title Sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations and Partner of African Football". CAF. 21 July 2016.
  2. "CAF Confederation Cup 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 draw of Group Phase". CAF. 10 April 2018.
  11. "Accreditation for Interclubs quarter finals 2018". CAF. 6 August 2018.
  12. "Draw results of Interclubs 2018 prelims". CAF. 13 December 2017.
  13. "Results of the draw: Total CAF Confederation Cup 2018" (PDF). CAF.
  14. "FORFAIT DU CLUB ELWA UNITED". CAF. 8 February 2018.
  15. "South Sudanese clubs Al Salam Wau, Hilal Juba eliminated". CAF. 15 February 2018.
  16. "Draw for the Champions League & Confederation Cup 2018". YouTube. 21 March 2018.
  17. "Results of draw of 2nd 1/16th round". CAF. 21 March 2018.
  18. "Draw for the Confederation Cup 2018". YouTube. 21 April 2018.
  19. "Regional rivalries echoed, giants draw each other". CAF. 21 April 2018.
  20. "Ranking for the draw of the Group Matches of Total CAF Confederation Cup 2018" (PDF). CAF.
  21. "Draw procedure for group phase". CAF. 20 April 2018.
  22. "Draw Procedure of the 15TH Edition of Total CAF CONFEDERATION CUP, CC 2018" (PDF). CAF. 2 September 2018.
  23. "CAF Confederation Cup 2018 DRAW". YouTube. 3 September 2018.
  24. "Total CAF Confederation Cup 2018 Draw" (PDF). CAF.
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