2021–22 CAF Champions League

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2021–22 CAF Champions League
2021–22 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
10 September – 24 October 2021
Competition proper:
11 February – 29 May 2022
TeamsCompetition proper: 16
Total: 54 (from 42 associations)
→

The 2021–22 CAF Champions League (officially the 2021–22 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1] will be the 58th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 26th edition under the current CAF Champions League title.

The winners of the 2021–22 CAF Champions League will qualify and earn the right to play against the winners of the 2021–22 CAF Confederation Cup in the .[2]

Al Ahly are the defending champions having defeated Kaizer Chiefs on finals.

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 2020–21 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2016–2020 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][4][5]

CAF Champions League CAF Confederation Cup
Winners 6 points 5 points
Runners-up 5 points 4 points
Losing semi-finalists 4 points 3 points
Losing quarter-finalists (from 2017) 3 points 2 points
3rd place in groups 2 points 1 point
4th place in groups 1 point 0.5 point

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

  • 2020–21: x 5
  • 2019–20: × 4
  • 2018–19: × 3
  • 2018: × 2
  • 2017: × 1

Teams[]

The following 54 teams from 42 associations entered the competition.

Associations are shown according to their 2017–2021 CAF 5-Year Ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score (in parentheses) indicated.

Associations eligible to enter two teams (Top 12 associations)
Association Rank (Pts) Team Qualifying method
 Morocco 1 (183) Wydad Casablanca 2020–21 Botola champions
Raja Casablanca 2020–21 Botola runners-up
 Egypt 2 (173.5) Zamalek 2020–21 Egyptian Premier League first place after 29 rounds[Note EGY]
Al Ahly Title holders (2020–21 CAF Champions League winners)
2020–21 Egyptian Premier League second place after 29 rounds[Note EGY]
 Tunisia 3 (131) Espérance de Tunis 2020–21 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
Étoile du Sahel 2020–21 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
 Algeria 4 (109) CR Belouizdad 2020–21 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 first place after 35 rounds[Note ALG]
ES Sétif 2020–21 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 second place after 35 rounds[Note ALG]
 South Africa 5 (93.5) Mamelodi Sundowns 2020–21 South African Premier Division champions
AmaZulu 2020–21 South African Premier Division runners-up
 DR Congo 6 (75) TP Mazembe 2020–21 Linafoot champions
AS Maniema Union 2020–21 Linafoot runners-up
 Guinea 7 (38) Horoya AC champions
CI Kamsar runners-up
 Nigeria 8 (37.5) Akwa United 2020–21 Nigeria Professional Football League champions
Rivers United 2020–21 Nigeria Professional Football League runners-up
 Zambia 9 (35) ZESCO United 2020–21 Zambian Super League champions
Zanaco 2020–21 Zambian Super League runners-up
 Angola 10 (31.5) Sagrada Esperança 2020–21 Girabola champions
Petro de Luanda 2020–21 Girabola runners-up
 Sudan 11 (30) Al Hilal champions
Al Merrikh runners-up
 Tanzania 12 (27.5) Simba champions
Young Africans runners-up
Associations eligible to enter one team
Association Rank (Pts) Team Qualifying method
 Cameroon 13 (16) Fovu de Baham first place by 8 August 2021[Note CMR]
 Senegal 14 (15) Teungueth champions
 Libya 15 (13.5) Al Ittihad champions
 Ivory Coast 16 (9) ASEC Mimosas champions
 Kenya 17 (8) Tusker 2020–21 FKF Premier League first place by 30 June 2021[Note KEN]
 Zimbabwe 17 (8) FC Platinum champions
 Congo 19 (5.5) AS Otohô champions
 Mali 20 (5) Stade Malien 2020–21 Malian Première Division champions
 Mozambique 20 (5) UD Songo 2019 Moçambola runners-up[Note MOZ]
 Uganda 20 (5) Express champions
 Burkina Faso 23 (4) AS SONABEL champions
 Ghana 23 (4) Hearts of Oak 2020–21 Ghana Premier League champions
 Rwanda 23 (4) APR champions
 Eswatini 26 (3) Royal Leopards 2020–21 Eswatini Premier League champions
 Benin 27 (2) ESAE champions
 Botswana 27 (2) Jwaneng Galaxy 2019–20 Botswana Premier League champions[Note BOT]
 Ethiopia 27 (2) Fasil Kenema 2020–21 Ethiopian Premier League champions
 Mauritania 27 (2) FC Nouadhibou champions
 Togo 27 (2) ASKO Kara champions
 Gabon 32 (0.5) champions
 Burundi — Le Messager Ngozi champions
 Central African Republic — DFC 8ème champions
 Djibouti — Arta/Solar7 champions
 Equatorial Guinea — Akonangui champions
 Gambia — champions
 Liberia — LPRC Oilers champions
 Malawi — Nyasa Big Bullets 2020–21 Super League of Malawi first place by 1 August 2021[Note MWI]
 Niger — USGN champions
 Somalia — Mogadishu City champions
 Zanzibar — KMKM champions
Associations which did not enter a team
Notes
  1. ^
    Algeria (ALG): The 2020–21 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Algerian Football Federation announced that CR Belouizdad and ES Sétif, who were at first and second place after 35 rounds respectively, will represent Algeria in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[6]
  2. ^
    Botswana (BOT): The 2020–21 Botswana Premier League was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Botswana. As a result, the Botswana Football Association announced that Jwaneng Galaxy, who were champions of the 2019–20 Botswana Premier League, will represent Botswana in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[citation needed]
  3. ^
    Cameroon (CMR): The was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Cameroonian Football Federation announced that Fovu de Baham, who were at first place by 8 August 2021, will represent Cameroon in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[7]
  4. ^
    Egypt (EGY): The 2020–21 Egyptian Premier League was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Egyptian Football Association announced that Zamalek and Al Ahly, who were at first and second place after 29 rounds respectively, will represent Egypt in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[8]
  5. ^
    Kenya (KEN): The 2020–21 FKF Premier League was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Football Kenya Federation announced that Tusker, who were at first place by 30 June 2021, will represent Kenya in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[9]
  6. ^
    Malawi (MWI): The 2020–21 Super League of Malawi was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Football Association of Malawi announced that Nyasa Big Bullets, who were at first place by 1 August 2021, will represent Malawi in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[citation needed]
  7. ^
    Mozambique (MOZ): The 2020 Moçambola was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Mozambican Football Federation announced that UD Songo, who finished as the runners-up in the 2019 Moçambola, will represent Mozambique in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[citation needed]

Schedule[]

Schedule for 2021–22 CAF Champions League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying First round 13 August 2021 10–12 September 2021 17–19 September 2021
Second round 15–17 October 2021 22–24 October 2021
Group stage Matchday 1 28 December 2021 11–12 February 2022
Matchday 2 18–19 February 2022
Matchday 3 25–26 February 2022
Matchday 4 11–12 March 2022
Matchday 5 18–19 March 2022
Matchday 6 1–2 April 2022
Knockout stage Quarter-finals April 2022 15–16 April 2022 20–21 April 2022
Semi-finals 6–7 May 2022 13–14 May 2022
Final 29 May 2022

Qualifying rounds[]

Main article: 2021–22 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds

The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 13 August 2021 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[10][11][12]

In the qualifying rounds, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score is tied after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still tied, extra time won't be played, and the penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).[2]

First round[]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
CI Kamsar Guinea 0–2[A] Ghana Hearts of Oak
LPRC Oilers Liberia 4–2 Togo ASKO Kara 3–0 1–2
AS SONABEL Burkina Faso 0–4 Mali Stade Malien 0–1 0–3
USGN Niger 2–1 Burundi Le Messager Ngozi 1–1 1–0
KMKM Zanzibar 0–4 Libya Al Ittihad 0–2 0–2
Arta/Solar7 Djibouti 1–4 Kenya Tusker 1–1 0–3
Mogadishu City Somalia 1–2 Rwanda APR 0–0 1–2
Gabon 1–3 Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Maniema Union 1–1 0–2
AmaZulu South Africa 3–2 Malawi Nyasa Big Bullets 0–1 3–1
Jwaneng Galaxy Botswana 2–1 Central African Republic DFC 8ème 2–0 0–1
Young Africans Tanzania 0–2 Nigeria Rivers United 0–1 0–1
Fasil Kenema Ethiopia 3–3 (a) Sudan Al Hilal 2–2 1–1
Teungueth Senegal 0–2 Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 0–1 0–1
Akwa United Nigeria 1–2 Algeria CR Belouizdad 1–0 0–2
UD Songo Mozambique 1–1 (3–4 p) Republic of the Congo AS Otohô 1–0 0–1
Fovu de Baham Cameroon 2–2 (a) Angola Petro de Luanda 2–2 0–0
ESAE Benin 1–3 Mauritania FC Nouadhibou 1–1 0–2
The Gambia 3–3 (4–5 p) Algeria ES Sétif 3–0 0–3
Sagrada Esperança Angola 0–0 (5–4 p) Zimbabwe FC Platinum 0–0 0–0
Royal Leopards Eswatini 2–2 (a) Zambia ZESCO United 1–0 1–2
Express Uganda 2–2 (a) Sudan Al Merrikh 2–1 0–1
Akonangui Equatorial Guinea 0–3 Zambia Zanaco 0–2 0–1

Notes:

  1. ^ The match involving Guinean clubs were played over a single leg, and not in the Guinean territory due to the political and security situation in Guinea following the 2021 Guinean coup d'état.[13]

Second 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
Hearts of Oak Ghana 2–6 Morocco Wydad Casablanca 1–0 1–6
LPRC Oilers Liberia 0–4 Morocco Raja Casablanca 0–2 0–2
Stade Malien Mali 1–3 Guinea Horoya 0–1 1–2
USGN Niger 2–7 Egypt Al Ahly 1–1 1–6
Al Ittihad Libya 0–1 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 0–0 0–1
Tusker Kenya 0–5 Egypt Zamalek 0–1 0–4
APR Rwanda 1–5 Tunisia Étoile du Sahel 1–1 0–4
AS Maniema Union Democratic Republic of the Congo 2–4 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2–2 0–2
AmaZulu South Africa 1–1 (a) Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 0–0 1–1
Jwaneng Galaxy Botswana 3–3 (a) Tanzania Simba 0–2 3–1
Rivers United Nigeria 1–2 Sudan Al Hilal 1–1 0–1
ASEC Mimosas Ivory Coast 3–3 (a) Algeria CR Belouizdad 3–1 0–2
AS Otohô Republic of the Congo 2–4 Angola Petro de Luanda 2–2 0–2
FC Nouadhibou Mauritania 3–3 (a) Algeria ES Sétif 3–1 0–2
Sagrada Esperança Angola 3–2 Eswatini Royal Leopards 3–1 0–1
Al Merrikh Sudan 4–2 Zambia Zanaco 3–0 1–2

Group stage[]

Main article: 2021–22 CAF Champions League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 28 December 2021, 11:30 GMT (13:30 local time, UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The 16 winners of the second 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 next to every team). Each group contained one team from each of Pot 1, Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4, and each team was allocated to the positions in their group according to their pot.[14]

Pot 1
Team Pts
Egypt Al Ahly 78
Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 65
Morocco Wydad Casablanca 63
Morocco Raja Casablanca 54
Pot 2
Team Pts
Egypt Zamalek 47
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 46
Guinea Horoya 38
Tunisia Étoile du Sahel 36
Pot 3
Team Pts
Sudan Al Hilal 21
Algeria CR Belouizdad 15
Angola Petro de Luanda 14.5
Algeria ES Sétif 13
Pot 4
Team Pts
Sudan Al Merrikh 7
Angola Sagrada Esperança –
Botswana Jwaneng Galaxy –
South Africa AmaZulu –


In the group stage, each group will be played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group will advance to the of the .

Group A[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AHL MSD HIL MER
1 Egypt Al Ahly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to — 25–26 Feb 1–2 Apr 11–12 Feb
2 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11–12 Mar — 11–12 Feb 1–2 Apr
3 Sudan Al Hilal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Feb 18–19 Mar — 11–12 Mar
4 Sudan Al Merrikh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Mar 18–19 Feb 25–26 Feb —
First match(es) will be played on 11/12 February 2022. Source: CAF

Group B[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RCA HOR ESS AMZ
1 Morocco Raja Casablanca 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to — 25–26 Feb 1–2 Apr 11–12 Feb
2 Guinea Horoya 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11–12 Mar — 11–12 Feb 1–2 Apr
3 Algeria ES Sétif 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Feb 18–19 Mar — 11–12 Mar
4 South Africa AmaZulu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Mar 18–19 Feb 25–26 Feb —
First match(es) will be played on 11/12 February 2022. Source: CAF

Group C[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EST ESS CRB GAL
1 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to — 25–26 Feb 1–2 Apr 11–12 Feb
2 Tunisia Étoile du Sahel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11–12 Mar — 11–12 Feb 1–2 Apr
3 Algeria CR Belouizdad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Feb 18–19 Mar — 11–12 Mar
4 Botswana Jwaneng Galaxy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Mar 18–19 Feb 25–26 Feb —
First match(es) will be played on 11/12 February 2022. Source: CAF

Group D[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WAC ZAM PET SAG
1 Morocco Wydad AC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to — 25–26 Feb 1–2 Apr 11–12 Feb
2 Egypt Zamalek 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11–12 Mar — 11–12 Feb 1–2 Apr
3 Angola Petro de Luanda 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Feb 18–19 Mar — 11–12 Mar
4 Angola Sagrada Esperança 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18–19 Mar 18–19 Feb 25–26 Feb —
First match(es) will be played on 11/12 February 2022. Source: CAF

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Total, Title Sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations and Partner of African Football". CAF. 21 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
  3. ^ "16 Clubs for Group Phase of CC and CL effective 2017". CAF. 11 May 2016.
  4. ^ "New adopted format for Club Competitions". CAF. 30 May 2016.
  5. ^ "CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites". Cafonline.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  6. ^ "اتحاد كرة القدم الجزائري يحدد الأندية المشاركة بدوري أبطال إفريقيا والكونفيدرالية" [AFF decides participating teams in next season's African competitions]. Al Ahram (in Arabic). 29 July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Coupes Africaines : Coton sport et Fovu de Baham pour représenter le Cameroun" [African cups: Coton Sport and Fove de Baham set to represent Cameroon]. Africa Foot United (in French). 12 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. ^ @EFA (10 August 2021). "اتحاد الكرة يرسل أسماء الأندية المصرية المشاركة في بطولتي أفريقيا" [EFA sends names of Egyptian clubs participating in the Champions League and Confederation Cup next season to CAF] (Tweet) (in Arabic) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Be on top by June 30, qualify for CAF Champions League - FKF". The Standard. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Road to TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Group Stage mapped out". CAF. 13 August 2021.
  11. ^ "CL Fixtures (1) - First Round of Preliminaries" (PDF). CAF. 13 August 2021.
  12. ^ "CL Fixtures (2) - 2nd Round of Preliminaries" (PDF). CAF. 13 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Statement on CAF interclubs preliminary fixtures: Guinea Clubs". CAF Online. CAF. 8 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Draw Procedure of the 2021-22 TotalEnergies CAF Champions – Group Stage". CAF. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.

External links[]

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