2021–22 CAF Champions League

The 2021–22 CAF Champions League (known as the 2021–22 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League[1] for sponsorship purposes) was the 58th season of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 26th season under the current CAF Champions League title.

2021–22 CAF Champions League
2021–22 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League
Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, Morocco, hosted the final.
Tournament details
Dates
  • Qualification:
  • 10 September – 24 October 2021
  • Main Competition:
  • 11 February – 30 May 2022
TeamsMain Competition: 16
Total: 54 (from 42 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsMorocco Wydad AC (3rd title)
Runners-upEgypt Al Ahly
Tournament statistics
Matches played61
Goals scored134 (2.2 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Tiago Azulão
(6 goals)
(Note: All statistics didn't include qualifying play-offs)

Wydad Casablanca won their 3rd title with a 2–0 win against the defending champions, Al Ahly, in the final at Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, Morocco, which hosted a second consecutive final. As winners, Wydad earned the right to play against RS Berkane, the winners of the 2021–22 CAF Confederation Cup, in the 2022 CAF Super Cup.[2]

Association team allocation

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A total of 42 out of the 56 CAF member associations entered this season's 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] For this season, the CAF utilized the 2017–2021 CAF 5-year ranking, which calculated points for each entrant association based on their clubs’ performance over those 5 years in the CAF club competitions. The criteria for points were as follows:[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 3 points 2 points
3rd place in groups 2 points 1 point
4th place in groups 1 point 0.5 point

The points were 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

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The following 54 teams from 42 out of the total 54 member associations entered this season's tournament.

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 AC 2020–21 Botola champions
Raja CA 2020–21 Botola runners-up
  Egypt 2 (173.5) Zamalek 2020–21 Egyptian Premier League first place after 29 rounds[Note EGY]
Al Ahly
  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 2020–21 Guinée Championnat National champions
CI Kamsar 2020–21 Guinée Championnat National 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 2020–21 Sudan Premier League champions
Al Merrikh 2020–21 Sudan Premier League runners-up
  Tanzania 12 (27.5) Simba 2020–21 Tanzanian Premier League champions
Young Africans 2020–21 Tanzanian Premier League runners-up
Associations eligible to enter one team
Association Rank (Pts) Team Qualifying method
  Cameroon 13 (16) Fovu de Baham 2020–21 Elite One first place by 8 August 2021[Note CMR]
  Senegal 14 (15) Teungueth 2020–21 Senegal Premier League champions
  Libya 15 (13.5) Al Ittihad 2020–21 Libyan Premier League champions
  Ivory Coast 16 (9) ASEC Mimosas 2020–21 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champions
  Kenya 17 (8) Tusker 2020–21 FKF Premier League first place by 30 June 2021[Note KEN]
  Zimbabwe 17 (8) FC Platinum 2020 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champions
  Congo 19 (5.5) AS Otohô 2021 Congo Premier League 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 2020–21 Uganda Premier League champions
  Burkina Faso 23 (4) AS SONABEL 2020–21 Burkinabé Premier League champions
  Ghana 23 (4) Hearts of Oak 2020–21 Ghana Premier League champions
  Rwanda 23 (4) APR 2020–21 Rwanda Premier League champions
  Eswatini 26 (3) Royal Leopards 2020–21 Eswatini Premier League champions
  Benin 27 (2) ESAE 2020–21 Benin Premier League 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 2020–21 Ligue 1 Mauritania champions
  Togo 27 (2) ASKO Kara 2020–21 Togolese Championnat National champions
  Gabon 32 (0.5) AS Bouenguidi 2020–21 Gabon Championnat National D1 champions
  Burundi Le Messager Ngozi 2020–21 Burundi Premier League champions
  Central African Republic DFC 8ème 2020–21 Central African Republic League champions
  Djibouti Arta/Solar7 2020–21 Djibouti Premier League champions
  Equatorial Guinea Akonangui 2020–21 Equatoguinean Primera División champions
  Gambia Fortune FC 2020–21 GFA League First Division champions
  Liberia LPRC Oilers 2020–21 Liberian First Division champions
  Malawi Nyasa Big Bullets 2020–21 Super League of Malawi first place by 1 August 2021[Note MWI]
  Niger USGN 2020–21 Niger Premier League champions
  Somalia Mogadishu City 2020–21 Somali First Division champions
  Zanzibar KMKM 2020–21 Zanzibar Premier League champions
Associations which did not enter a team

Notes:

  1. ^
    Algeria (ALG): The 2020–21 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 didn't conclude by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Algerian Football Federation announced that CR Belouizdad and ES Sétif, who were at positions 1 and 2 respectively in the league table after 35 rounds, would 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 previous season, will represent Botswana in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[citation needed]
  3. ^
    Cameroon (CMR): The 2020–21 Elite One didn't conclude 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 didn't conclude by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Egyptian Football Association announced that Zamalek and Al Ahly, who were at positions 1 and 2 respectively on the league table after 29 rounds, will represent Egypt in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[8]
  5. ^
    Kenya (KEN): The 2020–21 FKF Premier League didn't conclude by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Football Kenya Federation announced that Tusker, who were at first place on the league table on 30 June 2021, will represent Kenya in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.[9]
  6. ^
    Malawi (MWI): The 2020–21 Super League of Malawi didn't conclude 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 didn't conclude 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

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The schedule for this season's edtition of the tournament were as follows:

Schedule for 2021–22 CAF Champions League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualification 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 5 April 2022 15–16 April 2022 22–23 April 2022
Semi-finals 6–7 May 2022 13–14 May 2022
Final 30 May 2022 at Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca

Qualifying rounds

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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

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
CI Kamsar   0–2[A]   Hearts of Oak
LPRC Oilers   4–2   ASKO Kara 3–0 1–2
AS SONABEL   0–4   Stade Malien 0–1 0–3
USGN   2–1   Le Messager Ngozi 1–1 1–0
KMKM   0–4   Al Ittihad 0–2 0–2
Arta/Solar7   1–4   Tusker 1–1 0–3
Mogadishu City   1–2   APR 0–0 1–2
AS Bouenguidi   1–3   AS Maniema Union 1–1 0–2
AmaZulu   3–2   Nyasa Big Bullets 0–1 3–1
Jwaneng Galaxy   2–1   DFC 8ème 2–0 0–1
Young Africans   0–2   Rivers United 0–1 0–1
Fasil Kenema   3–3 (a)   Al Hilal 2–2 1–1
Teungueth   0–2   ASEC Mimosas 0–1 0–1
Akwa United   1–2   CR Belouizdad 1–0 0–2
UD Songo   1–1 (3–4 p)   AS Otohô 1–0 0–1
Fovu de Baham   2–2 (a)   Petro de Luanda 2–2 0–0
ESAE   1–3   FC Nouadhibou 1–1 0–2
Fortune FC   3–3 (4–5 p)   ES Sétif 3–0 0–3
Sagrada Esperança   0–0 (5–4 p)   FC Platinum 0–0 0–0
Royal Leopards   2–2 (a)   ZESCO United 1–0 1–2
Express   2–2 (a)   Al Merrikh 2–1 0–1
Akonangui   0–3   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

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The 16 winners of the second round advanced to the group stage, while the 16 losers of the second round entered the Confederation Cup play-off round.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Hearts of Oak   2–6   Wydad AC 1–0 1–6
LPRC Oilers   0–4   Raja Casablanca 0–2 0–2
Stade Malien   1–3   Horoya 0–1 1–2
USGN   2–7   Al Ahly 1–1 1–6
Al Ittihad   0–1   Espérance de Tunis 0–0 0–1
Tusker   0–5   Zamalek 0–1 0–4
APR   1–5   Étoile du Sahel 1–1 0–4
AS Maniema Union   2–4   Mamelodi Sundowns 2–2 0–2
AmaZulu   1–1 (a)   TP Mazembe 0–0 1–1
Jwaneng Galaxy   3–3 (a)   Simba 0–2 3–1
Rivers United   1–2   Al Hilal 1–1 0–1
ASEC Mimosas   3–3 (a)   CR Belouizdad 3–1 0–2
AS Otohô   2–4   Petro de Luanda 2–2 0–2
FC Nouadhibou   3–3 (a)   ES Sétif 3–1 0–2
Sagrada Esperança   3–2   Royal Leopards 3–1 0–1
Al Merrikh   4–2   Zanaco 3–0 1–2

Group stage

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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

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MSD AHL HIL MER
1   Mamelodi Sundowns 6 5 1 0 10 2 +8 16 Advance to knockout stage 1–0 1–0 3–0
2   Al Ahly 6 3 1 2 7 5 +2 10 0–1 1–0 3–2
3   Al Hilal 6 1 1 4 4 8 −4 4[a] 2–4 0–0 1–0
4   Al Merrikh 6 1 1 4 5 11 −6 4[a] 0–0 1–3 2–1
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Al Hilal 3, Al Merrikh 3. Head-to-head goal differences: Al Hilal 0, Al Merrikh 0. Head-to-head away goals: Al Hilal 1, Al Merrikh 0

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RCA ESS AMZ HOR
1   Raja CA 6 5 0 1 7 2 +5 15 Advance to knockout stage 1–0 1–0 1–0
2   ES Sétif 6 3 0 3 6 5 +1 9 0–1 2–0 3–2
3   AmaZulu 6 2 1 3 3 6 −3 7 0–2 1–0 1–0
4   Horoya 6 1 1 4 5 8 −3 4 2–1 0–1 1–1
Source: CAF

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EST CRB ESS GAL
1   Espérance de Tunis 6 4 2 0 12 2 +10 14 Advance to knockout stage 2–1 0–0 4–0
2   CR Belouizdad 6 3 2 1 10 5 +5 11 1–1 2–0 4–1
3   Étoile du Sahel 6 1 3 2 4 7 −3 6 0–2 0–0 3–2
4   Jwaneng Galaxy 6 0 1 5 5 17 −12 1 0–3 1–2 1–1
Source: CAF

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WAC PET ZAM SAG
1   Wydad AC 6 5 0 1 15 5 +10 15 Advance to knockout stage 5–1 3–1 3–0
2   Petro de Luanda 6 3 2 1 9 8 +1 11 2–1 0–0 3–0
3   Zamalek 6 0 4 2 3 6 −3 4 0–1 2–2 0–0
4   Sagrada Esperança 6 0 2 4 1 9 −8 2 1–2 0–1 0–0
Source: CAF

Knockout stage

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The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

  • In the draw for the quarter-finals, the four group winners were seeded, and the four group runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group cannot be drawn against each other, while teams from the same association can be drawn against each other.
  • In the draws for semi-finals, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw.
Group Winners Runners-up
A   Mamelodi Sundowns   Al Ahly
B   Raja Casablanca   ES Sétif
C   Espérance de Tunis   CR Belouizdad
D   Wydad AC   Petro de Luanda

Bracket

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The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals), which was held on 5 April 2022, 13:00 GMT (15:00 local time, UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[14]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
                
 
 
 
 
  Al Ahly213
 
 
 
  Raja Casablanca112
 
  Al Ahly426
 
 
 
  ES Sétif022
 
  ES Sétif011
 
30 May – Casablanca
 
  Espérance de Tunis000
 
  Al Ahly0
 
 
 
  Wydad AC2
 
  Petro de Luanda213
 
 
 
  Mamelodi Sundowns112
 
  Petro de Luanda112
 
 
 
  Wydad AC314
 
  CR Belouizdad000
 
 
  Wydad AC101
 

Quarter-finals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al Ahly   3–2   Raja Casablanca 2–1 1–1
ES Sétif   1–0   Espérance de Tunis 0–0 1–0
CR Belouizdad   0–1   Wydad AC 0–1 0–0
Petro de Luanda   3–2   Mamelodi Sundowns 2–1 1–1

Semi-finals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al Ahly   6–2   ES Sétif 4–0 2–2
Petro de Luanda   2–4   Wydad AC 1–3 1–1

Final

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The final was played on 30 May 2022 at Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca.

Al Ahly  0–2  Wydad AC
Report

Top goalscorers

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  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2 F Total
1   Tiago Azulão   Petro de Luanda 1 1 2 1 1 6
2   Mohamed Sherif   Al Ahly 2 1 1 1 5
  Zouhair El Moutaraji   Wydad AC 1 1 1 2
4   Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane   Espérance de Tunis 3 1 4
  Yahya Jabrane   Wydad AC 1 1 1 1
  Riad Benayad   ES Sétif 1 2 1
7   Elsamani Saadeldin   Al Merrikh 1 2 3
  Kheireddine Merzougui   CR Belouizdad 2 1
  Thapelo Morena   Mamelodi Sundowns 1 2
  Kingsley Eduwo   Espérance de Tunis 1 2
  Gilbert Baruti   Jwaneng Galaxy 1 2
  Guy Mbenza   Wydad AC 1 1 1
  Percy Tau   Al Ahly 1 2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Total, Title Sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations and Partner of African Football". CAFOnline.com. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  3. ^ "16 Clubs for Group Phase of CC and CL effective 2017". CAFOnline.com. 11 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. ^ "New adopted format for Club Competitions". CAFOnline.com. 30 May 2016. Archived from the original on 18 July 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  5. ^ "CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites". CAFOnline.com. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 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. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-13.
  13. ^ "Statement on CAF interclubs preliminary fixtures: Guinea Clubs". CAF Online. CAF. 8 September 2021.
  14. ^ "TotalEnergies Champions League and Confederation Cup draw date announced". CAF. 24 March 2022.
  15. ^ "CAF, Morocco FA announce TotalEnergies 2021-2022 Champions League final ticketing and spectator information". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
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