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)

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

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

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.
  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.
  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.

Schedule

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

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.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
CI Kamsar Guinea 0–2[upper-alpha 1] 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
AS Bouenguidi 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
Fortune FC 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 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 Ghana 2–6 Morocco Wydad AC 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

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 MSD AHL HIL MER
1 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 6 5 1 0 10 2 +8 16 Advance to knockout stage 1–0 1–0 3–0
2 Egypt Al Ahly 6 3 1 2 7 5 +2 10 0–1 1–0 3–2
3 Sudan Al Hilal 6 1 1 4 4 8 4 4[lower-alpha 1] 2–4 0–0 1–0
4 Sudan Al Merrikh 6 1 1 4 5 11 6 4[lower-alpha 1] 0–0 1–3 2–1
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. 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

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

Group C

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

Group D

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

Knockout stage

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 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns Egypt Al Ahly
B Morocco Raja Casablanca Algeria ES Sétif
C Tunisia Espérance de Tunis Algeria CR Belouizdad
D Morocco Wydad AC Angola Petro de Luanda

Bracket

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
 
                
 
 
 
 
Egypt Al Ahly213
 
 
 
Morocco Raja Casablanca112
 
Egypt Al Ahly426
 
 
 
Algeria ES Sétif022
 
Algeria ES Sétif011
 
30 May – Casablanca
 
Tunisia Espérance de Tunis000
 
Egypt Al Ahly0
 
 
 
Morocco Wydad AC2
 
Angola Petro de Luanda213
 
 
 
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns112
 
Angola Petro de Luanda112
 
 
 
Morocco Wydad AC314
 
Algeria CR Belouizdad000
 
 
Morocco Wydad AC101
 

Quarter-finals

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

Semi-finals

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

Final

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

Al Ahly Egypt0–2Morocco Wydad AC
Report
  • El Moutaraji 15', 48'

Top goalscorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2 F Total
1 Brazil Tiago Azulão Angola Petro de Luanda 11211 6
2 Egypt Mohamed Sherif Egypt Al Ahly 2111 5
Morocco Zouhair El Moutaraji Morocco Wydad AC 1112
4 Tunisia Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 31 4
Morocco Yahya Jabrane Morocco Wydad AC 1111
Algeria Riad Benayad Algeria ES Sétif 121
7 Sudan Elsamani Saadeldin Sudan Al Merrikh 12 3
Algeria Kheireddine Merzougui Algeria CR Belouizdad 21
South Africa Thapelo Morena South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 12
Nigeria Kingsley Eduwo Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 12
Botswana Gilbert Baruti Botswana Jwaneng Galaxy 12
Republic of the Congo Guy Mbenza Morocco Wydad AC 111
South Africa Percy Tau Egypt Al Ahly 12

See also

References

  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. "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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