The 2021–22 CAF Champions League (officially the 2021–22 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1] is 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.
| 2021–22 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | Qualifying: 10 September – 24 October 2021 Competition proper: 11 February – 29 May 2022 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 16 Total: 54 (from 42 associations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 58 |
| Goals scored | 124 (2.14 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Tiago Azulão(6 goals) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 →
All statistics correct as of 7 May 2022.(Note: All statistics do not include qualifying play-offs) | |
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 2022 CAF Super Cup.[2]
Al Ahly are the defending champions having defeated Kaizer Chiefs in the final.
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 2021–22 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2017–2021 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 | 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.
- Teams in
- Bold received a bye to the second round.
- The other teams entered the first round.
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 which did not enter a team
- Notes
- ^ 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]
- ^ 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]
- ^ Cameroon (CMR): The 2020–21 Elite One 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]
- ^ 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]
- ^ 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]
- ^ 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]
- ^ 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
| 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 | 5 April 2022 | 15–16 April 2022 | 22–23 April 2022 |
| Semi-finals | 6–7 May 2022 | 13–14 May 2022 | ||
| Final | 29 May 2022 | |||
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 
|
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:
- ^ 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. | 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
| Tiebreakers |
|---|
Group A
| 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:
Notes:
Group B
| 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
| 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
| 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
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
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-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||
| Al Ahly | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Raja Casablanca | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Al Ahly | 4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||||
| ES Sétif | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| ES Sétif | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 30 May – Casablanca | ||||||||||||||||
| Espérance de Tunis | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Al Ahly | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Wydad AC | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Petro de Luanda | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Petro de Luanda | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Wydad AC | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||||
| CR Belouizdad | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Wydad AC | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | 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
| Team 1 | Agg. | 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
| Al Ahly | 0–2 | Wydad AC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Top goalscorers
- As of 7 May 2022
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 Ali Ben Romdhane
|
Espérance de Tunis
|
3 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
| Yahya Jabrane
|
Wydad AC
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | Elsamani Saadeldin
|
Al Merrikh
|
1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| Kheireddine Merzougui
|
CR Belouizdad
|
2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Mohamed Sherif
|
Al Ahly
|
2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Riad Benayad
|
ES Sétif
|
1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Thapelo Morena
|
Mamelodi Sundowns
|
1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Kingsley Eduwo
|
Espérance de Tunis
|
1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Gilbert Baruti
|
Jwaneng Galaxy
|
1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Zouhair El Moutaraji
|
Wydad AC
|
1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Guy Mbenza
|
Wydad AC
|
1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "Total, Title Sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations and Partner of African Football". CAF. 21 July 2016.
- ^ a b c "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
- ^ "16 Clubs for Group Phase of CC and CL effective 2017". CAF. 11 May 2016.
- ^ "New adopted format for Club Competitions". CAF. 30 May 2016.
- ^ "CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites". Cafonline.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ @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.
- ^ "Be on top by June 30, qualify for CAF Champions League - FKF". The Standard. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ^ "Road to TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Group Stage mapped out". CAF. 13 August 2021.
- ^ "CL Fixtures (1) - First Round of Preliminaries" (PDF). CAF. 13 August 2021.
- ^ "CL Fixtures (2) - 2nd Round of Preliminaries" (PDF). CAF. 13 August 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-13.
- ^ "Statement on CAF interclubs preliminary fixtures: Guinea Clubs". CAF Online. CAF. 8 September 2021.
- ^ "TotalEnergies Champions League and Confederation Cup draw date announced". CAF. 24 March 2022.
- ^ "CAF, Morocco FA announce TotalEnergies 2021-2022 Champions League final ticketing and spectator information". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 2022-06-14.