2018 CAF Champions League
| 2018 Total CAF Champions League | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | March – November 2018 |
| Teams | Maximum of 69 (from Maximum of 56 associations) |
The 2018 CAF Champions League (officially the 2018 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1] will be the 54th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 22nd edition under the current CAF Champions League format.
The winners of the 2018 CAF Champions League will qualify as the CAF representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earn the right to play against the winners of the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2019 CAF Super Cup.[2]
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. The title holders can also enter.[2] As a result, theoretically a maximum of 69 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.
For the 2018 CAF Champions League, 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:[5]
| CAF Champions League | CAF Confederation Cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 5 points | 4 points |
| Runner-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
Teams in bold receive a bye to the first round (to be confirmed after number of entries are known). The other teams enter the preliminary round.
Associations are shown according to their 2012–2016 CAF 5-Year Ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
| Association | Team | Qualifying method |
|---|---|---|
| TBC | Title holders (2017 CAF Champions League winner) | |
| Associations eligible to enter two teams (Ranked 1–12) | ||
 Egypt(1st – 85 pts) |
2016–17 Egyptian Premier League champion | |
| 2016–17 Egyptian Premier League runner-up | ||
 Tunisia(2nd – 76 pts) |
2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champion | |
| 2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up | ||
 Congo DR(3rd – 70 pts) |
2016–17 Linafoot champion | |
| 2016–17 Linafoot runner-up | ||
 Algeria(4th – 62 pts) |
2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champion | |
| 2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up | ||
 South Africa(5th – 45 pts) |
2016–17 South African Premier Division champion | |
| 2016–17 South African Premier Division runner-up | ||
 Morocco(6th – 41 pts) |
2016–17 Botola champion | |
| 2016–17 Botola runner-up | ||
 Sudan(7th – 35 pts) |
2017 Sudan Premier League champion | |
| 2017 Sudan Premier League runner-up | ||
 Ivory Coast(8th – 21 pts) |
2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champion | |
| 2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runner-up | ||
 Zambia(9th – 18 pts) |
2017 Zambian Premier League champion | |
| 2017 Zambian Premier League runner-up | ||
 Congo(10th – 16 pts) |
2017 Congo Ligue 1 champion | |
| 2017 Congo Ligue 1 runner-up | ||
 Mali(11th – 15 pts) |
2017 Malian Première Division champion | |
| 2017 Malian Première Division runner-up | ||
 Nigeria(12th – 13 pts) |
2017 Nigeria Professional Football League champion | |
| 2017 Nigeria Professional Football League runner-up | ||
| Associations eligible to enter one team | ||
 Cameroon(13th – 12 pts) |
2017 Elite One champion | |
 Libya(14th – 8 pts) |
2017 Libyan Premier League champion | |
 Ghana(15th – 7 pts) |
2017 Ghanaian Premier League champion | |
 Tanzania(16th – 5 pts) |
2016–17 Tanzanian Premier League champion | |
 Angola(17th – 3 pts) |
2017 Girabola champion | |
 Ethiopia(18th – 2 pts) |
2016–17 Ethiopian Premier League champion | |
 Benin |
2017 Benin Premier League champion | |
 Botswana |
2016–17 Botswana Premier League champion | |
 Burkina Faso |
2016–17 Burkinabé Premier League champion | |
 Burundi |
2016–17 Burundi Premier League champion | |
 Cape Verde |
2017 Cape Verdean Football Championship champion | |
 Central African Republic |
2017 Central African Republic League champion | |
 Chad |
2017 Chad Premier League champion | |
 Comoros |
2017 Comoros Premier League champion | |
 Djibouti |
2016–17 Djibouti Premier League champion | |
 Equatorial Guinea |
2016–17 Equatoguinean Primera División champion | |
 Eritrea |
2017 Eritrean Premier League champion | |
 Gabon |
2016–17 Gabon Championnat National D1 champion | |
 Gambia |
2016–17 GFA League First Division champion | |
 Guinea |
2016–17 Guinée Championnat National champion | |
 Guinea-Bissau |
2017 Campeonato Nacional da Guiné-Bissau champion | |
 Kenya |
2017 Kenyan Premier League champion | |
 Lesotho |
2016–17 Lesotho Premier League champion | |
 Liberia |
2017 Liberian First Division League champion | |
 Madagascar |
2017 THB Champions League champion | |
 Malawi |
2017 Malawi Premier Division champion | |
 Mauritania |
2016–17 Ligue 1 Mauritania champion | |
 Mauritius |
2016–17 Mauritian League champion | |
 Mozambique |
2017 Moçambola champion | |
 Namibia |
2016–17 Namibia Premier League champion | |
 Niger |
2016–17 Niger Premier League champion | |
 Réunion |
2017 Réunion Premier League champion | |
 Rwanda |
2016–17 Rwanda National Football League champion | |
 São Tomé and Príncipe |
2017 São Tomé and Príncipe Championship champion | |
 Senegal |
2016–17 Senegal Premier League champion | |
 Seychelles |
2017 Seychelles First Division champion | |
 Sierra Leone |
2017 Sierra Leone National Premier League champion | |
 Somalia |
2016–17 Somali First Division champion | |
 South Sudan |
2017 South Sudan Football Championship champion | |
 Swaziland |
2016–17 Swazi Premier League champion | |
 Togo |
2017 Togolese Championnat National champion | |
 Uganda |
2016–17 Uganda Super League champion | |
 Zanzibar |
2017 Zanzibar Premier League champion | |
 Zimbabwe |
2017 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champion | |
See also
- 2018 CAF Confederation Cup
- 2018 FIFA Club World Cup
- 2019 CAF Super Cup
References
- ↑ "Total, Title Sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations and Partner of African Football". CAF. 21 July 2016.
- 1 2 "Regulations of the CAF Champions League" (PDF). Confédération Africaine de Football. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ "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.