| 2018Total CAF Champions League | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | 10 February – 9 November 2018 |
| Teams | 59 (from 47 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Espérance de Tunis (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Al Ahly |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 146 |
| Goals scored | 351 (2.4 per match) |
| Top scorer | Walid Soliman (8 goals) |
←2017 2018–19 → | |
The2018 CAF Champions League (officially the2018 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 54th edition ofAfrica's premier clubfootball tournament organized by theConfederation of African Football (CAF), and the 22nd edition under the currentCAF Champions League title.
Espérance de Tunis won the title for the third time, defeatingAl Ahly in thefinal, and qualified as the CAF representative at the2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the2018 CAF Confederation Cup,Raja Casablanca, in the2019 CAF Super Cup.[2]
Wydad AC were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals byES Sétif.
All 56CAF member associations may enter the CAF Champions League, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to theirCAF 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 2018 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2012–2016CAF 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]
| CAF Champions League | CAF Confederation Cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 5 points | 4 points |
| Runners-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:
The following 59 teams from 47 associations entered the competition:[4]
This was the second highest number of teams in the history of CAF Champions League. The highest number was recorded in2007 where 60 teams entered.[citation needed]
Associations are shown according to their2012–2016 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
ASEC MimosasWilliamsville
Stade MalienReal BamakoBidvest Wits
Mamelodi SundownsAl-HilalAl-Merrikh Red: Preliminary round; Green: First Round;
Brown: Group A;
Orange: Group B; Yellow: Group C;
Blue: Group D.The schedule of the competition was as follows (matches scheduled in midweek initalics).[6] The regulations were modified with an additional draw before the quarter-finals.[7] Effective from the Champions League group stage, weekend matches were played on Fridays and Saturdays while midweek matches were played on Tuesdays, with some exceptions. Kick-off times were also fixed at 13:00 (Saturdays and Tuesdays only), 16:00 and 19:00GMT.[8]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 13 December 2017 (Cairo,Egypt)[4] | 9–11 February 2018 | 20–21 February 2018 |
| First round | 6–7 March 2018 | 16–18 March 2018 | ||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 21 March 2018 (Cairo,Egypt)[9] | 4–5 May 2018 | |
| Matchday 2 | 15 May 2018 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 17 July 2018 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 27–28 July 2018 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 17–18 August 2018 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 28 August 2018 | |||
| Knockout stage | Quarter-finals | 3 September 2018 (Cairo,Egypt)[10] | 14–15 September 2018 | 21–22 September 2018 |
| Semi-finals | 2 October 2018 | 23 October 2018 | ||
| Final | 2 November 2018 | 9 November 2018 | ||
The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 13 December 2017 at the CAF headquarters inCairo,Egypt.[11][12]
In the qualifying rounds, each tie was played on a home-and-awaytwo-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, theaway goals rule would be applied, and if still tied,extra time would not be played, and thepenalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).[2]
Notes:
The 16 winners of the first round advanced to thegroup stage, while the 16 losers of the first round entered theConfederation Cup play-off round.
The draw for the group stage was held on 21 March 2018, 19:00EET (UTC+2), at the Ritz Carlton inCairo,Egypt.[14][15] The 16 teams, all winners of thefirst round ofqualifying, 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 in parentheses).[16] Each group contained one team from each of Pot 1, Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4, and each team was drawn into one of the positions in their group.[17]
| Pot | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams |
|
|
|
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-awayround-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to thequarter-finals of theknockout stage.
| Tiebreakers |
|---|
The teams were ranked according topoints (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations III. 20 & 21):[2]
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AHL | EST | KCC | ROL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Ahly | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 13 | Quarter-finals | — | 0–0 | 4–3 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Espérance de Tunis | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 11 | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | 4–1 | ||
| 3 |  KCCA | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 6 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 |  Township Rollers | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TPM | ESS | DHJ | MCA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  TP Mazembe | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
| 2 |  ES Sétif | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 8 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 3 |  Difaâ El Jadidi | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | MC Alger | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WAC | HOR | MSD | TGP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wydad AC | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 |  Horoya | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 |  Mamelodi Sundowns | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 6 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 |  AS Togo-Port | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ESS | AGO | ZES | MBS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Étoile du Sahel | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 12 | Quarter-finals | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 |  1º de Agosto | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 9 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 |  ZESCO United | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 |  Mbabane Swallows | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 4 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | — |
In the knockout stage, the eight teams played asingle-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-awaytwo-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, theaway goals rule would be applied, and if still tied,extra time would not be played, and thepenalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 26 & 27).[2]
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals), which was held on 3 September 2018, 20:00EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters inCairo,Egypt.[18][19][20]
In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group (teams from same group could not play each other), with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups decided by draw.[18]
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1º de Agosto | 1–1 (a) | TP Mazembe | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 3–1 | Étoile du Sahel | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| ES Sétif | 1–0 | Wydad AC | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Horoya | 0–4 | Al Ahly | 0–0 | 0–4 |
In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.[18]
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahly | 3–2 | ES Sétif | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| 1º de Agosto | 3–4 | Espérance de Tunis | 1–0 | 2–4 |
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs determined by the semi-final draw.[18]
Espérance de Tunis won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Rank | Player | Team | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | QF1 | QF2 | SF1 | SF2 | F1 | F2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anice Badri | Espérance de Tunis | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Lazarous Kambole | ZESCO United | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Walid Soliman | Al Ahly | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Walid Azaro | Al Ahly | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
| Ben Malango | TP Mazembe | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Youcef Belaïli | Espérance de Tunis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| Lompala Bokamba | 1º de Agosto | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| El Habib Bouguelmouna | ES Sétif | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Saad Bguir | Espérance de Tunis | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Meschak Elia | TP Mazembe | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Geraldo | 1º de Agosto | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
 Ocansey Mandela | Horoya | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Islam Mohareb | Al Ahly | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
In 2018, the fixed amount of prize money paid to the clubs is as follows:[21]
| Final position | Prize money |
|---|---|
| Champion | US$2.5 million |
| Runner-up | US$1.25 million |
| Semi-finalists | US$800,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | US$650,000 |
| 3rd in group stage | US$550,000 |
| 4th in group stage | US$550,000 |
Note: National associations receive an additional equivalent share of 5% for each amount awarded to clubs.
