CAF Champions League

African association football tournament

The CAF Champions League (French: CAF Ligue des Champions) is the most important African club football competition. You can compare it to the European Champions League. From 1964 to 1996 it ran as the African Cup of Champions Clubs. It is organized by the Confédération Africaine de Football. The season begins with the first round in January and usually ends with the final at the end of October or beginning of November each year.

CAF Champions League
Founded1964; 60 years ago (1964)
(rebranded in 1997)
RegionAfrica
Number of teams
  • 16 (group stage)
  • 68 (total)
  • (from 56 associations)
Qualifier for
Related competitionsCAF Confederation Cup
Current championsEgypt Al Ahly (12th title)
Most successful club(s)Egypt Al Ahly (12 titles)
WebsiteOfficial website
2024–25 CAF Champions League

While the predecessor competition, the African Cup of Champions Clubs, was played in a pure knockout system, a group phase was also introduced with the introduction of the Champions League.

Current mode

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Two rounds are be played in a knockout system with a return leg. The participants in the quarter-finals will then be determined in a group phase with four groups of four teams each in the home and away games. The first and second placed teams in each group qualify for the new knockout phase, which is played in two legs up to the final.

The winner of this competition qualifies for the African Super Cup, the FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Finals

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African Cup of Champions Clubs

Year Team 1 Team 2 Result
1964 Oryx Douala Stade Malien 2-1
1966 Stade d’Abidjan AS Real Bamako 4-1/1-3
1967 Tout Puissant Mazembe Asante Kotoko SC 1-1/2-2 [1]
1968 Tout Puissant Mazembe Étoile Filante de Lomé 5-0/1-4
1969 Ismaily SC Tout Puissant Mazembe 2-2/3-1
1970 Asante Kotoko SC Tout Puissant Mazembe 1-1/2-1
1971 Canon Yaoundé Asante Kotoko SC 1-1/2-1
1972 Hafia FC Simba FC 1-1/2-1
1973 AS Vita Club Asante Kotoko SC 3-0/2-4
1974 CARA Brazzaville Ghazl El Mahalla SC 4-2/2-1
1975 Hafia FC Rangers International 1-0/2-1
1976 MC Alger Hafia FC 3-0/0-3[2]
1977 Hafia FC Accra Hearts of Oak 1-0/2-2
1978 Canon Yaoundé Hafia FC 0-0/2-0
1979 Union Douala Accra Hearts of Oak 1-0/0-1[3]
1980 Canon Yaoundé AS Bilima 2-2/3-0
1981 JS Kabylie AS Vita Club 4-0/1-0
1982 al Ahly SC Asante Kotoko SC 3-0/1-1
1983 Asante Kotoko SC al Ahly SC 0-0/1-0
1984 Al Zamalek SC Shooting Stars SC 2-0/1-0
1985 FAR Rabat AS Bilima 5-2/1-1
1986 al Zamalek SC Africa Sports National 2-0/0-2[4]
1987 al Ahly SC al-Hilal Khartum 0-0/2-0
1988 ES Sétif Iwuanyanwu Owerri 4-0/0-1
1989 Raja Casablanca MC Oran 1-0/0-1[5]
1990 JS Kabylie Nkana Red Devils 1-0/0-1[6]
1991 Club Africain Tunis Villa SC 6-2/1-1
1992 Wydad Casablanca Al-Hilal Khartum 2-0/0-0
1993 al Zamalek SC Asante Kotoko SC 0-0/0-0[7]
1994 Espérance Tunis al Zamalek SC 0-0/3-1
1995 Orlando Pirates ASEC Mimosas 2-2/1-0
1996 al Zamalek SC Shooting Stars SC 2-1/1-2[8]

CAF Champions League

Year Team 1 Team 2 Result
1997 Raja Casablanca AshantiGold SC 1-0/0-1[9]
1998 ASEC Mimosas Dynamos FC 0-0/4-2
1999 Raja Casablanca Espérance Tunis 0-0/0-0[10]
2000 Accra Hearts of Oak Espérance Tunis 2-1/3-1
2001 al Ahly SC Mamelodi Sundowns 1-1/3-0
2002 al Zamalek SC Raja Casablanca 0-0/1-0
2003 Enyimba FC Ismaily SC 2-0/0-1
2004 Enyimba FC Étoile Sportive du Sahel 1-2/2-1[11]
2005 al Ahly SC Étoile Sportive du Sahel 0-0/3-0
2006 al Ahly SC CS Sfax 1-1/1-0
2007 Étoile Sportive du Sahel al Ahly SC 0-0/3-1
2008 al Ahly SC Cotonsport Garoua 2-0/2-2
2009 Tout Puissant Mazembe Heartland FC 1-2/1-0 [12]
2010 Tout Puissant Mazembe Espérance Tunis 5-0/1-1
2011 Espérance Tunis Wydad Casablanca 0-0/1-0
2012 al Ahly SC Espérance Tunis 1-1/2-1
2013 al Ahly SC Orlando Pirates 1-1/2-0
2014 ES Sétif AS Vita Club 2-2/1-1[13]
2015 Tout Puissant Mazembe USM Algier 2-1/2-0
2016 Mamelodi Sundowns al Zamalek SC 3-0/0-1
2017 Wydad Casablanca al Ahly SC 1-1/1-0
2018 Espérance Tunis al Ahly SC 1-3/3-0
2019 Espérance Tunis Wydad Casablanca 1-1/w.o. [14]
2020 al Ahly SC al Zamalek SC 2-1
2021 al Ahly SC Kaizer Chiefs 3-0
2022 Wydad Casablanca al Ahly SC 2-0
2023 al Ahly SC Wydad Casablanca 2-1/1-1
2024 al Ahly SC Espérance Tunis 0-0/1-0
Clubs Titels Years
al Ahly SC 12 1982, 1987, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024
al Zamalek SC 5 1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 2002
Tout Puissant Mazembe 5 1967, 1968, 2009, 2010, 2015
Espérance Tunis 4 1994, 2011, 2018, 2019
Raja Casablanca 3 1989, 1997, 1999
Canon Yaoundé 3 1971, 1978, 1980
Hafia FC 3 1972, 1975, 1977
Wydad Casablanca 3 1992, 2017, 2022
Asante Kotoko SC 2 1970, 1983
Enyimba FC 2 2003, 2004
JS Kabylie 2 1981, 1990
ES Sétif 2 1988, 2014
Mamelodi Sundowns 1 2016
Étoile Sportive du Sahel 1 2007
AS Vita Club 1 1973
Ismaily SC 1 1969
Accra Hearts of Oak 1 2000
ASEC Mimosas 1 1998
Oryx Douala 1 1964
Union Douala 1 1979
Stade d’Abidjan 1 1966
FAR Rabat 1 1985
Club Africain Tunis 1 1991
Orlando Pirates 1 1995
MC Alger 1 1976
CARA Brazzaville 1 1974

Countries

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Country Titels
Egypt 18
Morocco 7
DR Congo 6
Tunisia 6
Cameroon 5
Algeria 5
Guinea 3
Ghana 3
Ivory Coast 2
Nigeria 2
South Africa 2
Republic of Congo 1

References

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  1. A month after the second leg, a playoff was scheduled, but since Kotoko did not compet Mazembe were declared the winners.
  2. 4-1 on penalties
  3. 5-3 on penalties
  4. 4-2 on penalties
  5. 4-2 on penalties
  6. 5-3 on penalties
  7. 7-6 on penalties
  8. 5-4 on penalties
  9. 5-4 on penalties
  10. 4-3 on penalties
  11. 5-3 on penalties
  12. on away goals
  13. on away goals
  14. The second leg was abandoned in the 59th minute with the score 1-0 for Espérance Tunis after Wydad Casablanca's equalizer was disallowed due to offside, the video evidence from a video assistant did not work due to a disruption and the Casablanca players then did not continue playing .After Tunis was declared the winner, the CAF initially arranged for a replay on neutral ground. The International Court of Arbitration for Sport reversed the decision, whereupon CAF declared Tunis the winner again.