2018 CAF Champions League


The 2018 CAF Champions League was the 54th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, and the 22nd edition under the current CAF Champions League title.
Espérance de Tunis won the title for the third time, defeating Al-Ahly in the final, and qualified as the CAF representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2019 CAF Super Cup.
Wydad Casablanca were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

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. 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 2012–2016 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:
The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:
The following 59 teams from 47 associations entered the competition:
This was the second highest number of teams in the history of CAF Champions League. The highest number was recorded in 2007 where 60 teams entered.
Associations are shown according to their 2012–2016 CAF 5-Year Ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
AssociationTeamQualifying method
Egypt Al-Ahly2016–17 Egyptian Premier League champions
Egypt Misr Lel-Makkasa2016–17 Egyptian Premier League runners-up
Tunisia Espérance de Tunis2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
Tunisia Étoile du Sahel2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
DR Congo TP Mazembe2016–17 Linafoot champions
DR Congo AS Vita Club2016–17 Linafoot runners-up
Algeria ES Sétif2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
Algeria MC Alger2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
South Africa Bidvest Wits2016–17 South African Premier Division champions
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns2016–17 South African Premier Division runners-up
Morocco Wydad CasablancaTitle holders
2016–17 Botola champions
Morocco Difaâ El Jadidi2016–17 Botola runners-up
Sudan Al-Hilal2017 Sudan Premier League champions
Sudan Al-Merrikh2017 Sudan Premier League runners-up
Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champions
Ivory Coast Williamsville AC2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runners-up
Zambia ZESCO United2017 Zambia Super League champions
Zambia Zanaco2017 Zambia Super League runners-up
Congo AC Léopards2017 Congo Ligue 1 champions
Congo AS Otohô2017 Congo Ligue 1 runners-up
Mali Stade Malien2016 Malian Première Division champions
Mali AS Real Bamako2016 Malian Première Division runners-up
Nigeria Plateau United2017 Nigeria Professional Football League champions
Nigeria MFM2017 Nigeria Professional Football League runners-up

;Notes
;Associations which did not enter a team
The schedule of the competition was as follows. The regulations were modified with an additional draw before the quarter-finals. 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, 16:00 and 19:00 GMT.

Qualifying rounds

Preliminary round

First round

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Top goalscorers

Prize money

In 2018, the fixed amount of prize money paid to the clubs is as follows:
Note: National associations receive an additional equivalent share of 5% for each amount awarded to clubs.