2018 CAF Confederation Cup


The 2018 CAF Confederation Cup was the 15th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, under the current CAF Confederation Cup title after the merger of CAF Cup and African Cup Winners' Cup.
Raja Casablanca won the title for the first time, defeating AS Vita Club in the final, and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018 CAF Champions League in the 2019 CAF Super Cup.
TP Mazembe were the two-time defending champions, but as they qualified for the 2018 CAF Champions League and reached the group stage, they were not able to defend their title.

Association team allocation

All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Confederation Cup, 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 Confederation Cup, 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:
CAF Champions LeagueCAF Confederation Cup
Winners5 points4 points
Runners-up4 points3 points
Losing semi-finalists3 points2 points
3rd place in groups2 points1 point
4th place in groups1 point1 point

The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:
The following 54 teams from 42 associations entered the competition.
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 Zamalek2016–17 Egyptian Premier League third place
Egypt Al-Masry2016–17 Egypt Cup runners-up
Tunisia Club Africain2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
Tunisia US Ben Guerdane2016–17 Tunisian Cup runners-up
DR Congo DC Motema Pembe2016–17 Linafoot third place
DR Congo AS Maniema Union2017 Coupe du Congo DR winners
Algeria USM Alger2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
Algeria CR Belouizdad2016–17 Algerian Cup winners
South Africa Cape Town City2016–17 South African Premier Division third place
South Africa SuperSport United2016–17 Nedbank Cup winners
Morocco Raja Casablanca2016–17 Botola third place
Morocco RS Berkane2016–17 Botola fourth place
Sudan El-Hilal El-Obeid2017 Sudan Premier League third place
Sudan Al-Ahly Shendi2017 Sudan Cup winners
Ivory Coast AS Tanda2016–17 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 third place
Ivory Coast Africa Sports2017 Coupe de Côte d'Ivoire winners
Zambia Nkana2017 Zambia Super League third place
Zambia Green Buffaloes2017 Zambia Super League fourth place
Congo CARA Brazzaville2017 Congo Ligue 1 third place
Congo CS La Mancha2017 Congo Ligue 1 fourth place
Mali Djoliba2016 Malian Première Division third place
Mali Onze Créateurs2016 Malian Cup winners
Nigeria Enyimba2017 Nigeria Professional Football League third place
Nigeria Akwa United2017 Nigerian FA Cup winners

;Notes
A further 16 teams eliminated from the 2018 CAF Champions League entered the [|play-off round].
Saint George Zanaco Williamsville AC Aduana Stars
CF Mounana MFM Génération Foot Young Africans
Gor Mahia Plateau United Al-Hilal ASEC Mimosas
UD Songo AS Vita Club Bidvest Wits Rayon Sports

;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 Confederation Cup group stage, weekend matches were played on Sundays while midweek matches were played on Wednesdays, with some exceptions. Kick-off times were also fixed at 13:00, 16:00 and 19:00 GMT.

Qualifying rounds

Preliminary round

First round

Play-off round

Group stage

Tiebreakers

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Top goalscorers