CAF Confederation Cup

The CAF Confederation Cup is an annual competition created by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It results from a merger between the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners’ Cup, with its first official edition being played in 2004. It is seen by many as the second most relevant club competition in Africa behind the CAF Champions League.

To participate in the competition, teams from all over the continent must meet the requirements set by their domestic tournament. Up to 52 teams can enter the preliminary round, while only 16 are allowed to play the group stage. According to the CAF 5-year ranking, national associations can enter two teams, one team, or none, to take part in the competition.

The preliminary stage sees forty teams entering home-and-away ties that hand a spot in the second round of the preliminary stage. Once there, teams are drawn into one of the 16 ties, where the winners enter the group stage. Away goals are used as tiebreakers, but if both teams score the same number of away goals, penalties are used to determine the team that goes through.

Once in the group stage, the top two teams in each lot reach the KO round. Group winners are seeded for the quarterfinals, which sees them drawn against one of the runners-up from the other groups. The KO stage is also played on a home-and-away system, with away goals used as the first tiebreaker. Penalties are used to determine the winner if away goals cannot help. Extra time is used until the second leg of the final, but away goals are the primary tiebreaker method.

As mentioned before, the winner of the competition is also determined in a two-leg final. The winner earns a spot in the CAF Super Cup, which they play against the CAF Champions League winners.