2018–19 CAF Champions League

The 2018–19 CAF Champions League (officially the 2018–19 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 55th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 23rd edition under the current CAF Champions League title.

2018–19 CAF Champions League
2018–19 Total CAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates27 November 2018 – 31 May 2019
Teams57 (from 46 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsTunisia Espérance de Tunis (4th title)
Runners-upMorocco Wydad AC
Tournament statistics
Matches played144
Goals scored338 (2.35 per match)
Top scorer(s)South Africa Themba Zwane (5 goals)

This season followed a transitional calendar which allows the CAF club competitions to switch from a February-to-November schedule to an August–to-May schedule, as per the decision of the CAF Executive Committee on 20 July 2017.[2] It began in December 2018, right after the 2018 season had finished, and ended in May 2019, before the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (which had been switched from a January/February to a June/July date). The next season then started after the Africa Cup of Nations and followed the new calendar.[3]

Defending champions Espérance de Tunis won a second consecutive title, being declared the winners after their second leg match against Wydad AC in the final was abandoned.

As winners of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League, Espérance de Tunis qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup, Zamalek, in the 2020 CAF Super Cup.[4]

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.[4] As a result, theoretically a maximum of 68 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.

For the 2018–19 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2013–2017 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:[5][6][7]

CAF Champions League CAF Confederation Cup
Winners 6 points 5 points
Runners-up 5 points 4 points
Losing semi-finalists 4 points 3 points
Losing quarter-finalists (from 2017) 3 points 2 points
3rd place in groups 2 points 1 point
4th place in groups 1 point 0.5 point

The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:

  • 2017 – 5
  • 2016 – 4
  • 2015 – 3
  • 2014 – 2
  • 2013 – 1

Teams

The following 57 teams from 46 associations entered the competition.

Associations are shown according to their 2013–2017 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.[9]

Associations eligible to enter two teams (Ranked 1–12)
Association Team Qualifying method
 Tunisia (1st – 116 pts) Espérance de Tunis Title holders (2018 CAF Champions League winners)
2017–18 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
Club Africain 2017–18 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
 Egypt (2nd – 106.5 pts) Al-Ahly 2017–18 Egyptian Premier League champions
Ismaily 2017–18 Egyptian Premier League runners-up
 DR Congo (3rd – 90 pts) AS Vita Club 2017–18 Linafoot champions
TP Mazembe 2017–18 Linafoot runners-up
 Morocco (4th – 84 pts) Ittihad Tanger 2017–18 Botola champions
Wydad AC 2017–18 Botola runners-up
 Algeria (5th – 82.5 pts) CS Constantine 2017–18 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
JS Saoura 2017–18 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
 South Africa (6th – 78.5 pts) Mamelodi Sundowns 2017–18 South African Premier Division champions
Orlando Pirates 2017–18 South African Premier Division runners-up
 Sudan (7th – 53 pts) Al-Hilal 2018 Sudan Premier League champions
Al-Merrikh 2018 Sudan Premier League runners-up
 Zambia (8th – 38 pts) ZESCO United 2018 Zambia Super League champions
Nkana 2018 Zambia Super League runners-up
 Libya (9th – 19 pts) Al-Nasr 2017–18 Libyan Premier League champions
Al-Ahly Benghazi 2017–18 Libyan Premier League runners-up
 Cameroon (T-10th – 15 pts) Coton Sport 2018 Elite One champions
UMS de Loum 2018 Elite One runners-up
 Ivory Coast (T-10th – 15 pts) ASEC Mimosas 2017–18 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champions
SC Gagnoa 2017–18 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runners-up
 Mozambique (T-10th – 15 pts) UD Songo
(one entrant only)		 2017 Moçambola champions[Note MOZ]
Associations eligible to enter one team
Association Team Qualifying method
 Ethiopia (T-13th – 10.5 pts) Jimma Aba Jifar 2017–18 Ethiopian Premier League champions
 Nigeria (T-13th – 10.5 pts) Lobi Stars 2018 Nigeria Professional Football League first place[Note NGA]
 Congo (15th – 10 pts) AS Otohô 2018 Congo Ligue 1 champions
 Mali (16th – 8 pts) Stade Malien 2018 Malian Cup winners[Note MLI]
 Angola (17th – 6 pts) 1º de Agosto 2018 Girabola champions
 Guinea (T-18th – 5 pts) Horoya 2017–18 Guinée Championnat National champions
 Eswatini (T-18th – 5 pts) Mbabane Swallows 2017–18 Swazi Premier League champions
 Uganda (T-18th – 5 pts) Vipers 2017–18 Uganda Premier League champions
 Zimbabwe (T-18th – 5 pts) FC Platinum 2017 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champions[Note ZIM]
 Gabon (23rd – 2.5 pts) AS Mangasport 2018 Gabon Championnat National D1 champions
 Tanzania (24th – 2 pts) Simba 2017–18 Tanzanian Premier League champions
 Botswana Township Rollers 2017–18 Botswana Premier League champions
 Burkina Faso ASF Bobo Dioulasso 2017–18 Burkinabé Premier League champions
 Burundi Le Messager Ngozi 2017–18 Burundi Premier League champions
 Central African Republic Stade Centrafricaine 2018 Central African Republic League champions
 Chad Elect-Sport 2018 Chad Premier League champions
 Comoros Volcan Club 2018 Comoros Premier League champions
 Djibouti Djibouti Télécom 2017–18 Djibouti Premier League champions
 Equatorial Guinea Leones Vegetarianos 2018 Equatoguinean Primera División champions
 Gambia GAMTEL 2017–18 GFA League First Division champions
 Kenya Gor Mahia 2018 Kenyan Premier League champions
 Lesotho Bantu 2017–18 Lesotho Premier League champions
 Liberia Barrack Young Controllers 2018 Liberian First Division League champions
 Madagascar CNaPS Sport 2018 THB Champions League champions
 Malawi Nyasa Big Bullets 2017 Malawi Premier Division runners-up[Note MWI]
 Mauritania FC Nouadhibou 2017–18 Ligue 1 Mauritania champions
 Namibia African Stars 2017–18 Namibia Premier League champions
 Niger AS SONIDEP 2017–18 Niger Premier League champions
 Rwanda APR 2017–18 Rwanda Premier League champions
 Senegal ASC Diaraf 2017–18 Senegal Premier League champions
 Seychelles Light Stars 2018 Seychelles League Cup winners[Note SEY]
 South Sudan Al-Hilal Wau 2018 South Sudan Football Championship champions
 Togo US Koroki 2017–18 Togolese Championnat National champions
 Zanzibar JKU 2017–18 Zanzibar Premier League champions
Notes
  1. ^
    Malawi (MWI): Malawi were represented by Nyasa Big Bullets, the 2017 Malawi Premier Division runners-up, as the 2018 Malawi Premier Division was not finished in time for the 2018–19 CAF competitions (Be Forward Wanderers, the 2017 Malawi Premier Division champions, chose not to enter).[10]
  2. ^
    Mali (MLI): Mali were represented by Stade Malien, the 2018 Malian Cup winners, as the Malian Première Division was not played in 2018.[11]
  3. ^
    Mozambique (MOZ): Mozambique were represented by UD Songo, the 2017 Moçambola champions, as the 2018 Moçambola was not finished in time for the 2018–19 CAF competitions (other teams chose not to enter despite Mozambique eligible for two entrants).[12]
  4. ^
    Nigeria (NGA): Nigeria were represented by Lobi Stars, the 2018 Nigeria Professional Football League leaders after 24 rounds when the league was deemed concluded, following a decision by the Nigeria Professional Football League.[13]
  5. ^
    Seychelles (SEY): Seychelles were represented by Light Stars, the 2018 Seychelles League Cup winners, as the 2018 Seychelles First Division was not finished in time for the 2018–19 CAF competitions.[14]
  6. ^
    Zimbabwe (ZIM): Zimbabwe were represented by FC Platinum, the 2017 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champions, as the 2018 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League was not finished in time for the 2018–19 CAF competitions.[15]
Associations which did not enter a team
2018–19 CAF Champions League is located in Africa
Tunis
Tunis
Al-Ahly
Ismaily
Vita Club
Mazembe
Ittihad Tanger
Wydad
CS Constantine
JS Saoura
Gauteng
Gauteng
Omdurman
Omdurman
Copperbelt Province
Copperbelt Province
Benghazi
Benghazi
Coton S
UMS
UMS
ASEC Mimosas
SC Gagnoa
SC Gagnoa
Songo
Jimma Aba Jifar
Jimma Aba Jifar
Lobi Stars
Otohô
Otohô
Stade Malien
1º de Agosto
Horoya
Mbabane Swallows
Mbabane Swallows
Vipers
Vipers
Platinum
Platinum
Mangasport
Simba
Township Rollers
ASFB
ASFB
Le Messager
Le Messager
Stade Centrafricaine
Stade Centrafricaine
Elect-Sport
Elect-Sport
Volcan Club
Volcan Club
Télécom
Télécom
Leones Vegetarianos
Leones Vegetarianos
GAMTEL
GAMTEL
Gor Mahia
Bantu
Bantu
Barrack YC
Barrack YC
CNaPS Sport
CNaPS Sport
Nyasa Big Bullets
FC Nouadhibou
FC Nouadhibou
African Stars
SONIDEP
SONIDEP
APR
ASC Diaraf
Light Stars
Light Stars
Al-Hilal Wau
Al-Hilal Wau
Koroki
Koroki
JKU
JKU
Benghazi teams Al-Nasr SC Al-Ahly BenghaziCopperbelt Province teams ZESCO United NkanaOmdurman teams Al-Hilal Al-Merrikh
Benghazi teams
Al-Nasr SC
Al-Ahly Benghazi

Copperbelt Province teams
ZESCO United
Nkana

Omdurman teams
Al-Hilal
Al-Merrikh
Tunis teams Espérance de Tunis Club AfricainGauteng teams Mamelodi Sundowns Orlando Pirates
Location of teams of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League.
Red: Preliminary round; Green: First Round;
Brown: Group A; Orange: Group B; Yellow: Group C; Blue: Group D.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows (matches scheduled in midweek in italics).[8] 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 19:00 GMT.[17]

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying Preliminary round 3 November 2018
(Rabat, Morocco)[18]		 27–28 November 2018 4–5 December 2018
First round 14–16 December 2018 21–23 December 2018
Group stage Matchday 1 28 December 2018
(Cairo, Egypt)[19]		 11–12 January 2019
Matchday 2 18–19 January 2019
Matchday 3 1–2 February 2019
Matchday 4 12 February 2019
Matchday 5 8–9 March 2019
Matchday 6 15–16 March 2019
Knockout stage Quarter-finals 20 March 2019
(Cairo, Egypt)[20]		 5–6 April 2019 12–13 April 2019
Semi-finals 26–27 April 2019 3–4 May 2019
Final 24–25 May 2019 31 May – 1 June 2019

Qualifying rounds

The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 3 November 2018 in Rabat, Morocco, and was officially announced by the CAF on 9 November due to a special situation with the transitional calendar.[21][22][23] In the qualifying rounds, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).[4]

Preliminary round
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
ASC Diaraf Senegal 1–1 (4–2 p) Togo US Koroki 1–0 0–1
JS Saoura Algeria 2–0 Ivory Coast SC Gagnoa 2–0 0–0
Ittihad Tanger Morocco 1–0 Chad Elect-Sport 1–0 0–0
Le Messager Ngozi Burundi 1–3 Egypt Ismaily 0–1 1–2
ASF Bobo Dioulasso Burkina Faso 4–4 (3–5 p) Cameroon Coton Sport 3–1 1–3
AS SONIDEP Niger 1–5 Zambia ZESCO United 1–2 0–3
Orlando Pirates South Africa 8–2 Seychelles Light Stars 5–1 3–1
Volcan Club Comoros 1–2 Namibia African Stars 0–0 1–2
FC Nouadhibou Mauritania 2–3 Libya Al-Ahly Benghazi 2–1 0–2
Leones Vegetarianos Equatorial Guinea 1–7 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 0–2 1–5
Gor Mahia Kenya 1–1 (4–3 p) Malawi Nyasa Big Bullets 1–0 0–1
UMS de Loum Cameroon 1–2 Nigeria Lobi Stars 1–0 0–2
UD Songo Mozambique 1–3 Zambia Nkana 1–2 0–1
Simba Tanzania 8–1 Eswatini Mbabane Swallows 4–1 4–0
ASAS Djibouti Télécom Djibouti 3–5 Ethiopia Jimma Aba Jifar 1–3 2–2
CS Constantine Algeria 1–0 The Gambia GAMTEL 0–0 1–0
Al-Merrikh Sudan 2–2 (a) Uganda Vipers 2–1 0–1
Stade Centrafricaine Central African Republic 0–5 Mali Stade Malien 0–1 0–4
ASEC Mimosas Ivory Coast 1–0 Gabon AS Mangasport 1–0 0–0
Township Rollers Botswana 2–2 (2–4 p) Lesotho Bantu 1–1 1–1
APR Rwanda 1–3 Tunisia Club Africain 0–0 1–3
Al-Hilal Sudan 6–0 Zanzibar JKU 4–0 2–0
Al-Nasr Libya 9–3 South Sudan Al-Hilal Wau 5–1 4–2
Horoya Guinea 2–0 Liberia Barrack Young Controllers 1–0 1–0
1º de Agosto Angola 4–4 (a) Republic of the Congo AS Otohô 4–2 0–2
CNaPS Sport Madagascar 1–2 Zimbabwe FC Platinum 1–1 0–1

First round

The 15 winners of the first round advanced to the group stage to join Espérance de Tunis, who received a bye to the group stage as the title holders, while the 15 losers of the first round entered the Confederation Cup play-off round.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Wydad AC Morocco 3–3 (a) Senegal ASC Diaraf 2–0 1–3
JS Saoura Algeria 2–1 Morocco Ittihad Tanger 2–0 0–1
Ismaily Egypt 3–2 Cameroon Coton Sport 2–0 1–2
TP Mazembe Democratic Republic of the Congo 2–1 Zambia ZESCO United 1–0 1–1
Orlando Pirates South Africa 1–0 Namibia African Stars 0–0 1–0
Al-Ahly Benghazi Libya 0–4 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 0–0 0–4
Gor Mahia Kenya 3–3 (a) Nigeria Lobi Stars 3–1 0–2
Nkana Zambia 3–4 Tanzania Simba 2–1 1–3
Al-Ahly Egypt 2–1 Ethiopia Jimma Aba Jifar 2–0 0–1
CS Constantine Algeria 3–0 Uganda Vipers 1–0 2–0
Stade Malien Mali 0–2 Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 0–1 0–1
AS Vita Club Democratic Republic of the Congo 5–2 Lesotho Bantu 4–1 1–1
Club Africain Tunisia 3–2 Sudan Al-Hilal 3–1 0–1
Al-Nasr Libya 5–6 Guinea Horoya 3–0 2–6
AS Otohô Republic of the Congo 1–1 (a) Zimbabwe FC Platinum 1–1 0–0

Group stage
Main article: 2018–19 CAF Champions League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 28 December 2018, 19:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Nile Ritz-Carlton in Cairo, Egypt.[24][25] The 16 teams, including the title holders, Espérance de Tunis, and the 15 winners of the first round of qualifying, were drawn into four groups of four.[26]

The teams were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown in parentheses). 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.

Pot Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Teams

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WAC MSD LOB ASE
1 Morocco Wydad AC 6 3 1 2 8 6 +2 10[lower-alpha 1] Quarter-finals — 1–0 0–0 5–2
2 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 6 3 1 2 9 5 +4 10[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 — 3–0 3–1
3 Nigeria Lobi Stars 6 2 1 3 4 6 −2 7[lower-alpha 2] 0–1 2–1 — 2–0
4 Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 6 2 1 3 6 10 −4 7[lower-alpha 2] 2–0 0–0 1–0 —
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head away goals scored: Wydad AC 1, Mamelodi Sundowns 0.
  2. Head-to-head goal difference: Lobi Stars +1, ASEC Mimosas –1.

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EST HOR ORL PLA
1 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 6 4 2 0 9 2 +7 14 Quarter-finals — 2–0 2–0 2–0
2 Guinea Horoya 6 3 1 2 6 7 −1 10 1–1 — 2–1 2–0
3 South Africa Orlando Pirates 6 1 3 2 6 6 0 6 0–0 3–0 — 2–2
4 Zimbabwe FC Platinum 6 0 2 4 3 9 −6 2 1–2 0–1 0–0 —
Source: CAF

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TPM CSC CA ISM
1 Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 6 3 2 1 13 4 +9 11 Quarter-finals — 2–0 8–0 2–0
2 Algeria CS Constantine 6 3 1 2 8 6 +2 10[lower-alpha 1] 3–0 — 0–1 3–2
3 Tunisia Club Africain 6 3 1 2 5 9 −4 10[lower-alpha 1] 0–0 0–1 — 1–0
4 Egypt Ismaily[lower-alpha 2] 6 0 2 4 4 11 −7 2 1–1 1–1 0–3 (awd.)[lower-alpha 3] —
Source: CAF
Notes:
  1. Goal difference in all group matches: CS Constantine +2, Club Africain –4.
  2. The CAF announced on 23 January 2019 that Ismaily were disqualified for aggressive fans behaviors, including consistently throwing rocks and water bottles on the assistant referee and the away fans, and other incidents at their home match against Club Africain on 18 January 2019.[27][28] All results of matches played by Ismaily were annulled and not taken into consideration according to the regulations. However, following an appeal by Ismaily, the CAF decided on 10 February 2019 to reinstate Ismaily to the competition.[29]
  3. On 19 February 2019, following the suspension of the match involving Ismaily and Club Africain due to the aggressive behaviors Ismaily fans shown during the match, CAF decided to consider the match forfeited by Ismaily with a result of 3–0 in favour of Club Africain.[30] The match was originally suspended on the 83rd minute with the score 1–2 for Club Africain.

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AHL SIM JSS VIT
1 Egypt Al-Ahly 6 3 1 2 11 3 +8 10 Quarter-finals — 5–0 3–0 2–0
2 Tanzania Simba 6 3 0 3 6 13 −7 9 1–0 — 3–0 2–1
3 Algeria JS Saoura 6 2 2 2 6 9 −3 8 1–1 2–0 — 1–0
4 Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Vita Club 6 2 1 3 9 7 +2 7 1–0 5–0 2–2 —
Source: CAF

Knockout stage

Each tie in the knockout phase was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then extra time was not played and the winners were decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations III. 26 & 27).[4]

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals), which was held on 20 March 2019, 20:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Marriot Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.[31][32]

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
Guinea Horoya 0 0 0
Morocco Wydad AC 0 5 5
Morocco Wydad AC 2 0 2
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 1 0 1
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 5 0 5
Egypt Al-Ahly 0 1 1
Morocco Wydad AC 1 abd. awd.
Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 1 abd. awd.
Algeria CS Constantine 2 1 3
Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 3 3 6
Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 1 0 1
Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 0 0 0
Tanzania Simba 0 1 1
Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 0 4 4

Quarter-finals

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.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
CS Constantine Algeria 3–6 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 2–3 1–3
Mamelodi Sundowns South Africa 5–1 Egypt Al-Ahly 5–0 0–1
Horoya Guinea 0–5 Morocco Wydad AC 0–0 0–5
Simba Tanzania 1–4 Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 0–0 1–4

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Wydad AC Morocco 2–1 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2–1 0–0
Espérance de Tunis Tunisia 1–0 Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 1–0 0–0

Final
Main article: 2019 CAF Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners play each other, with the order of legs determined by the semi-final draw.

Wydad AC Morocco1–1Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
  • Comara 79'
 Report
  • Coulibaly 44'
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Espérance de Tunis TunisiaAbandoned
at the result 1–0[note 1]		Morocco Wydad AC
 Report
Attendance: 60,000

Espérance de Tunis were declared champions after second leg was abandoned.

Top goalscorers
  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2  F1   F2  Total
1 South Africa Themba Zwane South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2111 5
2 Democratic Republic of the Congo Trésor Mputu Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 211 4
Democratic Republic of the Congo Jackson Muleka Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 211
Morocco Mohamed Nahiri Morocco Wydad AC 1111
5 Tunisia Ghazi Ayadi Tunisia Club Africain 21 3
Algeria Youcef Belaïli Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 111
Morocco Walid El Karti Morocco Wydad AC 12
Democratic Republic of the Congo Meschak Elia Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 111
Rwanda Meddie Kagere Tanzania Simba 21
Democratic Republic of the Congo Kévin Mondeko Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 12
Democratic Republic of the Congo Jean-Marc Makusu Mundele Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Vita Club 21
Egypt Nedvěd Egypt Al-Ahly 12
Namibia Benson Shilongo Egypt Ismaily 111
Zambia Justin Shonga South Africa Orlando Pirates 21
Algeria Sid Ali Yahia-Chérif Algeria JS Saoura 111

See also

References
  1. With the score 1–0 in favor of Espérance de Tunis in the 59th minute, Walid El Karti scored a goal for Wydad AC which was subsequently ruled offside by the linesman. Due to a failure of the video assistant referee system, a review of the decision could not be conducted. Believing the goal was valid, Wydad AC protested the decision and the match was interrupted. After 80 minutes of stoppage, the referee ruled the match as a forfeit by Wydad AC and awarded to Espérance de Tunis, securing them the CAF Champions League title.[33] However, on 5 June 2019 the CAF Executive Committee ordered a replay of the second leg at a neutral venue, requiring Espérance de Tunis to return the trophy and medals.[34] However, the decision to order a replay of the second leg was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 31 July 2019, who required CAF to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision.[35] On 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were again officially declared champions after the CAF Disciplinary Board ruled that Wydad AC "is considered to have lost the game in the 2nd leg."[36] On 18 September 2020, CAS dismissed Wydad AC's appeal over the final and confirmed Espérance de Tunis as champions.[37]

References
  1. "Total, Title Sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations and Partner of African Football". CAF. 21 July 2016.
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  3. "Change in dates for Caf club competitions will begin in 2018". BBC Sport. 13 December 2017.
  4. "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
  5. "16 Clubs for Group Phase of CC and CL effective 2017". CAF. 11 May 2016.
  6. "New adopted format for Club Competitions". CAF. 30 May 2016.
  7. "CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites". Cafonline.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  8. "Interclubs competition calendar; seasons 2018/19, 2019/20 & 2020/21" (PDF). CAF.
  9. "Libya gain but Nigeria lose a place in Africa's continental club competitions". BBC Sport. 30 October 2018.
  10. "Silver, Bullets in CAF tourneys". Malawi Nation. 14 September 2018.
  11. "Les différents représentants connus dans quelques jours". footmali.com. 27 September 2018.
  12. "FMF ainda sem resposta das equipas que vão acompanhar a UD Songo nas Afrotaças". opais.sapo.mz. 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  13. "League Management Company Public Statement After Consultative Meeting With Club Owners & Representatives". NPFL. 31 August 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  14. "Northern Dynamo's, LightStars' opponents known". nation.sc. 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  15. "FC Platinum agree to Champions League action". Zimbabwe Chronicle. 15 August 2018.
  16. "FIFA suspends the Sierra Leone Football Association". FIFA.com. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018.
  17. "Friday & Saturday for Champions League, Sunday for Confederation Cup". CAF. 17 April 2018.
  18. @CAF_Online (1 November 2018). "The draw for the preliminary rounds of the 2018/2019 @CAF_Online Interclubs will be held on Saturday, 03.11.2018 in Rabat, Morocco, during the meeting of the Ad hoc Committee of the CAF Interclubs" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "Accreditation for Official draw 2018/19 Total CAF Champions League Group Stage & Total CAF Confederation Cup 2nd 1/16th round". CAF. 20 December 2018.
  20. "Accreditation for Interclubs Quarter Finals". CAF. 7 March 2019.
  21. "Interclubs season 2018-2019". CAF. 4 November 2018.
  22. "Result of the drawing of lots of TOTAL CAF Champions League as well as TOTAL CAF Confederation Cup". CAF. 9 November 2018.
  23. "Fixtures of the 23rd Edition of Total CAF Champions League" (PDF). CAF.
  24. "Draw Procedure for CAF Interclubs 2018/19". CAF. 28 December 2018.
  25. "African champs Esperance draw Horoya, Pirates, Platinum". CAF. 28 December 2018.
  26. "Draw Procedure of CAF Total Champions League 2018/19 - Group Matches" (PDF). CAF.
  27. @CAF_Online (23 January 2019). "ANNOUNCEMENT..Organizing committee descision [sic]: Ismaily SC eliminated from #TotalCAFCL 2019" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. "Ismaily disqualified". CAF. 24 January 2019.
  29. "DECISIONS OF THE APPEAL BOARD OF 10th FEBRUARY 2019" (PDF). CAF. 10 February 2019.
  30. "DECISIONS OF THE DISCIPLINARY BOARD OF 17TH FEBRUARY 2019" (PDF). CAF. 17 February 2019.
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