The 2017 CAF Champions League (officially the 2017 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 53rd edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 21st edition under the current CAF Champions League format.
Starting from this season, the group stage was expanded from eight to 16 teams, divided into four groups of four, and the knockout stage expanded from 4 to 8 teams.
Wydad Casablanca defeated Al-Ahly in the final to win their second African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League title, and qualified as the CAF representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2018 CAF Super Cup in February. Mamelodi Sundowns were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Wydad Casablanca.
Video 2017 CAF Champions League
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 2017 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2011-2015 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:
- 2015 - 5
- 2014 - 4
- 2013 - 3
- 2012 - 2
- 2011 - 1
Maps 2017 CAF Champions League
Teams
The following 55 teams from 43 associations entered the competition.
- Teams in bold received a bye to the first round.
- The other teams entered the preliminary round.
Associations are shown according to their 2011-2015 CAF 5-Year Ranking - those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
- Notes
- Associations which did not enter a team
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows (matches scheduled in midweek in italics).
The calendar was amended from the original one for the following dates:
- Quarter-finals first leg: moved from 8-10 September to 15-17 September
- Quarter-finals second leg: moved from 15-17 September to 22-24 September
- Semi-finals second leg: moved from 13-15 October to 20-22 October
Qualifying rounds
The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 21 December 2016 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
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).
Preliminary round
First round
The 16 winners of the first round advanced to the group stage, while the 16 losers of the first round entered the Confederation Cup play-off round.
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 26 April 2017, 14:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The 16 teams, all winners of the first round of qualifying, were drawn into four groups of four. The teams were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-Year Ranking points shown in parentheses).
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
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament. 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. 26 & 27).
Bracket
Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group, with the group winners hosting the second leg.
Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the four quarter-final winners played in two ties, with the order of legs decided by an additional draw held after the group stage draw.
Final
In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs decided by an additional draw held after the group stage draw.
Wydad Casablanca won 2-1 on aggregate.
Top goalscorers
Prize money
In 2017, the fixed amount of prize money paid to the clubs is as follows:
See also
- 2017 CAF Confederation Cup
- 2017 FIFA Club World Cup
- 2018 CAF Super Cup (February)
References
External links
- Total Champions League 2017, CAFonline.com
Source of article : Wikipedia
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