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CAF Champions League facts for kids

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CAF Champions League
CAF Champions League.png
Organising body CAF
Founded 1964; 61 years ago (1964)
(rebranded in 1997)
Region Africa
Number of teams
  • 16 (group stage)
  • 68 (total)
  • (from 56 associations)
Qualifier for
Related competitions CAF Confederation Cup
Current champions Egypt Al Ahly (12th title)
Most successful club(s) Egypt Al Ahly (12 titles)
Television broadcasters List of broadcasters

The CAF Champions League is a super exciting yearly football (soccer) competition. It's organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). This tournament brings together the very best football clubs from across Africa. They play in a group stage first, then move on to knockout matches, and finally, a big home-and-away final. It's the most important club competition in African football!

The team that wins the CAF Champions League gets to play in the FIFA Club World Cup. This is a special tournament where champion clubs from all six continents compete. The winner also plays against the CAF Confederation Cup champion in the next season's CAF Super Cup. Starting in 2024, the top five teams from the Champions League also get a spot in the new FIFA Intercontinental Cup. If a team finishes second in their national league and doesn't qualify for the Champions League, they can still play in the CAF Confederation Cup, which is the second-tier competition.

Clubs from Egypt have won the most titles, with 18 wins! Morocco is next with 7 titles. Countries like Cameroon, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco have had three different clubs win the title. Overall, 26 clubs have won this competition, and 12 of them have won it more than once. Al Ahly from Egypt is the most successful club, with a record 12 wins. They even won the most recent season in 2024, beating Espérance de Tunis 1-0.

History of the Tournament

Early Days: 1964–1997

The competition started in 1964 and was first called the African Cup of Champions Clubs. The very first team to win was Oryx Douala from Cameroon. They beat Stade Malien from Mali 2-1 in the final.

Ali Abo Gresha
Ali Abo Gresha, a top scorer who won with Ismaily in 1969.

The tournament wasn't played in 1965. But in 1966, they introduced a new rule: the final would be played over two matches, one at each team's home stadium. In that year, AS Real Bamako from Mali played against Stade d'Abidjan from Ivory Coast. Real Bamako won their home game 3-1, but Stade Abidjan won their home game 4-1, taking the title 5-4 overall!

In 1967, Asante Kotoko from Ghana and TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) played. Both their matches ended in a draw. So, CAF planned a third deciding match. But Kotoko didn't show up, so Mazembe was given the title. Mazembe then won the title again the next year!

However, the Ghanaian team, Kotoko, got their revenge in 1970. They met Mazembe in the final again. The first game was a 1-1 draw. But Kotoko surprised everyone by winning their away game 2-1, finally lifting the trophy they had missed out on.

The 1970s were a great time for Cameroonian club football. This success helped build the strong international football reputation Cameroon has today.

Al Ahly 1982 (2)
Al Ahly, winners of the 1982 competition.
Zamalek SC won the first African title
Zamalek, winners of the 1984 competition.

Between 1971 and 1980, Cameroonian teams won the cup four times. Canon Yaoundé won three titles (1971, 1978, and 1980), and US Douala won in 1979. During this time, Hafia Conakry from Guinea also had a golden age, winning three times (1972, 1975, and 1977).

New Name, Bigger Reputation: 1997–Present

Not much changed in the competition until 1997. That's when CAF decided to make a big change, similar to what Europe had done with their Champions League. They added a group stage to the tournament and changed its name to the CAF Champions League.

The football team of Zamalek club that won the last CAF Champions League in 2002
Zamalek, winners of the 2002 competition.

CAF also started offering prize money for the first time! The winners received US$1 million, and the runners-up got US$750,000. This made it the richest African club competition back then.

In the new format, national league champions would play through several qualifying rounds. The top 8 teams would then enter two groups of four teams. Each team played every other team in their group at home and away. The best team from each group then met in a two-legged final.

In the 2001 season, CAF added a semi-final stage. So, the top two teams from each group would play in the semi-finals, and the winners would go to the final.

The prize money increased again in 2009. Champions received $1.5 million, and runners-up got $1 million. Since 1997, teams from North Africa have been very strong in the competition. Raja Casablanca from Morocco won two of the first three new-format titles. But Al Ahly became the most successful, winning in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2012. Zamalek won in 2002.

Tunisian teams also started winning. Étoile du Sahel won in 2007. Espérance de Tunis won their second title in 2011.

Aboutrika2011
Mohamed Aboutrika, who won the CAF Champions League 5 times with Al Ahly.

Even with North African teams dominating, Enyimba from Nigeria won two titles in a row in 2003 and 2004. ASEC Mimosas from Ivory Coast and Accra Hearts of Oak from Ghana also won championships for West Africa. In 2010, TP Mazembe from the DRC became the first club to win the title twice on two separate occasions (1967, 1968 and 2009, 2010). In 2017, the group stage grew even bigger, from 2 groups to 4 groups, and quarter-finals were added.

The 2020–21 season was played without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an exciting all-Egyptian final, Al Ahly played their rivals Zamalek. Al Ahly won their ninth title! They then successfully defended their title in 2021, winning their 10th trophy. However, they couldn't win a third title in a row in 2022. They lost to Wydad AC from Morocco, who won their third title.

The finals went back to two-legged matches after the pandemic. Al Ahly got their revenge in 2023, taking the title back from Wydad. They won their 11th title! Then, in 2024, they defended it again, winning their 12th title against Tunisia's Esperance.

CAF plans to keep the Champions League even with the new Africa Football League starting in 2023–24. Some people think the Champions League might go back to being only knockout matches, without a group stage, like it was before 1997.

How Teams Qualify and Play

Qualification Rules

The CAF Champions League is open to the winners of all national football leagues that are part of CAF. The team that won the Champions League the previous season also gets to play. Since 2004, the second-place teams from the 12 highest-ranked countries also get to join. This makes a total of 64 teams! These 12 countries are ranked based on how well their clubs have done in the Champions League over the past 5 years.

CAF decides each year how many teams each country can send to the Champions League. The higher a country is ranked, the more teams it can send. Also, higher-ranked countries' teams might not have to play as many early qualifying rounds.

The CAF Champions League mostly works as a knockout competition. Teams play in two qualifying rounds: the preliminary stage and the first round. After the first round, the winning teams are split into four groups of four teams. Teams that lose in the first qualifying round get a second chance in the CAF Confederation Cup. The top two teams from each group then move on to a two-legged knockout stage. The winners of these matches play in a single final game to win the trophy!

Sponsorship

In 2004, MTN signed a four-year deal to sponsor CAF competitions for US$12.5 million. This was the biggest sports sponsorship deal in Africa at the time!

In 2008, CAF looked for a new sponsor. French company Orange signed an eight-year deal in 2009. The details of this deal were not shared.

On July 21, 2016, the French energy company TotalEnergies (then called Total S.A.) became a major sponsor. They signed an 8-year deal to support CAF competitions, including the Africa Cup of Nations.

Current Sponsors:

Title Sponsor Official Sponsors Former Sponsor Ball Supplier
  • TotalEnergies
  • Umbro

Prizes

Trophy and Medals

Trophée de la Ligue des champions de la CAF
The official CAF Champions League trophy.

Every year, the winning team receives the CAF Champions League trophy. This trophy has been given out since the competition changed its name in 1997. The winners also get 40 gold medals, and the runners-up get 40 silver medals.

Prize Money: 1997–2008

When the competition was renamed in 1997, CAF started giving prize money to the eight teams that reached the group stage. This was the first time an African club football competition offered prize money.

Final
position
Prize money
Champions US$1,000,000
Runners-up US$750,000
Semi-finalists US$427,500
3rd in group stage US$261,250
4th in group stage US$190,000

Prize Money: 2009–2016

CAF increased the prize money for the 8 clubs in the group stage.

Final
position
Prize money
Champions US$1,500,000
Runners-up US$1,000,000
Semi-finalists US$700,000
3rd in group stage US$500,000
4th in group stage US$400,000

Prize Money: 2017–2022

The prize money increased again, and now 16 clubs in the group stage shared the money.

Final
position
Prize money
Champions US$2,500,000
Runners-up US$1,250,000
Semi-finalists US$875,000
Quarter-finalists US$650,000
3rd in group stage US$550,000
4th in group stage US$550,000

* Note: National Football Associations also receive an extra 5% of each amount given to clubs.

Prize Money: 2023–Present

On May 19, 2023, CAF announced another increase in prize money for the 16 clubs in the group stage. This is the latest prize money structure.

Final
position
Prize money
Champions US$4,000,000
Runners-up US$2,000,000
Semi-finalists US$1,200,000
Quarter-finalists US$900,000
3rd in group stage US$700,000
4th in group stage US$700,000

Broadcast Coverage

Here are the TV channels and networks that currently show the CAF Champions League matches:

Country/Region Channels
 Algeria EPTV
 ASEAN beIN Sports
 Morocco Arryadia
 Benin ORTB
 Europe Sportfive
 Portugal Sport TV
 France beIN Sports
 Burkina Faso RTB
Latin America ESPN
 Nigeria
  • SuperSport
 Ghana
  • GTV Sports+
  • StarTimes
Arab League MENA beIN Sports
 South Africa
  • SuperSport
  • SABC Sport
Western Balkans Sport Klub
 United States beIN Sports
Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Canal+
  • SuperSport (selected matches)
  • StarTimes (except South Africa)
East Africa
  • TVZ
  • ZBC

Records and Statistics

Performance by Nations

This table shows how many times clubs from different countries have won or been runners-up in the finals.

Performances in finals by nation
Nation Winners Runners-up Total
 Egypt 18 10 28
 Morocco 7 4 11
 Tunisia 6 8 14
 DR Congo 6 6 12
 Algeria 5 2 7
 Cameroon 5 1 6
 Ghana 3 8 11
 Guinea 3 2 5
 Nigeria 2 5 7
 South Africa 2 3 5
 Ivory Coast 2 2 4
 Congo 1 0 1
 Mali 0 2 2
 Uganda 0 2 2
 Sudan 0 2 2
 Togo 0 1 1
 Zambia 0 1 1
 Zimbabwe 0 1 1

Performances by Region

This table shows how many titles clubs from different regions of Africa have won.

Federation (Region) Clubs Titles
UNAF (North Africa) Al Ahly (12), Zamalek (5), Espérance de Tunis (4), Raja CA (3), Wydad AC (3), ES Sétif (2), JS Kabylie (2), Étoile du Sahel (1), Ismaily (1), MC Alger (1), FAR Rabat (1), Club Africain (1) 36
UNIFFAC (Central Africa) TP Mazembe (5), Canon Yaoundé (3), CARA Brazzaville (1), Oryx Douala (1), Union Douala (1), Vita Club (1) 12
WAFU (West Africa) Hafia (3), Asante Kotoko (2), Enyimba (2), ASEC Mimosas (1), Hearts of Oak (1), Stade d'Abidjan (1) 10
COSAFA (Southern Africa) Orlando Pirates (1), Mamelodi Sundowns (1) 2
CECAFA (East Africa) 0

Top Goalscorers by Year

This table lists the top goal scorers for each year of the competition.

Year Footballer Club Goals
African Cup of Champions Clubs era
1965 Mali Salif Keïta Mali Stade Malien 3
1966 14
1967
  • Egypt Badawi Abdel Fattah
  • Egypt Ahmed El-Qazzaz
  • Ghana Osei Kofi
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Pierre Kalala
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Leonard Saidi
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Kamunda Tshinabu
  • Egypt Al Olympi
  • Egypt Al Olympi
  • Ghana Asante Kotoko
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Englebert
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Englebert
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Englebert
2
1968 Democratic Republic of the Congo Pierre Kalala Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Englebert 7
1969 Egypt Ali Abo Greisha Egypt Ismaily 7
1970 Democratic Republic of the Congo Pierre Kalala Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Englebert 4
1971 Ghana Cecil Jones Attuquayefio Ghana Accra Great Olympics 6
1972 Zambia Godfrey Chitalu Zambia Kabwe Warriors 13
1973 Guinea Chérif Souleymane Guinea Hafia FC 5
1974 Republic of the Congo Paul Moukila Republic of the Congo CARA Brazzaville 10
1975 Guinea N’Jo Léa Guinea Hafia FC 4
1976 Algeria Abdesslem Bousri Algeria MC Alger 5
1977 Egypt Mahmoud El Khatib Egypt Al Ahly 4
1978
  • Guinea Seydouba Bangoura
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Mayanga Maku
  • Guinea Hafia FC
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Vita Club
2
1979 Tanzania Ally Thuwen Tanzania Simba SC 3
1980 Cameroon Jean Manga Onguéné Cameroon Canon Yaoundé 9
1981 Egypt Mahmoud El Khatib Egypt Al Ahly 6
1982
1983
1984 Nigeria Felix Owolabi Nigeria Shooting Stars 5
1985 Algeria Mokhtar Chibani
Morocco Saâd Dahane
Morocco Abdellah Haidamou
Morocco Abderrazak Khairi
Algeria GCR Mascara
Morocco FAR Rabat
Morocco FAR Rabat
Morocco FAR Rabat
4
1986 Egypt Gamal Abdel Hamid Egypt Zamalek 7
1987 Egypt Mahmoud El Khatib Egypt Al Ahly 5
1988 Morocco Abdeslam Laghrissi Morocco FAR Rabat 7
1989 Algeria Mourad Meziane Algeria MC Oran 5
1990 Algeria Nacer Bouiche Algeria JS Kabylie 7
1991 Tunisia Faouzi Rouissi
Tunisia Adel Sellimi
Tunisia Club Africain 6
1992 Zambia Kenneth Malitoli Zambia Nkana 6
1993 Egypt Ayman Mansour Egypt Zamalek 5
1994 Nigeria Anthony Nwaigwe Nigeria Iwuanyanwu Nationale 7
1995
  • Ghana Kofi Deblah
  • Ivory Coast Sékou Bamba
  • Ghana Obuasi Goldfields
  • Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas
4
1996
  • Egypt Ahmed El-Kass
  • Egypt Ayman Mansour
  • Egypt Tarek Mostafa
  • Egypt Mohamed Sabry
  • Rwanda Julien Ndagano
  • Tunisia Skander Souayah
  • Egypt Zamalek
  • Egypt Zamalek
  • Egypt Zamalek
  • Egypt Zamalek
  • Rwanda APR FC
  • Tunisia CS Sfaxien
2
Champions League era
1997 Togo Kossi Noutsoudje Ghana Obuasi Goldfields 7
1998
  • Ethiopia Aseged Tesfaye
  • Morocco Reda Ereyahi
  • Ethiopia Ethiopian Coffee
  • Morocco Raja CA
6
1999 Egypt Hossam Hassan Egypt Al Ahly 6
2000 Ghana Emmanuel Osei Kuffour Ghana Accra Hearts of Oak 10
2001 Democratic Republic of the Congo Kapela Mbiyavanga Angola Petro Atlético 9
2002
  • Egypt Ahmed Belal
  • Ivory Coast Antonin Koutouan
  • Morocco Hicham Aboucherouane
  • Egypt Al Ahly
  • Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas
  • Morocco Raja CA
7
2003 Mali Dramane Traoré Egypt Ismaily 8
2004 Mali Mamadou Diallo Algeria USM Alger 10
2005
  • Egypt Al Ahly
  • Nigeria Enyimba
7
2006 Egypt Mohamed Aboutrika Egypt Al Ahly 8
2007 Democratic Republic of the Congo Trésor Mputu Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 9
2008 Nigeria Stephen Worgu Nigeria Enyimba 13
2009 Democratic Republic of the Congo Dioko Kaluyituka Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 8
2010 Nigeria Michael Eneramo Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 8
2011 Zimbabwe Edward Sadomba Sudan Al-Hilal 14
2012 Ghana Emmanuel Clottey Ghana Berekum Chelsea 12
2013 Cameroon Alexis Yougouda Kada Cameroon Coton Sport 7
2014
  • Algeria El Hedi Belameiri
  • Tunisia Haythem Jouini
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Ndombe Mubele
  • Tanzania Mrisho Ngasa
  • Algeria ES Sétif
  • Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo AS Vita Club
  • Tanzania Young Africans
6
2015
  • Sudan Bakri Al-Madina
  • Tanzania Mbwana Samatta
  • Sudan Al-Merrikh
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe
7
2016 Nigeria Mfon Udoh Nigeria Enyimba 9
2017
  • Tunisia Taha Yassine Khenissi
  • Ethiopia Saladin Said
  • Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
  • Ethiopia Saint George
7
2018 Tunisia Anice Badri Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 8
2018–19 Libya Moataz Al-Mehdi Libya Al-Nasr 7
2019–20 Democratic Republic of the Congo Jackson Muleka Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 7
2020–21 Egypt Mohamed Sherif Egypt Al Ahly 6
2021–22 Brazil Tiago Azulão Angola Petro Atlético 6
2022–23
6
2023–24 Ivory Coast Sankara William Karamoko Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 4

All-Time Top Scorers

This table shows the players who have scored the most goals in the history of the competition.

Rank Nat Name Club Goals Apps
1 Democratic Republic of the Congo Trésor Mputu TP Mazembe
Kabuscorp
39 73
2 Egypt Mohamed Aboutrika Al Ahly 31 85
3 Angola Flávio Amado Al Ahly 30
4 Egypt Mahmoud El Khatib Al Ahly 28 30
5 Egypt Emad Moteab Al Ahly 24 74
6 Tunisia Ali Zitouni Espérance de Tunis 23 22
Zimbabwe Edward Sadomba Dynamos
Al-Hilal
Al-Ahly Benghazi
23 24
8 Tanzania Mbwana Samatta TP Mazembe
Simba SC
21 26
Zambia Clatous Chama Simba SC
RS Berkane
21 51
10 Morocco Mouhcine Iajour Moghreb Tétouan
Wydad AC
Raja CA
20 36
Democratic Republic of the Congo Dioko Kaluyituka TP Mazembe 20 45
13 Ghana Emmanuel Osei Kuffour Accra Hearts of Oak 19 13
Sudan Bakri Al-Madina Al-Merrikh
Al-Hilal
19 35
15 Egypt Gamal Abdel-Hamid Al Ahly
Zamalek
18 41
Nigeria Kelechi Osunwa Al-Merrikh
Al-Hilal
18 21
Egypt Hussein El Shahat Al Ahly 18 55
18 Sudan Mudather El Tahir Al-Hilal 17 27
Egypt Hossam Hassan Al Ahly
Zamalek
17 31
Egypt Walid Soliman Al Ahly 17 82
Egypt Mohamed Barakat Al Ahly 17 68
Mali Salif Keïta AS Real Bamako
Stade Malien
17
South Africa Themba Zwane Mamelodi Sundowns 17 70
24 Algeria Billel Dziri USM Alger
Étoile du Sahel
16
Ghana Joetex Asamoah Frimpong Enyimba
CS Sfaxien
16
Niger Kamilou Daouda Coton Sport
Al-Ittihad Tripoli
16 37
Burkina Faso Ocansey Mandela Horoya 16 55
28 Algeria Karim Aribi Étoile du Sahel
CR Belouizdad
15 24
Tunisia Ali Maaloul Al Ahly
CS Sfaxien
15 87
Cameroon Yannick N'Djeng JSM Béjaïa
Espérance de Tunis
15 39
Brazil Tiago Azulão Atlético Petróleos de Luanda 15 38
31 Sudan Muhannad El Tahir Al-Hilal 14 17
Morocco Achraf Bencharki Wydad AC
Zamalek
14 38
Democratic Republic of the Congo Jackson Muleka TP Mazembe 14 38
Morocco Mohamed Nahiri Wydad AC
Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi
Raja CA
14 40
Egypt Mohamed Sherif Al Ahly 14 39
Tunisia Anice Badri Espérance de Tunis 14 56
Nigeria Emeka Nwanna Enyimba
Heartland
14 18
Namibia Peter Shalulile Mamelodi Sundows 14 29

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Liga de Campeones de la CAF para niños

  • African Football League
  • CAF Women's Champions League
  • CAF Confederation Cup
  • CAF Super Cup
  • African Cup Winners' Cup
  • CAF Cup
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