Matches played 40 | Goals scored 76 (1.9 per match) | |
 | ||
Dates 10 February – 26 November 2017 Teams Maximum of 52+16 (from 40 associations) Top scorer(s) Pierre Kwizera (3 goals) | ||
The 2017 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2017 Total CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the 14th edition of the CAF Confederation Cup, Africa's secondary club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Contents
- Association team allocation
- Teams
- Schedule
- Qualifying rounds
- First round
- Play off round
- Group stage
- Knockout stage
- Quarter finals
- References
Starting from this season, the group stage will be expanded from eight to 16 teams, divided into four groups of four.According to these changes the total matches to be played in the tournament will increase by 16 matches due to the extra 8 teams involved in group stage.
The winners of the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2017 CAF Champions League in the 2018 CAF Super Cup. TP Mazembe are the defending champions, but as they have qualified for the 2017 CAF Champions League as league champions, they will not enter the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup to defend their title unless they lose in the Champions League first round.
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. The title holders can also enter if they have not qualified for the CAF Champions League. As a result, theoretically a maximum of 69 teams could enter the tournament (plus eight teams eliminated from the CAF Champions League which enter the play-off round) – although this level has never been reached.
For the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup, 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:
Teams
The following 52 teams from 40 associations entered the competition.
Associations are shown according to their 2011–2015 CAF 5-Year Ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
A further 16 teams eliminated from the 2017 CAF Champions League enter the play-off round.
Notably one team takes part in the competition that does not currently play in their national top-division. They are MAS Fez (2nd tier).
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows (matches scheduled in midweek in italics).
Qualifying rounds
The draw for the preliminary and first rounds was held on 21 December 2016 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
In the qualifying rounds, each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score is tied after the second leg, the away goals rule is applied, and if still tied, extra time is not played, and the penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).
First round
The 16 winners of the first round advance to the play-off round, where they are joined by the 16 losers of the Champions League first round.
Play-off round
The winners of the Confederation Cup first round are drawn against the losers of the Champions League first round, with the teams from the Confederation Cup hosting the second leg.
The 16 winners of the play-off round advance to the group stage.
Group stage
In the group stage, the 16 teams are drawn into four groups of four. Each group is played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advance to the quarter-finals.
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, the eight teams play a single-elimination tournament. Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score is tied after the second leg, the away goals rule is applied, and if still tied, extra time is not played, and the penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 26 & 27).
Quarter-finals
In the quarter-finals, the winners of one group play the runners-up of another group, with the group winners hosting the second leg.