The 2022–23 CAF Champions League (officially the 2022–23 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship purposes) was the 59th season of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the 27th under the current CAF Champions League title.
Unlike the last three seasons, the final of this edition was played in a two-legged format as per the decision of CAF at the executive committee meeting on July 3 at Rabat, arising from a formal complaint made by Al Ahly to CAF over the choice of Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca as the venue for the 2022 final: despite the intention that the final be played at a neutral venue, the 2022 tournament culminated with the stadium being the home venue of their opponent, Wydad AC.
The winners, Al Ahly for the record-extending 11th title, automatically qualified for the 2023–24 CAF Champions League and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2023 CAF Super Cup along with the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Wydad AC were the defending champions, but they lost the final against Al Ahly.
Association team allocation A total of 46 out of the 56 CAF member associations entered this season's CAF Champions League, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to their CAF 5-year ranking eligible to enter two teams in this season. As a result, theoretically a maximum of 68 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.
For this season of the tournament, CAF used the 2018–2022 CAF 5-year ranking, which calculates points for each entrant association based on their clubs’ performance over those 5 years in CAF club competitions. The criteria for points are as follows:
CAF Champions LeagueCAF Confederation CupWinners6 points5 pointsRunners-up5 points4 pointsLosing semi-finalists4 points3 pointsLosing quarter-finalists3 points2 points3rd place in groups2 points1 point4th place in groups1 point0.5 point
The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows: 2021–22: x 5 2020–21: × 4 2019–20: × 3 2018–19: × 2 2018: × 1
Teams The following 58 teams from 46 associations participated in this edition of the competition. Teams in bold received a bye to the second round. The other teams entered the first round.
Associations are shown according to their 2018–2022 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score (in parentheses) indicated.
+Associations eligible to enter two teams (Top 12 associations)AssociationRank TeamQualifying method1 Wydad ACRaja CA2021–22 Botola runners-up2 Zamalek2021–22 Egyptian Premier League 1st place after 24 roundsAl Ahly2021–22 Egyptian Premier League 2nd place after 24 rounds3 CR Belouizdad2021–22 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championsJS Kabylie2021–22 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up4 Espérance de Tunis2021–22 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championsUnion Monastirienne2021–22 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up5 Mamelodi Sundowns2021–22 South African Premier Division championsCape Town City2021–22 South African Premier Division runners-up6 TP Mazembe2021–22 Linafoot championsAS Vita Club2021–22 Linafoot runners-up7 Petro de Luanda2021–22 Girabola champions1º de Agosto2021–22 Girabola runners-up8 Al Hilal2021–22 Sudan Premier League champions Al Merrikh2021–22 Sudan Premier League runners-up9 Al Ittihad2021–22 Libyan Premier League championsAl Ahli Tripoli2021–22 Libyan Premier League runners-up10 Horoya2021–22 Guinée Championnat National championsSOA Renaissante2021–22 Guinée Championnat National runners-up11 Young Africans2021–22 Tanzanian Premier League championsSimba2021–22 Tanzanian Premier League runners-up12 Rivers United2021–22 Nigeria Professional Football League championsPlateau United2021–22 Nigeria Professional Football League runners-up +Associations eligible to enter one teamAssociationRank TeamQualifying method13 Red Arrows2021–22 Zambia Super League champions14 Coton Sport2021–22 Elite One champions15 Casa Sports2021–22 Senegal Ligue 1 champions16 ASEC Mimosas2021–22 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champions17 AS Otohô2021–22 Congo Premier League champions18 Gaborone United2021–22 Botswana Premier League champions21 Royal Leopards2021–22 Eswatini Premier League champions21 Djoliba2021–22 Malian Première Division champions23 Rail Club du Kadiogo2021–22 Burkinabé Premier League champions24 ASN Nigelec2021–22 Niger Premier League champions24 Asante Kotoko2021–22 Ghana Premier League champions26 APR2021–22 Rwanda Premier League champions26 Vipers2021–22 Uganda Premier League champions28 FC Nouadhibou2021–22 Ligue 1 Mauritania champions28 Coton FC2021–22 Benin Premier League champions30 Black Bulls2021 Moçambola champions30 ASKO Kara2021–22 Togolese Championnat National champions—Flambeau du Centre2021–22 Burundi Ligue A champions—Olympic Real de Bangui2021–22 Central African Republic League champions—Elect Sport2021–22 Chad Premier League champions—Volcan Club2021–22 Comoros Premier League champions—Arta Solar2021–22 Djibouti Premier League champions—Deportivo Mongomo2021–22 Equatoguinean Primera División champions—Saint George2021–22 Ethiopian Premier League champions—AS Stade Mandji2021–22 Gabon Championnat National D1 champions—Hawks2021–22 GFA League First Division champions—Matlama2021–22 Lesotho Premier League champions—Watanga2021–22 LFA First Division champions—CFFA2021–22 Malagasy Pro League champions—Nyasa Big Bullets2020–21 Super League of Malawi champions—La Passe2021–22 Seychelles Premier League champions—Bo Rangers2021–22 Sierra Leone National Premier League champions—Zalan2021–22 South Sudan Premier League champions—KMKM2021–22 Zanzibar Premier League champions
Associations which did not enter a team
Notes:
Schedule The official competition schedule was released on 24 June 2022 on their website to prepare the qualified teams for the upcoming season.
+Schedule for the 2022–23 CAF Champions LeaguePhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifying roundsFirst round9 August 20229–11 September 202216–18 September 2022Second round7–9 October 202214–16 October 2022Group stageMatchday 112 December 202210–11 February 2023Matchday 217–18 February 2023Matchday 324–25 February 2023Matchday 47–11 March 2023Matchday 517–18 March 2023Matchday 631 March – 1 April 2023Knockout stageQuarter-finals5 April 202321–22 April 202328–29 April 2023Semi-finals12–13 May 202319–20 May 2023Final4 June 202311 June 2023
Qualifying rounds
First round
Second round
Group stage
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. Tiebreakers
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerTeamTotal1 Peter Shalulile Mamelodi Sundowns 12 2 16 Mahmoud Kahraba Al Ahly 31 1 1 3 Hamza Khabba Raja CA111 2 5 Percy Tau Al Ahly 11 2 15 Makabi Lilepo Al Hilal 121 4 Clatous Chama Simba 13 Jean Othos Simba 211 Cassius Mailula Mamelodi Sundowns12 1 Bouly Sambou Wydad AC 1 2 1 Hussein El Shahat Al Ahly 1 2 1
See also 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup 2023 CAF Super Cup
References
External links CAFonline.com