2016 CAF Champions League

The 2016 CAF Champions League (officially the 2016 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 52nd edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 20th edition under the current CAF Champions League format.

2016 CAF Champions League

2016 Orange CAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates	12 February – 23 October 2016
Teams	55 (from 43 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Mamelodi Sundowns (1st title)
Runners-up	Zamalek
Tournament statistics
Matches played	114
Goals scored	261 (2.29 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Mfon Udoh (9 goals)
← 2015 2017 →

Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Zamalek in the final to win their first CAF Champions League title, and qualified as the CAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their first appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup,^[1] and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2017 CAF Super Cup.^[2] TP Mazembe were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the second round. As of 2023, this is the most recent edition of the tournament won by a team from a non-Arab country.

Association team allocation

All 56 CAF member associations might 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. The title holders could also enter.^[2] As a result, theoretically a maximum of 69 teams could enter the tournament – although this level had never been reached.

For the 2016 CAF Champions League, the CAF used the 2010–2014 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:^[3]

	CAF Champions League	CAF Confederation Cup
Winner	5 points	4 points
Runner-up	4 points	3 points
Losing semi-finalists	3 points	2 points
3rd place in groups	2 points	1 point
4th place in groups	1 point	1 point

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

• 2014 – 5
• 2013 – 4
• 2012 – 3
• 2011 – 2
• 2010 – 1

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 2010–2014 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.

Association	Team	Qualifying method
Associations eligible to enter two teams (Ranked 1–12)
Tunisia (1st – 105 pts)	Club Africain	2014–15 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champion
	Étoile du Sahel	2014–15 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up
Egypt (2nd – 81 pts)	Zamalek	2014–15 Egyptian Premier League champion
	Al-Ahly	2014–15 Egyptian Premier League runner-up
DR Congo (3rd – 63 pts)	AS Vita Club	2014–15 Linafoot champion
	TP Mazembe	Title holders (2015 CAF Champions League winner) 2014–15 Linafoot runner-up
Algeria (4th – 44 pts)	ES Sétif	2014–15 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champion
	MO Béjaïa	2014–15 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up
Sudan (5th – 33 pts)	Al-Merrikh	2015 Sudan Premier League champion
	Al-Hilal	2015 Sudan Premier League runner-up
Ivory Coast (6th – 30 pts)	AS Tanda	2014–15 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champion
	ASEC Mimosas	2014–15 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runner-up
Morocco (7th – 29 pts)	Wydad AC	2014–15 Botola champion
	Olympique Khouribga	2014–15 Botola runner-up
Cameroon (T-8th – 26 pts)	Coton Sport	2015 Elite One champion
	Union Douala	2015 Elite One runner-up
Congo (T-8th – 26 pts)	AC Léopards	2015 Congo Premier League first place before abandoned
	Étoile du Congo	2015 Congo Premier League second place before abandoned
Mali (T-8th – 26 pts)	Stade Malien	2014–15 Malian Première Division champion
	Onze Créateurs	2014–15 Malian Première Division runner-up
Nigeria (11th – 22 pts)	Enyimba	2015 Nigeria Professional Football League champion
	Warri Wolves	2015 Nigeria Professional Football League runner-up
South Africa (12th – 16 pts)	Kaizer Chiefs	2014–15 South African Premier Division champion
	Mamelodi Sundowns	2014–15 South African Premier Division runner-up
Associations eligible to enter one team
Angola (13th – 11 pts)	Recreativo do Libolo	2015 Girabola champion
Libya (14th – 7 pts)	Al-Ahli Tripoli	2013–14 Libyan Premier League champion (no league in 2015)
Ghana (T-15th – 6 pts)	Ashanti Gold	2015 Ghanaian Premier League champion
Zambia (T-15th – 6 pts)	ZESCO United	2015 Zambian Premier League champion
Ethiopia (17th – 4 pts)	Saint George	2014–15 Ethiopian Premier League champion
Niger (T-18th – 1 pt)	AS Douanes Niamey	2014–15 Niger Premier League champion
Zimbabwe (T-18th – 1 pt)	Chicken Inn	2015 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champion
Botswana	Centre Chiefs	2014–15 Botswana Premier League champion
Burkina Faso	RC Bobo Dioulasso	2014–15 Burkinabé Premier League champion
Burundi	Vital'O	2014–15 Burundi Premier League champion
Chad	AS CotonTchad	2015 Chad Premier League runner-up
Comoros	Volcan Club	2015 Comoros Premier League champion
Equatorial Guinea	Racing de Micomeseng	2015 Equatoguinean Premier League champion
Gabon	AS Mangasport	2015 Gabon Championnat National D1 champion
Gambia	Gamtel	2014–15 GFA League First Division champion
Guinea	Horoya	2014–15 Guinée Championnat National champion
Kenya	Gor Mahia	2015 Kenyan Premier League champion
Lesotho	Lioli	2014–15 Lesotho Premier League champion
Liberia	Nimba United	2015 Liberian First Division League champion
Madagascar	CNaPS Sport	2015 THB Champions League champion
Mauritius	Cercle de Joachim	2014–15 Mauritian League champion
Mozambique	Ferroviário Maputo	2015 Moçambola champion
Rwanda	APR	2014–15 Rwanda National Football League champion
São Tomé and Príncipe	Sporting Praia Cruz	2015 São Tomé and Príncipe Championship champion
Senegal	AS Douanes Dakar	2014–15 Senegal Premier League champion
Seychelles	St Michel United	2015 Seychelles First Division champion
South Sudan	Al-Ghazal	2015 South Sudan Football Championship runner-up
Swaziland	Mbabane Swallows	2014–15 Swazi Premier League runner-up
Tanzania	Young Africans	2014–15 Tanzanian Premier League champion
Uganda	Vipers	2014–15 Uganda Super League champion
Zanzibar	Mafunzo	2014–15 Zanzibar Premier League champion

Associations which did not enter a team

Benin   Cape Verde   Central African Republic   Djibouti   Eritrea   Guinea-Bissau   Malawi   Mauritania   Namibia   Réunion   Sierra Leone   Somalia   Togo

 

 

Club Africain

 

Étoile du Sahel

 

Al Ahly
Zamalek

 

Vita Club

 

TP Mazembe

 

ES Sétif

 

MO Béjaïa

 

Al Merreikh

 

Al Hilal Omdurman

 

Tanda

 

ASEC Mimosas

 

Wydad AC

 

Khouribga

 

Cotonsport

 

Union Douala

 

Léopards de Dolisié

 

Étoile du Congo

 

Stade Malien Bamako
Onze Créateurs

 

Enyimba

 

Warri Wolves

 

Kaizer Chiefs

 

Mamelodi Sundowns

 

Recreativo do Libolo

 

Al Ahli Tripoli

 

Ashanti Gold

 

ZESCO United

 

Kedus Giorgis

 

Douanes Niamey

 

Chicken Inn

 

Centre Chiefs

 

RC Bobo-Dioulasso

 

Vital'O

 

ASCOT

 

Volcan Club

 

Racing de Micomeseng

 

Mangasport

 

GAMTEL

 

Horoya

 

Gor Mahia

 

Lioli

 

Nimba United

 

CNaPS Sport

 

Cercle de Joachim

 

Ferroviário Maputo

 

APR

 

Sporting Praia Cruz

 

Douanes

 

St Michel United

 

Al-Ghazal

 

Mbabane Swallows

 

Young Africans

 

Vipers

 

Mafunzo

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Location of teams of the 2016 CAF Champions League.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.^[4] For the first time, some rounds of matches were officially scheduled in midweek (in italics) instead of on weekends.^[5]

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying	Preliminary round	11 December 2015 (Dakar, Senegal)^[6]	12–14 February 2016	26–28 February 2016
	First round		11–13 March 2016	18–20 March 2016
	Second round		8–10 April 2016	19–20 April 2016
Group stage	Matchday 1	24 May 2016 (Cairo, Egypt)^[7]	17–19 June 2016
	Matchday 2		28–29 June 2016
	Matchday 3		15–17 July 2016
	Matchday 4		26–27 July 2016
	Matchday 5		12–14 August 2016
	Matchday 6		23–24 August 2016
Knockout stage	Semi-finals		16–18 September 2016	23–25 September 2016
	Final		14–16 October 2016	21–23 October 2016

Qualifying rounds

Main article: 2016 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds

The draw for the preliminary, first and second rounds was held on 11 December 2015 in Dakar, Senegal.^[6][8]

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).^[2]

Preliminary round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Mafunzo	0–4	AS Vita Club	0–3	0–1
Centre Chiefs	w/o^[A]	Ferroviário Maputo	—	—
Chicken Inn	1–2	Mamelodi Sundowns	1–0	0–2
Warri Wolves	w/o^[B]	Sporting Praia Cruz	—	—
AS Mangasport	0–3	Étoile du Congo	0–0	0–3
Wydad AC	3–2	AS Douanes Niamey	2–0	1–2
Gor Mahia	1–3	CNaPS Sport	1–2	0–1
Saint George	4–1	St Michel United	3–0	1–1
Vipers	1–2	Enyimba	1–0	0–2
Lioli	2–2 (a)	Vital'O	1–2	1–0
Olympique Khouribga	4–2	Gamtel	2–1	2–1
Stade Malien	4–1	RC Bobo Dioulasso	3–1	1–0
ZESCO United	3–0	Al-Ghazal	2–0	1–0
AS Douanes Dakar	0–4	Horoya	0–0	0–4
Mbabane Swallows	2–4	APR	1–0	1–4
Cercle de Joachim	0–3	Young Africans	0–1	0–2
Recreativo do Libolo	9–1	Racing de Micomeseng	5–1	4–0
Volcan Club	w/o^[C]	Kaizer Chiefs	0–4	—
AS CotonTchad	0–1	ASEC Mimosas	0–1	0–0
Onze Créateurs	1–2	Al-Ahli Tripoli	1–2	0–0
Nimba United	1–4	Union Douala	1–3	0–1
Club Africain	2–0	AS Tanda	2–0	0–0
Ashanti Gold	2–3	MO Béjaïa	1–0	1–3

Notes

1. Ferroviário Maputo won on walkover after Centre Chiefs withdrew.^[9]
2. Warri Wolves won on walkover after Sporting Praia Cruz failed to arrive for the first leg.^[10]
3. Kaizer Chiefs won on walkover after Volcan Club failed to arrive for the second leg.^[11]

First round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
AS Vita Club	2–1	Ferroviário Maputo	1–0	1–1
Mamelodi Sundowns	3–1	AC Léopards	2–0	1–1
Warri Wolves	0–2	Al-Merrikh	0–1	0–1
Étoile du Congo	3–5	ES Sétif	1–1	2–4
Wydad AC	6–3	CNaPS Sport	5–1	1–2
Saint George	2–3	TP Mazembe	2–2	0–1
Enyimba	6–3	Vital'O	5–1	1–2
Olympique Khouribga	1–3	Étoile du Sahel	1–1	0–2
Stade Malien	2–1	Coton Sport	2–0	0–1
ZESCO United	4–3	Horoya	4–1	0–2
APR	2–3	Young Africans	1–2	1–1
Recreativo do Libolo	0–2	Al-Ahly	0–0	0–2
Kaizer Chiefs	0–1	ASEC Mimosas	0–1	0–0
Al-Ahli Tripoli	2–2 (a)	Al-Hilal	1–0	1–2
Union Douala	0–3	Zamalek	0–1	0–2
Club Africain	1–2	MO Béjaïa	1–0	0–2

Second round

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
AS Vita Club	2–2 (a) d/q; w/o^[D]	Mamelodi Sundowns	1–0	1–2
Al-Merrikh	2–2 (a)	ES Sétif	2–2	0–0
Wydad AC	3–1	TP Mazembe	2–0	1–1
Enyimba	3–3 (4–3 p)	Étoile du Sahel	3–0	0–3
Stade Malien	2–5	ZESCO United	1–3	1–2
Young Africans	2–3	Al-Ahly	1–1	1–2
ASEC Mimosas	3–2	Al-Ahli Tripoli	2–0	1–2
Zamalek	3–1	MO Béjaïa	2–0	1–1

Notes

4. The CAF announced on 24 May 2016 that Mamelodi Sundowns won on walkover after AS Vita Club were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player in their preliminary round tie against Mafunzo.^[12] Mamelodi Sundowns played in the Confederation Cup play-off round before they were reinstated to the Champions League.

The eight winners of the second round advanced to the group stage, while the eight losers of the second round entered the Confederation Cup play-off round.

Group stage

Main article: 2016 CAF Champions League group stage

 

 

ES Sétif

 

Al Ahly

 

Zamalek

 

ASEC

 

Wydad AC

 

Enyimba

 

Mamelodi Sundowns

 

ZESCO

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Location of teams of the 2016 CAF Champions League group stage.
  Group A.
  Group B.

The draw for the group stage was held on 24 May 2016, 14:30 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.^[7][13] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four.

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 semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations III. 20 & 21):^[2] Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned; Goal difference in games between the teams concerned; Goals scored in games between the teams concerned; Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned; If, after applying criteria 1 to 4 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 9 apply; Goal difference in all games; Goals scored in all games; Away goals scored in all games; Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		WAC	ZES	AHL	MIM
1	Wydad AC	6	3	2	1	6	3	+3	11	Knockout stage		—	2–0	0–1	2–1
2	ZESCO United	6	2	3	1	10	9	+1	9			1–1	—	3–2	3–1
3	Al Ahly	6	1	3	2	6	7	−1	6			0–0	2–2	—	1–2
4	ASEC Mimosas	6	1	2	3	5	8	−3	5			0–1	1–1	0–0	—

Source: CAF

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MSD	ZAM	ENY	ESS
1	Mamelodi Sundowns	4	3	0	1	6	5	+1	9	Knockout stage		—	1–0	2–1	—
2	Zamalek	4	2	0	2	3	3	0	6			1–2	—	1–0	—
3	Enyimba	4	1	0	3	4	5	−1	3			3–1	0–1	—	—
4	ES Sétif	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Disqualified^[a]		0–2	—	—	—

Source: CAF
Notes:

1. The CAF announced on 23 June 2016 that ES Sétif were disqualified for a pitch invasion and other incidents at their home match against Mamelodi Sundowns on 18 June 2016.^[14] The result of this match was annulled and not taken into consideration according to the regulations.

Knockout stage

Main article: 2016 CAF Champions League knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the four 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).^[2]

Bracket

	Semi-finals							Final
	1	ZESCO United	2	0	2
	4	Mamelodi Sundowns	1	2	3
								Mamelodi Sundowns		3	0	3
								Zamalek		0	1	1
	3	Zamalek	4	2	6
	2	Wydad AC	0	5	5

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the group A winners played the group B runners-up, and the group B winners played the group A runners-up, with the group winners hosting the second leg.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Zamalek	6–5	Wydad AC	4–0	2–5
ZESCO United	2–3	Mamelodi Sundowns	2–1	0–2

Final

Main article: 2016 CAF Champions League 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.^[13]

15 October 2016 (2016-10-15)

15:00 UTC+2

Mamelodi Sundowns	3–0	Zamalek
Laffor   31' Langerman   40' Gamal   46' (o.g.)	Report

Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium, Pretoria

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Davies Omweno (Kenya)

23 October 2016 (2016-10-23)

20:30 UTC+2

Zamalek	1–0	Mamelodi Sundowns
Ohawuchi   63'	Report

Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria

Attendance: 70,000

Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

Mamelodi Sundowns won 3–1 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
1	Mfon Udoh	Enyimba	9
2	Reda Hajhouj	Wydad AC	6
3	Idris Mbombo	ZESCO United	5
4	Clatous Chama	ZESCO United	4
	Eudes Dagoulou	ES Sétif
	Mamadou Diawara	Recreativo do Libolo
	Jackson Mwanza	ZESCO United
	Basem Morsy	Zamalek
	Fabrice Ondama	Wydad AC
	Jesse Were	ZESCO United
	Yannick Zakri	ASEC Mimosas

See also

• 2016 CAF Confederation Cup
• 2016 FIFA Club World Cup
• 2017 CAF Super Cup

References

1. . FIFA.com. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016.
2. "Regulations of the CAF Champions League" (PDF). Confédération Africaine de Football. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
3. "CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites". Cafonline.com. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
4. "Orange CAF CL FINAL 2015: CAF Flash Magazine" (PDF). CAF.
5. "CAF clubs create history with midweek games". CAF. 18 April 2016.
6. "Preliminary draw for CC and CL 2016 conducted". CAF. 11 December 2015.
7. "Accreditation for Interclubs Group Phase draw". CAF. 9 May 2016.
8. "Fixtures – CAF Champions League 2016" (PDF). CAF.
9. "Botswana: Centre Chiefs Faces Possible Fine". allAfrica. 21 January 2016.
10. "Wolves walk over Sao Tome club". SuperSport. 14 February 2016.
11. "Chiefs Awarded Walk Over, Progress In CCL". Soccer Laduma. 28 February 2016.
12. "Disqualification of AS Vita Club". CAF. 24 May 2016.
13. "CL draw results: Group phase". CAF. 24 May 2016.
14. "Disqualification of ES Sétif". CAF. 23 June 2016.

External links

• Orange CAF Champions League 2016, CAFonline.com