The 2015 CAF Champions League (officially the 2015 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 51st edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 19th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner qualified for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, and earned the right to play in the 2016 CAF Super Cup.
TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo won the competition for the fifth time in their history after a 4–1 aggregate victory over USM Alger of Algeria in the final. ES Sétif were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage.
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. The title holders can also enter. As a result, theoretically a maximum of 69 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.
For the 2015 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2009–2013 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:
CAF Champions LeagueCAF Confederation CupWinner5 points4 pointsRunner-up4 points3 pointsLosing semi-finalists3 points2 points3rd place in groups2 points1 point4th place in groups1 point1 point
The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows: 2013 – 5 2012 – 4 2011 – 3 2010 – 2 2009 – 1
Teams The following 57 teams from 44 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 2009–2013 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
AssociationTeamQualifying methodAssociations eligible to enter two teams (Ranked 1–12) TunisiaEspérance de Tunis2013–14 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championCS Sfaxien2013–14 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up EgyptAl-Ahly2013–14 Egyptian Premier League championSmouha2013–14 Egyptian Premier League runner-up DR CongoTP Mazembe2013–14 Linafoot championSM Sanga Balende2013–14 Linafoot runner-up MoroccoMoghreb Tétouan2013–14 Botola championRaja Casablanca2013–14 Botola runner-up NigeriaKano Pillars2014 Nigeria Professional Football League championEnyimba2014 Nigeria Professional Football League runner-up SudanAl-Hilal2014 Sudan Premier League championAl-Merrikh2014 Sudan Premier League runner-up AlgeriaUSM Alger2013–14 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championES SétifTitle holders (2014 CAF Champions League winner)2013–14 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third placeMC El Eulma2013–14 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 fourth place MaliStade Malien2013–14 Malian Première Division championClub Olympique de Bamako2013–14 Malian Première Division runner-up CameroonCoton Sport2014 Elite One championCosmos de Bafia2014 Elite One runner-up CongoAC Léopards2014 Congo Premier League first place before abandonedDiables Noirs2014 Congo Premier League second place before abandoned South AfricaMamelodi Sundowns2013–14 South African Premier Division championKaizer Chiefs2013–14 South African Premier Division runner-up AngolaRecreativo do Libolo2014 Girabola championKabuscorp2014 Girabola runner-upAssociations eligible to enter one team Ivory CoastSéwé Sport2013–14 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champion GhanaAsante Kotoko2013–14 Ghanaian Premier League champion EthiopiaSaint George2013–14 Ethiopian Premier League champion LibyaAl-Ahli Tripoli2013–14 Libyan Premier League champion ZambiaZESCO United2014 Zambian Premier League champion NigerAS GNN2013–14 Niger Premier League champion BeninBuffles du Borgou2013–14 Benin Premier League champion BotswanaTownship Rollers2013–14 Botswana Premier League champion Burkina FasoÉtoile Filante2013–14 Burkinabé Premier League champion BurundiLLB Académic2013–14 Burundi Premier League champion ChadFoullah Edifice2014 Ligue de N'Djaména champion ComorosFomboni Club2014 Comoros Premier League champion Equatorial GuineaSony Elá Nguema2014 Equatoguinean Premier League champion GabonAS Mangasport2013–14 Gabon Championnat National D1 champion GambiaReal Banjul2014 GFA League First Division champion GuineaAS Kaloum2013–14 Guinée Championnat National champion KenyaGor Mahia2014 Kenyan Premier League champion LesothoBantu2013–14 Lesotho Premier League champion LiberiaBarrack Young Controllers2013–14 Liberian First Division League champion MadagascarCNaPS Sport2014 THB Champions League champion MalawiBig Bullets2014 Super League of Malawi champion MozambiqueLiga Muçulmana2014 Moçambola champion RwandaAPR2013–14 Rwanda National Football League champion SenegalAS Pikine2013–14 Senegal Premier League champion SeychellesSt Michel United2014 Seychelles First Division champion Sierra LeoneEast End Lions2014 Sierra Leone National Premier League first place before abandoned South SudanAl-Malakia2014 South Sudan National Cup winner SwazilandMbabane Swallows2013–14 Swazi Premier League runner-up TanzaniaAzam2013–14 Tanzanian Premier League champion TogoAC Semassi2014 Togolese Championnat National champion UgandaKampala City Council2013–14 Uganda Super League champion ZanzibarKMKM2013–14 Zanzibar Premier League champion
+Associations which did not enter a team Zimbabwe Cape Verde Central African Republic Djibouti Eritrea Guinea-Bissau Mauritania Mauritius Namibia Réunion São Tomé and Príncipe Somalia
Notes
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws are held at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt).
PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifyingPreliminary round22 December 201413–15 February 201527 February–1 March 2015First round13–15 March 20153–5 April 2015Second round17–19 April 20151–3 May 2015Group stageMatchday 15 May 201526–28 June 2015Matchday 210–12 July 2015Matchday 324–26 July 2015Matchday 47–9 August 2015Matchday 521–23 August 2015Matchday 611–13 September 2015Knockout stageSemi-finals25–27 September 20152–4 October 2015Final30 October–1 November 20156–8 November 2015
Qualifying rounds
The draw for the preliminary, first and second qualifying rounds was held on 22 December 2014.
Qualification ties were 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 level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).
Preliminary round
Notes
First round
Second round
The losers of the second round entered the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup play-off round.
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
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage
Knockout ties were 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 level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).
Bracket
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.
Final
In the final, the order of legs was determined by a draw, held after the group stage draw.
Top scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Bakri Al-Madina Al-Merrikh7 Mbwana Samatta TP Mazembe3 Mouhcine Iajour Moghreb Tétouan6 Roger Assalé TP Mazembe5 Christian Osaguona Raja Casablanca56 Youcef Belaïli USM Alger4 Rainford Kalaba TP Mazembe Justine Zulu ZESCO United9 Kaddour Beldjilali USM Alger3 Mohamed Rabie Meftah USM Alger Mohamed Seguer USM Alger Kabamba Mukundi SM Sanga Balende Hermann Kouao Smouha Kabongo Kassongo Kaloum Star Adil Karrouchy Raja Casablanca Mohammed Gambo Kano Pillars Mudather Careca Al-Hilal Nizar Hamid Al-Hilal Boubacar Kébé Al-Hilal Ahmed Abdalla Al-Merrikh Yannick N'Djeng Espérance de Tunis
See also 2015 CAF Confederation Cup 2015 FIFA Club World Cup 2016 CAF Super Cup
References
External links Orange CAF Champions League 2015, CAFonline.com