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.
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, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2017 CAF Super Cup. 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. 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:
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: 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.
AssociationTeamQualifying methodAssociations eligible to enter two teams (Ranked 1–12) TunisiaClub Africain2014–15 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championÉtoile du Sahel2014–15 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up EgyptZamalek2014–15 Egyptian Premier League championAl-Ahly2014–15 Egyptian Premier League runner-up DR CongoAS Vita Club2014–15 Linafoot championTP MazembeTitle holders (2015 CAF Champions League winner)2014–15 Linafoot runner-up AlgeriaES Sétif2014–15 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championMO Béjaïa2014–15 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up SudanAl-Merrikh2015 Sudan Premier League championAl-Hilal2015 Sudan Premier League runner-up Ivory CoastAS Tanda2014–15 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 championASEC Mimosas2014–15 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runner-up MoroccoWydad AC2014–15 Botola championOlympique Khouribga2014–15 Botola runner-up CameroonCoton Sport2015 Elite One championUnion Douala2015 Elite One runner-up CongoAC Léopards2015 Congo Premier League first place before abandonedÉtoile du Congo2015 Congo Premier League second place before abandoned MaliStade Malien2014–15 Malian Première Division championOnze Créateurs2014–15 Malian Première Division runner-up NigeriaEnyimba2015 Nigeria Professional Football League championWarri Wolves2015 Nigeria Professional Football League runner-up South AfricaKaizer Chiefs2014–15 South African Premier Division championMamelodi Sundowns2014–15 South African Premier Division runner-upAssociations eligible to enter one team AngolaRecreativo do Libolo2015 Girabola champion LibyaAl-Ahli Tripoli2013–14 Libyan Premier League champion (no league in 2015) GhanaAshanti Gold2015 Ghanaian Premier League champion ZambiaZESCO United2015 Zambian Premier League champion EthiopiaSaint George2014–15 Ethiopian Premier League champion NigerAS Douanes Niamey2014–15 Niger Premier League champion ZimbabweChicken Inn2015 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champion BotswanaCentre Chiefs2014–15 Botswana Premier League champion Burkina FasoRC Bobo Dioulasso2014–15 Burkinabé Premier League champion BurundiVital'O2014–15 Burundi Premier League champion ChadAS CotonTchad2015 Chad Premier League runner-up ComorosVolcan Club2015 Comoros Premier League champion Equatorial GuineaRacing de Micomeseng2015 Equatoguinean Premier League champion GabonAS Mangasport2015 Gabon Championnat National D1 champion GambiaGamtel2014–15 GFA League First Division champion GuineaHoroya2014–15 Guinée Championnat National champion KenyaGor Mahia2015 Kenyan Premier League champion LesothoLioli2014–15 Lesotho Premier League champion LiberiaNimba United2015 Liberian First Division League champion MadagascarCNaPS Sport2015 THB Champions League champion MauritiusCercle de Joachim2014–15 Mauritian League champion MozambiqueFerroviário Maputo2015 Moçambola champion RwandaAPR2014–15 Rwanda National Football League champion São Tomé and PríncipeSporting Praia Cruz2015 São Tomé and Príncipe Championship champion SenegalAS Douanes Dakar2014–15 Senegal Premier League champion SeychellesSt Michel United2015 Seychelles First Division champion South SudanAl-Ghazal2015 South Sudan Football Championship runner-up SwazilandMbabane Swallows2014–15 Swazi Premier League runner-up TanzaniaYoung Africans2014–15 Tanzanian Premier League champion UgandaVipers2014–15 Uganda Super League champion ZanzibarMafunzo2014–15 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
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows. For the first time, some rounds of matches were officially scheduled in midweek (in italics) instead of on weekends.
PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifyingPreliminary round11 December 2015(Dakar, Senegal)12–14 February 201626–28 February 2016First round11–13 March 201618–20 March 2016Second round8–10 April 201619–20 April 2016Group stageMatchday 124 May 2016(Cairo, Egypt)17–19 June 2016Matchday 228–29 June 2016Matchday 315–17 July 2016Matchday 426–27 July 2016Matchday 512–14 August 2016Matchday 623–24 August 2016Knockout stageSemi-finals16–18 September 201623–25 September 2016Final14–16 October 201621–23 October 2016
Qualifying rounds
Preliminary round
Notes
First round
Second round
Notes
Group stage
Tiebreakers
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage
Bracket
Semi-finals
Final
Top goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Mfon Udoh Enyimba92 Reda Hajhouj Wydad AC63 Idris Mbombo ZESCO United54 Clatous Chama ZESCO United4 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
External links Orange CAF Champions League 2016, CAFonline.com