The 2018–19 Arab Club Champions Cup, officially named the 2018–19 Zayed Champions Cup () to mark 100 years since the birth of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was the 28th season of the Arab Club Champions Cup, the Arab world's club football tournament organised by UAFA, and the first season since it was renamed from the Arab Club Championship to the Arab Club Champions Cup.
The final was played at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, between Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Étoile du Sahel of Tunisia. It was the fourth time Al-Hilal reached the final in their history, while it marked the first appearance of Étoile du Sahel in this stage. Étoile du Sahel defeated Al-Hilal 2–1 in the final and won the title for the first time in their history, becoming the third Tunisian team to win the competition in the last five editions.
Espérance de Tunis were the defending champions, having won the title in the previous edition. They were eliminated by Al-Ittihad Alexandria in the first round.
Prize money The prize money was as follows:Winners of Arab club tournament to earn $6 mln Winners: $6 million Runners-up: $2.5 million
Teams A total of 40 teams participated in the tournament; 20 from Asia and 20 from Africa. 10 clubs started in the qualifying play-off where two of them advanced to the first round which consisted of 32 teams. From then on, the tournament was played in a knockout format with home and away legs, until the final which was a one-leg match played in the United Arab Emirates.
+Asia ZoneTeamLeague positionApp First round entrants Al-Hilal2016–17 Saudi Professional League champions10th Al-Ahli Jeddah2016–17 Saudi Professional League runners-up9th Al-Nassr2016–17 Saudi Professional League third place6th Al-Ittihad Jeddah2016–17 Saudi Professional League fourth place10th Al-Jazira2016–17 UAE Pro-League champions1st Al-Wasl2016–17 UAE Pro-League runners-up2nd Al-Ain2016–17 UAE Pro-League fourth place1st Al-Riffa2016–17 Bahrain First Division League runners-up9th Al-Muharraq2016–17 Bahrain First Division League fifth place5th Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya2016–17 Iraqi Premier League champions4th Al-Naft2016–17 Iraqi Premier League runners-up1st Al-Kuwait2016–17 Kuwaiti Premier League champions7th Al-Qadsia2016–17 Kuwaiti Premier League runners-up8th Al-Ramtha2016–17 Jordan League fifth place1st Salam Zgharta2016–17 Lebanese Premier League runners-up1st Al-Shabab2016–17 Oman Professional League runners-up1st Al-Jaish2016–17 Syrian Premier League champions8th Play-off round entrants Al-Salmiya2016–17 Kuwaiti Premier League sixth place2nd Al-Nejmeh2016–17 Lebanese Premier League third place7th Al-Faisaly2016–17 Saudi Professional League ninth place1st
+Africa ZoneTeamLeague positionApp First round entrants ES Sétif2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions5th MC Alger2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up4th USM Alger2016–17 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place5th Al-Ahly2016–17 Egyptian Premier League champions8th Zamalek2016–17 Egyptian Premier League third place7th Ismaily2016–17 Egyptian Premier League sixth place7th Espérance de Tunis2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions8th Étoile du Sahel2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up4th CS Sfaxien2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 fourth place7th Wydad Casablanca2016–17 Botola champions6th Raja Casablanca2016–17 Botola third place9th Al-Ahli Tripoli2016 Libyan Premier League champions3rd Al-Merrikh2017 Sudan Premier League runners-up11th Play-off round entrants Al-Ittihad Alexandria2016–17 Egyptian Premier League eighth place1st ASAC Concorde2016–17 Ligue 1 Mauritania champions2nd Fath Union Sport2016–17 Botola seventh place2nd Club Africain2016–17 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place8th Preliminary round entrants Ngazi de Mirontsi2017 Comoros Premier League fifth place1st ASAS Djibouti Télécom2016–17 Djibouti Premier League champions2nd Banadir2016–17 Somali First Division runners-up1st
+Associations which did not enter a team Palestine Qatar Yemen
Notes
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows: PhaseRoundDraw dateDatesQualifying play-offPreliminary round24 April 20185–9 May 2018Play-off round17–24 May 2018Knockout stageFirst round31 July – 30 September 2018Second round6 October 201827 October – 11 December 2018Quarter-finals17 December 201826 January – 25 February 2019Semi-finals27 February – 15 April 2019Final18 April 2019
Qualifying rounds Preliminary round
Play-off round Group A
Group B
Knockout phase Bracket
First round
1–1 on aggregate. Zamalek won on away goals.
2–2 on aggregate. ES Sétif won on away goals.
2–2 on aggregate. Ismaily won 4–2 on penalties.
Raja Casablanca won 3–2 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. Al-Wasl won on away goals.
3–3 on aggregate. Al-Naft won on away goals.
Al-Hilal won 2–0 on aggregate.
MC Alger won 2–1 on aggregate.
Étoile du Sahel won 6–2 on aggregate.
USM Alger won 4–0 on aggregate. They were awarded a 3–0 walkover win in the second leg after Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya's players withdrew from the match at 71 minutes while losing 2–0 in protest at offensive chants from the home fans.
Al-Nassr won 6–2 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Al-Ittihad Alexandria won on away goals.
2–2 on aggregate. Wydad Casablanca won 4–2 on penalties.
Al-Merrikh won 4–2 on aggregate.
Al-Ahly won 4–1 on aggregate.
Al-Ahli Jeddah won 5–0 on aggregate.
Second round
Al-Merrikh won 4–3 on aggregate.
MC Alger won 3–1 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Al-Wasl won on away goals.
Étoile du Sahel won 1–0 on aggregate.
Al-Hilal won 6–0 on aggregate.
0–0 on aggregate. Raja Casablanca won 4–2 on penalties.
1–1 on aggregate. Al-Ittihad Alexandria won 4–3 on penalties.
Al-Ahli Jeddah won 2–1 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
Al-Hilal won 3–0 on aggregate.
Al-Ahli Jeddah won 4–3 on aggregate.
Étoile du Sahel won 2–1 on aggregate.
Al-Merrikh won 3–0 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
1–1 on aggregate. Al-Hilal won 3–2 on penalties.
Étoile du Sahel won 1–0 on aggregate.
Final
Top scorers Statistics exclude qualifying rounds.
RankPlayerTeam Total1 Mohamed Abdel Rahman Al-Merrikh2 3 2 72 Bafétimbi Gomis Al-Hilal 112 153 Abdulrahman Ghareeb Al-Ahli Jeddah 21 3 Yahya Al-Shehri Al-Nassr11 1 Carlos Eduardo Al-Hilal 1 11
Broadcasting 2018–19 Zayed Champions Cup Media Coverage Country Television ChannelAD Sports
Notes & references Notes
References
External links UAFA Official website