2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup


The 2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup was the 16th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, under the current CAF Confederation Cup title after the merger of CAF Cup and African Cup Winners' Cup.
This season follows a transitional calendar which allows the CAF club competitions to switch from a February-to-November schedule to an August–to-May schedule, as per the decision of the CAF Executive Committee on 20 July 2017. It started in December 2018, right after the 2018 season has finished, and concluded in May 2019, before the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Zamalek won the title for the first time, defeating RS Berkane in the final 5–3 on penalties after being tied 1–1 on aggregate, and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League in the 2020 CAF Super Cup.
Raja Casablanca were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage.

Association team allocation

All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Confederation Cup, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to their CAF 5-year ranking eligible to enter two teams in the competition. As a result, theoretically a maximum of 68 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.
For the 2018–19 CAF Confederation Cup, the CAF uses the 2013–2017 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 Cup
Winners6 points5 points
Runners-up5 points4 points
Losing semi-finalists4 points3 points
Losing quarter-finalists 3 points2 points
3rd place in groups2 points1 point
4th place in groups1 point0.5 point

The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:
  • 2017 – 5
  • 2016 – 4
  • 2015 – 3
  • 2014 – 2
  • 2013 – 1

Teams

The following 55 teams from 43 associations entered the competition.
  • Nine teams received a bye to the [|first round].
  • The other 46 teams entered the [|preliminary round].
Associations are shown according to their 2013–2017 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
AssociationTeamQualifying method
Étoile du Sahel2017–18 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
CS Sfaxien2017–18 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 fourth place
Al-Masry2017–18 Egyptian Premier League third place
Zamalek2017–18 Egypt Cup winners
DC Motema Pembe2017–18 Linafoot third place
AS Nyuki2018 Coupe du Congo DR winners
Hassania Agadir2017–18 Botola third place
RS Berkane2018 Moroccan Throne Cup winners
Raja CasablancaTitle holders
NA Hussein Dey2017–18 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 third place
USM Bel Abbès2017–18 Algerian Cup winners
Kaizer Chiefs2017–18 South African Premier Division third place
Free State Stars2017–18 Nedbank Cup winners
El-Hilal El-Obeid2018 Sudan Premier League third place
Al-Ahly Shendi2018 Sudan Premier League fourth place
Green Buffaloes2018 Zambia Super League third place
Green Eagles2018 Zambia Super League fourth place
Al-Ahli Tripoli2017–18 Libyan Premier League third place
Al-Ittihad2018 Libyan Cup winners
New Star2018 Elite One fourth place
Eding Sport2018 Cameroonian Cup finalists
FC San Pédro2017–18 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 third place
Stade d'Abidjan2018 Coupe de Côte d'Ivoire runners-up

A further 15 teams eliminated from the 2018–19 CAF Champions League enter the [|play-off round].

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows. Effective from the Confederation Cup group stage, weekend matches are played on Sundays while midweek matches are played on Wednesdays, with some exceptions. Kick-off times are also fixed at 13:00, 16:00 and 19:00 GMT.

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.