2018 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds


The 2018 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds were played from 10 February to 18 March 2018. A total of 59 teams competed in the qualifying rounds to decide the 16 places in the group stage of the 2018 CAF Champions League.

Draw


The draw for the preliminary round and first round was held on 13 December 2017 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

The entry round of the 59 teams entered into the draw was determined by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons.
Entry roundFirst round
Preliminary round
Teams

Format


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.

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.
RoundFirst legSecond leg
Preliminary round9–11 February 201820–21 February 2018
First round6–7 March 201816–18 March 2018

Bracket

The bracket of the draw was announced by the CAF on 13 December 2017.

The 16 winners of the first round advanced to the group stage, while the 16 losers of the first round entered the Confederation Cup play-off round.

Preliminary round

The preliminary round included the 54 teams that did not receive byes to the first round.

First round

The first round included 32 teams: the 27 winners of the preliminary round, and the 5 teams that received byes to this round.