2020–21 CAF Champions League


The 2020–21 CAF Champions League was the 57th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, and the 25th edition under the current CAF Champions League title.
Al Ahly successfully defended their title and defeated Kaizer Chiefs 3–0 in the [2021 Confederation of African Football|CAF Champions League Final|final], which was played at Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, Morocco, winning their record-extending tenth and second consecutive title.
As the winners of the 2020–21 CAF Champions League, Al Ahly represented Africa in both the 2021 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cups, and played against Raja Casablanca, the winners of the 2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup, in the 2021–22 CAF Super Cup.

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. As a result, theoretically a maximum of 68 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.
For the 2020–21 CAF Champions League, the CAF uses the 2016–2020 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:
  • 2019–20: × 5
  • 2018–19: × 4
  • 2018: × 3
  • 2017: × 2
  • 2016: × 1

Teams

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, associations may abandon their domestic competitions and select the representatives in CAF club competitions. Associations may register their representatives during the engagement window between 1 September and 20 October 2020. All engaged teams must respect the Club Licensing procedure and cooperate with their respective Associations, as non-licensed clubs would be refused participation.
The following 54 teams from 42 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 2016–2020 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
AssociationRank TeamQualifying method
1 Raja Casablanca2019–20 Botola champions
1 Wydad AC2019–20 Botola runners-up
2 Al AhlyTitle holders
2019–20 Egyptian Premier League champions
2 Zamalek2019–20 Egyptian Premier League runners-up
3 Espérance de Tunis2019–20 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
3 CS Sfaxien2019–20 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
4 TP Mazembe2019–20 Linafoot champions
4 AS Vita Club2019–20 Linafoot runners-up
5 CR Belouizdad2019–20 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions
5 MC Alger2019–20 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up
6 Mamelodi Sundowns2019–20 South African Premier Division champions
6 Kaizer Chiefs2019–20 South African Premier Division runners-up
7 Nkana2019–20 Zambian Super League champions
7 Forest Rangers2019–20 Zambian Super League runners-up
8 Plateau United2019–20 Nigeria Professional Football League first place at time of abandonment
8 Enyimba2019–20 Nigeria Professional Football League second place at time of abandonment
9 Horoya2019–20 Guinée Championnat National first place after 13 rounds
9 Ashanti de Siguiri2019–20 Guinée Championnat National second place after 13 rounds
10 Petro de Luanda2019–20 Girabola first place at time of abandonment
10 1º de Agosto2019–20 Girabola second place at time of abandonment
11 Al Merrikh2019–20 Sudan Premier League champions
11 Al Hilal2019–20 Sudan Premier League runners-up
12 Al Nasr2017–18 Libyan Premier League champions
12 Al Ahly Benghazi2017–18 Libyan Premier League runners-up

;Associations which did not enter a team
;Notes

Schedule

The start of the competition was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 1 September 2020, the CAF announced the new schedule. On 10 September 2020, the CAF decided to further delay the preliminary round, originally scheduled for 20–22 November and 28–29 November, and the first round, originally scheduled for 11–13 December and 18–20 December.
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.

Group stage

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The winners and runners-up of each group will advance to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.