2009 CAF Champions League
The 2009 CAF Champions League is the 45th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, and the 13th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner will participate in the 2009 FIFA [Club World Cup] and the CAF Super Cup">Confederation of African Football">CAF Super Cup.
Qualification
- 53 teams from 40 CAF member associations were entered officially in the 2009 CAF Champions League.
- The 12 highest ranked associations according to CAF 5-year ranking are eligible to enter 2 teams in the competition. For this year's competition, CAF used 2003–07 5-Year rankings in which 3 countries shared the 12th place – allowing 14 countries to enter a second team.
- Two other teams were entered after the official deadline and were placed in a special subsection on the draw.
Italicised clubs withdrew without playing.
Bolded clubs received a bye in the preliminary round, entering the tournament in the first round.
Unranked associations have no ranking points and hence are equal 23rd.
1 The champions of Congo DR, South Africa, Sudan, and Tunisia were not given byes in the first stage although the runners-up were. Unlike European tournaments, seeding within the CAF draws is based on performance in continental tournaments only.
2 The 2007–08 [Egyptian Premier League] runner-up, Ismaily opted not to enter this competition, choosing instead to play in the 2008–09 Arab Champions League. The third-placed Egyptian side, Al-Zamalek were not allowed to replace them as the CAF Champions League regulations allow only national champions and runners-up to compete.
3 2008 Réunion Premier League Champion, JS Saint-Pierroise, banned from African club competitions after withdrawing from the 2007 CAF Champions League.
Qualifying rounds
Preliminary round
The preliminary round first legs were played on 30 January – 1 February, and the second legs on 13–15 February 2009.Dispensation round
Two federations inscribed their clubs after the deadline, but were admitted for an intermediate round. However, the winning club could only gain access to the first round if another winning club from the preliminary round withdrew subsequently. The first leg was played on 22 February, and the second leg on 8 March 2009.First round
The first round first legs were played on 13–15 March, and the second legs on 3–6 April 2009.Second round
The first leg will be on 17–19 April and the second leg on 1–3 May.Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 7 May in CAF headquarters in Cairo.Étoile du Sahel and Al-Merreikh were seeded as level I, while TP Mazembe and Al-Hilal were seeded as level II.
| Key to colours in group tables |
| Group winners and runners-up advance to the Knockout stage |