CAF Sets the Stage for Crucial Club Competition Draws
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will hold the highly anticipated draws for its two premier club competitions this Tuesday, marking a critical juncture in the 2015 African football season. The CAF Champions League group stage draw and the CAF Confederation Cup Round of 16 second round pairings will determine the next phase of the continent’s most prestigious interclub tournaments.
Champions League: Heavyweights Head the Draw
CAF revealed on Monday the procedures for the Champions League group stage draw. Clubs have been seeded based on their performances over the last five years in CAF interclub competitions. ES Sétif (Algeria), the reigning champions, and TP Mazembe (DR Congo), a semi-finalist in the last edition and the top-ranked side this year, are placed in Pot 1 and will serve as group heads.
Pot 2 features both Sudanese powerhouses: Al Hilal and El Merreikh—formidable sides with considerable pedigree in African competition.
Pot 3 includes the remaining four qualified clubs, each making their debut appearance in the group stage with zero accumulated CAF ranking points: USM Alger, MC El Eulma (both from Algeria), Smouha (Egypt), and Moghreb Tétouan (Morocco).
Confederation Cup: Interclub Giants Join the Fray
For the CAF Confederation Cup, attention turns to the Round of 16 bis—a playoff round that pits teams relegated from the Champions League against winners from the Confederation Cup’s first knockout phase.
In Pot A, four continental giants—Al Ahly (Egypt), Espérance de Tunis, CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), and AC Léopards (Congo)—lead the draw as the highest-ranked Champions League dropouts. They will face lower-ranked Confederation Cup winners from Pot B: ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast), Hearts of Oak (Ghana), Club Africain (Tunisia), and Warri Wolves (Nigeria).
Meanwhile, Pot C features top-ranked Confederation Cup winners—AS Vita Club (DR Congo), Orlando Pirates (South Africa), Zamalek (Egypt), and Étoile du Sahel (Tunisia)—who will be matched against lower-ranked Champions League dropouts: AS Kaloum (Guinea), Sanga Balende (DR Congo), Raja Casablanca (Morocco), and Stade Malien (Mali).
As per tournament rules, the winners of the Confederation Cup ties will host the return legs at home.
Group Stage Structure
Following the conclusion of the playoff ties, CAF will draw the group stage line-ups. Each winner will be placed in a single pot, and drawn alternately into Group A and Group B, forming the roadmap to the final.
The outcome of Tuesday’s draw is set to shape the remainder of the African club football season, with elite teams aiming to affirm their dominance and rising clubs hoping to extend their fairytale journeys.
— CAFOnline.com contributed to this report
