The CAF Champions League

 

The CAF Champions League is a club football competition held annually in the continent of Africa. It is the pinnacle of continental football and is held between top-division African clubs. It is contested in a double-legged knockout format with a single-leg final. The winner of the competition is determined by the best goal difference in the competition. The CAF champions are awarded the trophy for the overall best record in the continental league.

In 1993, CAF introduced a new playoff format to reward the winners. The league champions from each country went through a series of preliminary rounds before being placed into two four-team mini-leagues. Teams played home and away to determine which team would advance to the playoffs. The winner of each group would advance to the finals. The CAF champions cup is the continent's premier club competition, and the winner of the tournament is awarded the African Cup of Champions.

TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo is the current African Champions League champion. They won the competition in 2009 and 2010. TP Mazembe won it twice in 1967 and 1968. The DRC team won it twice in 2010 and 2009. The Egyptian club has won the tournament nine times in a row. This record is tied with the Portuguese team in France. The defending دوري ابطال افريقيا title will be played between Esperance and Ajax Cape Town.

The Nigerian club Enyimba won the championship three times in a row and has won the championship on six occasions. In the last two years, the Ivory Coast's ASEC Mimosas have won the trophy five times. Accra Hearts of Oak have won the championship three times. TP Mazembe have also won the title two different ways. In 2004, Ghanaian side FC won it twice. TP Mazembe has won it seven times.

The African Champions League is played annually and is played over a calendar year. The tournament begins in January and ends in December. In 1999, 41 teams entered the competition. Only the national champion can qualify for the final. In the old European system, the runners up of the African Cup were awarded the CAF cup. However, the competition started in 2007, but the first edition took place in 2009. In 2010, the Congo team won the competition in the final.

The Nigerian club won the African Champions League two times. Its most recent title was won by the Ivory Coast's Al Ahly in 2007. The competition has been held since the year 2000. Its history is full of great achievements for the African continent. The Egyptian club is the most successful team in the competition, having won ten championships in a row from 2003 to 2010. Moreover, the DRC team has won the tournament three times.