# 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 (CAF), and the 13th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner will participate in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2010 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.
Below is the qualification scheme for the competition. Nations are shown according to their CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated:
| Association | Club | Qualifying method |
| Associations with two entrants (Ranked 1–12) |||
| Tunisia$^1$ (1st – 45 pts) | Club Africain | 2007–08 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champion |
| Tunisia$^1$ (1st – 45 pts) | Étoile du Sahel | 2007–08 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runner-up |
| Egypt$^2$ (2nd – 33 pts) | Al Ahly | 2007–08 Egyptian Premier League champion |
| Nigeria (3rd – 29 pts) | Kano Pillars | 2007–08 Nigerian Premier League champion |
| Nigeria (3rd – 29 pts) | Heartland | 2007–08 Nigerian Premier League runner-up |
| Morocco (4th – 19 pts) | FAR Rabat | 2007–08 Botola champion |
| Morocco (4th – 19 pts) | Ittihad Khemisset | 2007–08 Botola runner-up |
| Ghana (5th – 13 pts) | Asante Kotoko | 2007–08 Ghana Premier League champion |
| Ghana (5th – 13 pts) | Heart of Lions | 2007–08 Ghana Premier League runner-up |
| Ivory Coast (6th – 11 pts) | Africa Sports National | 2008 Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division champion |
| Ivory Coast (6th – 11 pts) | ASEC Mimosas | 2008 Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division runner-up |
| Algeria (=7th – 9 pts) | JS Kabylie | 2007–08 Algerian Championnat National champion |
| Algeria (=7th – 9 pts) | ASO Chlef | 2007–08 Algerian Championnat National runner-up |
| Cameroon (=7th – 9 pts) | Coton Sport FC | 2007–08 MTN Elite one champion |
| Cameroon (=7th – 9 pts) | Canon Yaoundé | 2007–08 MTN Elite one runner-up |
| South Africa$^1$ (=9th – 7 pts) | Supersport United | 2007–08 Premier Soccer League champion |
| South Africa$^1$ (=9th – 7 pts) | Ajax Cape Town | 2007–08 Premier Soccer League runner-up |
| Sudan$^1$ (=9th – 7 pts) | Al-Merreikh | 2008 Sudan Premier League champion |
| Sudan$^1$ (=9th – 7 pts) | Al-Hilal | 2008 Sudan Premier League runner-up |
| Angola (11th – 4 pts) | Petro Atlético | 2008 Girabola (XXX) champion |
| Angola (11th – 4 pts) | Primeiro de Agosto | 2008 Girabola (XXX) runner-up |
| Congo DR$^1$ (=12th – 3 pts) | DC Motema Pembe | 2007–08 Linafoot champion |
| Congo DR$^1$ (=12th – 3 pts) | TP Mazembe | 2007–08 Linafoot runner-up |
| Libya (=12th – 3 pts) | Al Ittihad Tripoli | 2007–08 Libyan Premier League champion |
| Libya (=12th – 3 pts) | Al Ahly Tripoli | 2007–08 Libyan Premier League runner-up |
| Senegal (=12th – 3 pts) | AS Douanes | 2008 Senegal Premier League champion |
| Senegal (=12th – 3 pts) | Casa Sport | 2008 Senegal Premier League runner-up |
| Associations with one entrant (Fewer ranking points than the 12th CAF association) |||
| Rwanda (=15th – 2 pts) | ATRACO | 2007–08 Rwandan Premier League champion |
| Tanzania (=15th – 2 pts) | Young Africans | 2007–08 Tanzanian Premier League champion |
| Zambia (=15th – 2 pts) | ZESCO United | 2008 Zambian Premier League champion |
| Gabon (=18th – 1 pt) | AS Mangasport | 2007–08 Gabon Championnat National D1 champion |
| Guinea (=18th – 1 pt) | Fello Star | 2008 Guinée Championnat National champion |
| Zimbabwe (=18th – 1 pt) | Monomotapa United | 2008 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champion |
| Burkina Faso | Étoile Filante | 2007–08 Burkinabé Premier League champion |
| Burundi | AS Inter Star | 2008 Burundi Premier League champion |
| Cape Verde | Sporting Clube da Praia | 2008 Cape Verdean football Championships champion |
| Chad | Elect-Sport FC | 2008 Chad Premier League champion |
| Comoros | Etoile d'Or | 2008 Comoros Premier League champion |
| Congo | CARA Brazzaville | 2008 Congo Premier League champion |
| Gambia | Wallidan | 2008 GFA League First Division champion |
| Guinea-Bissau | Sporting Clube de Bafatá | 2008 Campeonato Nacional da Guiné-Bissau champion |
| Kenya | Mathare United | 2008 Kenyan Premier League champion |
| Liberia | Monrovia Black Star | 2008 Liberian Premier League champion |
| Madagascar | Academie Ny Antsika | 2008 THB Champions League champion |
| Mali | Djoliba | 2007–08 Malian Première Division champion |
| Mauritius | Curepipe Starlight | 2007–08 Mauritian League champion |
| Mozambique | Ferroviário Maputo | 2008 Moçambola champion |
| Niger | AS Police | 2007–08 Niger Premier League champion |
| Réunion | US Stade Tamponnaise | 2008 Réunion Premier League runner-up$^3$ |
| Sierra Leone | Ports Authority F.C. | 2007–08 Sierra Leone National Premier League champion |
| Swaziland | Royal Leopards | 2007–08 Swazi Premier League champion |
| Uganda | Kampala City Council | 2007–08 Ugandan Super League champion |
| Zanzibar | Miembeni | 2008 Zanzibar Premier League champion |
| Associations entered after the deadline |||
| Equatorial Guinea (=18th – 1 pt) | Akonangui | 2008 Equatoguinean Premier League champion |
| Central African Republic | Stade Centrafricain | 2008 Central African Republic League champion |
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 (Malawi – ranked =18th – did not enter a champion this year).
$^1$ 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.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Primeiro de Agosto | 7–3 | CARA Brazzaville | 5–2 | 2–1 |
| Canon Yaoundé | 2–1 | AS Inter Star | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| AS Douanes | 4–1 | Ports Authority F.C. | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Kano Pillars | 2–0 | Elect-Sport FC | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Club Africain | w/o | Sporting Clube de Bafatá | – | – |
| Djoliba | 4–1 | Casa Sport | 4–0 | 0–1 |
| Ferroviário Maputo | 2–3 | Kampala City Council FC | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Supersport United | 8–2 | Curepipe Starlight | 3–0 | 5–2 |
| Heartland | 10–1 | Monrovia Black Star | 4–0 | 6–1 |
| FAR Rabat | 6–2 | Sporting Clube da Praia | 6–1 | 0–1 |
| Petro Atlético | 6–0 | Royal Leopards | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Étoile Filante | 4–3 | Heart of Lions | 2–0 | 2–3 |
| Al Ahly Tripoli | 7–2 | AS Police | 6–0 | 1–2 |
| Ittihad Khemisset | w/o | Wallidan | – | – |
| ASO Chlef | 3–1 | Fello Star | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| DC Motema Pembe | 1–3 | AS Mangasport | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Monomotapa United | 3–2 | Miembeni | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Young Africans | 14–1 | Etoile d'Or | 8–1 | 6–0 |
| Academie Ny Antsika | 0–6 | US Stade Tamponnaise | $^1$ | 0–6 |
| ZESCO United | 5–1 | Mathare United | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Al-Merreikh | 2–1 | ATRACO | 2–1 | 0–0 |
$^1$ Played over one leg after first leg cancelled due to political violence in Madagascar

### 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.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Stade Centrafricain | 1–1 (4–5 p) | Akonangui | 1–0 | 0–1 (aet) |
As no side withdrew from the first round, Akonangui were effectively eliminated as well.

### First round

The first round first legs were played on 13–15 March, and the second legs on 3–6 April 2009.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Primeiro de Agosto | 1–1 (5–4 p) | Canon Yaoundé | 0–1 | 1–0 (aet) |
| AS Douanes | 1–1 (a) | Kano Pillars | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Club Africain | 2–2 (a) | Djoliba | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Kampala City Council FC | 3–2 | Supersport United | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Heartland | 4–2 | FAR Rabat | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| TP Mazembe | 5–1 | Petro Atlético | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| ASEC Mimosas | 3–0 | Étoile Filante | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| JS Kabylie | 1–3 | Al Ahly Tripoli | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Asante Kotoko | 3–3 (a) | Ittihad Khemisset | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| Étoile du Sahel | 2–1 | ASO Chlef | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Coton Sport FC | 5–3 | AS Mangasport | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| Ajax Cape Town | 4–4 (a) | Monomotapa United | 3–2 | 1–2 |
| Al Ahly | 4–0 | Young Africans | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Hilal | 4–3 | US Stade Tamponnaise | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Africa Sports National | 0–2 | ZESCO United | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Al Ittihad Tripoli | 1–4 | Al-Merreikh | 1–1 | 0–3 |

### Second round

The first leg will be on 17–19 April and the second leg on 1–3 May.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Primeiro de Agosto | 3–3 (a) | Al-Hilal | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| Kano Pillars | 3–3 (a) | Al Ahly | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Djoliba | 1–2 | ZESCO United | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Kampala City Council FC | 1–2 | Al-Merreikh | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Heartland | 3–2 | Coton Sport FC | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| TP Mazembe | 1–0 | Ittihad Khemisset | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| ASEC Mimosas | 1–2 | Monomotapa United | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Al Ahly Tripoli | 0–2 | Étoile du Sahel | 0–0 | 0–2 |
* The losing teams from the second round advance to the CAF Confederation Cup 2009

## 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

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KAN | ALH | ZES | ALM |
| 1 | Kano Pillars | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 11 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| 3 | ZESCO United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 8 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 |
| 4 | Al-Merreikh | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TPM | HEA | ETO | MON |
| 1 | TP Mazembe | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| 2 | Heartland | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage | 2–0 | — | 3–0 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Étoile du Sahel | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 7 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 |
| 4 | Monomotapa United | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 6 | | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — |

## Knockout stage
### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Heartland | 4 | 1 | 5 | | | | | |
| 4 | Kano Pillars | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| 4 | Kano Pillars | 0 | 0 | 0 | Heartland | Heartland | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | | | TP Mazembe (a) | TP Mazembe (a) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Al-Hilal | 2 | 2 | 4 | TP Mazembe (a) | TP Mazembe (a) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | TP Mazembe | 5 | 0 | 5 | | | | | |

### Semifinals

The first legs were scheduled for 4 October and the second legs for 17–18 October.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Heartland | 5–0 | Kano Pillars | 4–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Hilal | 4–5 | TP Mazembe | 2–5 | 2–0 |

### Final

2–2 on aggregate. TP Mazembe won on the away goals rule.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Dioko Kaluyituka | TP Mazembe | 8 |
| 2 | Endurance Idahor | Al-Merreikh | 7 |
| 3 | Victor Namo | Kano Pillars | 6 |
| 3 | Uche Agba | Heartland | 6 |
| 3 | Trésor Mputu | TP Mazembe | 6 |
| 6 | Muhannad Eltahir | Al-Hilal | 5 |
| 6 | Enoch Sakala | ZESCO United | 5 |
| 8 | Daniel Kamungenga | Monomotapa United | 3 |
| 8 | Clifford Chipalo | ZESCO United | 3 |
| 8 | Stanley Okoro | Heartland | 3 |
| 8 | Ike Thankgod | Heartland | 3 |
| 8 | Kabangu Mulota | TP Mazembe | 3 |