The 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup knockout stage began on 1 March with the quarter-finals and ended on 25 October 2020 with the final to decide the champions of the 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup. A total of eight teams compete in the knockout stage.[1]
Times are GMT as listed by CAF (local times, even if not different, are in parentheses).
Round and draw dates edit
The schedule is as follows.
Following the quarter-finals, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, the semi-finals, originally scheduled for 3 May (first legs) and 10 May (second legs), were postponed indefinitely on 11 April 2020,[2] and the final, originally scheduled for 24 May, was also postponed on 18 April 2020.[3] On 30 June 2020, the CAF Executive Committee proposed that the competition would resume with a Final Four format played as single matches in Morocco.[4] On 3 August 2020, the CAF announced that the competition would resume with the semi-finals played on 22 September, and the final played on 27 September.[5] On 10 September 2020, the CAF announced that at the request of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, the semi-finals were rescheduled to 19–20 October, and the final to 25 October.[6]
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | 5 February 2020 | 1 March 2020 | 8 March 2020 |
| Semi-finals | 19–20 October 2020 | ||
| Final | 25 October 2020 | ||
Format edit
In the knockout stage, the quarter-finals were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then extra time was not played and the winners were decided by a penalty shoot-out.
The semi-finals were originally to be played over two legs, but were played as single matches after the format change due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the final, which was played as a single match, if the score was level at the end of normal time, extra time was also not to be played and the winners would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.[1]
The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:
- In the draw for the quarter-finals, the four group winners were seeded, and the four group runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group could not be drawn against each other, while teams from the same association could be drawn against each other.
- In the draws for semi-finals, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw.
Qualified teams edit
The knockout phase involves the 8 teams which qualify as winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage.
| Group | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| A |  Pyramids
|
Al-Masry
|
| B |  Horoya
|
 Al-Nasr
|
| C |  RS Berkane
|
 Zanaco
|
| D | Hassania Agadir
|
 Enyimba
|
Bracket edit
The bracket of the knockout stage is determined as follows:[1]
| Round | Matchups |
|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | (Group winners host second leg, matchups decided by draw, teams from same group cannot play each other)
|
| Semi-finals | (Matchups, and originally order of legs, decided by draw, between winners QF1, QF2, QF3, QF4)
|
| Final | Winners SF1 and SF2 play each other to decide the champions |
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals), which was held on 5 February 2020, 19:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Hilton Pyramids Golf in Cairo, Egypt.[7][8]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||
| Zanaco | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Pyramids | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Pyramids | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Horoya | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Enyimba | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Horoya | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Pyramids | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| RS Berkane | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Al-Masry | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| RS Berkane | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| RS Berkane | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Hassania Agadir | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Al-Nasr | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Hassania Agadir | 5 | 2 | 7 | |||||||||||||
Quarter-finals edit
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 5 February 2020.
Summary edit
The first legs were played on 1 March, and the second legs were played on 8 March 2020.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zanaco
|
1–3 | Pyramids
|
0–3 | 1–0 |
| Al-Nasr
|
0–7 | Hassania Agadir
|
0–5 | 0–2 |
| Al-Masry
|
2–3 | RS Berkane
|
2–2 | 0–1 |
| Enyimba
|
1–3 | Horoya
|
1–1 | 0–2 |
Matches edit
| Zanaco | 0–3 | Pyramids |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Pyramids won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Al-Nasr | 0–5 | Hassania Agadir |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Hassania Agadir | 2–0 | Al-Nasr |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Hassania Agadir won 7–0 on aggregate.
| Al-Masry | 2–2 | RS Berkane |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| RS Berkane | 1–0 | Al-Masry |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
RS Berkane won 3–2 on aggregate.
Horoya won 3–1 on aggregate.
Semi-finals edit
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 5 February 2020 (after the quarter-finals draw).
Summary edit
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, all semi-final matches, originally scheduled for 1–2 May (first legs) and 8–9 May 2020 (second legs), were postponed until further notice.[2] The matches were later rescheduled as single matches in Morocco for 19–20 October 2020, at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat and Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca.[6]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Pyramids
|
2–0 | Horoya
|
| RS Berkane
|
2–1 | Hassania Agadir
|
Matches edit
| Pyramids | 2–0 | Horoya |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| RS Berkane | 2–1 | Hassania Agadir |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Final edit
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final, originally scheduled for 24 May 2020, 19:00 GMT, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco, was postponed until further notice.[14][3] The final was later rescheduled for 25 October 2020.[6]
| Pyramids | 0–1 | RS Berkane |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Notes edit
- ^ Teams from Libya played their home matches outside the country due to security concerns from the ongoing civil war.
- ^ a b The Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced on 5 March 2020 that all football matches in the country would be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak in Morocco.[9]
- ^ On 5 February 2020, Al-Masry requested from the Egyptian Football Association to play their home leg against RS Berkane in Ismailia, instead of their regular home stadium Al Masry Club Stadium, Port Said, which was undergoing renovation, due to being closer to Port Said, so more fans could attend the match. However, the EFA told the club that their request was declined by the local security authorities and were asked to find a different stadium.[10] As a result, Al-Masry requested from RS Berkane to play both legs in Morocco and they received an initial agreement from the Moroccan side, but Al-Masry were asked to confirm their decision to play the match outside Egypt.[11][12] However, it was announced on 17 February 2020 that the match would be played at Suez Stadium in Suez, Egypt, following a meeting involving Al-Masry president and the Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports.[13]
- ^ Final match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco.
References edit
- ^ a b c "CAF Confederation Cup regulations" (PDF). CAF.
- ^ a b "Postponement of Interclubs semis & Women's qualifiers". CAF. 11 April 2020.
- ^ a b "CAF Interclubs finals postponed". CAF. 18 April 2020.
- ^ "CAF Champions League, Confederation Cup to resume in September with Final Four format". CAFonline. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Updated calendar for CAF Interclub competitions". CAF. 3 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Decisions of CAF Executive Committee meeting – 10 September 2020". CAF. 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Accreditation for Interclubs knockout stages". CAF. 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Results of Quarter-finals draw". CAF. 5 February 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Moroccan football matches to be played without fans". BBC. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- ^ "اتحاد الكرة يخطر إدارة النادي المصري برفض الجهات الأمنية لإقامة مبارياته على ستاد الإسماعيلية" [EFA confirm to Al Masry the refusal of the local security authorities for their request to play in Ismailia]. Al-Masry official website (in Arabic). 12 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "نادي نهضة بركان يوافق على لعب مواجهتي المصري بالكونفدرالية في المغرب بشرط" [RS Berkane put two conditions to agree to Al Masry's request to play in Morocco]. FilGoal (in Arabic). 13 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "CAF Confederation Cup: Why Egypt's Al Masry wants to play both their legs against RS Berkane in Morocoo". Futaa. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "رئيس المصري: مواجهة نهضة بركان بالسويس" [Al Masry SC president reveal news about RS Berkane venue]. Eurosport (in Arabic). 17 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "Douala, Rabat named host cities for Interclubs 2019/20 final". CAF. 16 March 2020.
External links edit
- Total CAF Confederation Cup, CAFonline.com