2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup group stage

The 2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup group stage started on 10 March and ended on 28 April 2021.[1] A total of 16 teams competed in the group stage to decide the eight places in the knockout stage of the 2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup.[2]

2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup group stage
Dates10 March – 28 April 2021
Tournament statistics
Matches played48
Goals scored86 (1.79 per match)

Draw

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The draw for the group stage was held on 22 February 2021, 13:00 GMT (15:00 local time, UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[3] The 16 teams, which consist of the 15 winners of the play-off round of qualifying and defending champions RS Berkane, were drawn into four groups of four.

The teams were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown in parentheses). Each group contained one team from each of Pot 1, Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4, and each team was allocated to the positions in their group according to their pot:

Pot Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Teams
Notes
  1. Winners of the play-off round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw.

Format

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In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The winners and runners-up of each group will advance to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

Tiebreakers

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Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order (Regulations III. 20 & 21):[2]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  5. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  6. Goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Drawing of lots.

Schedule

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The schedule of each matchday is as follows.[1] Kick-off times are fixed at 13:00, 16:00 and 19:00 GMT.

During the Islamic holy month Ramadan (12 April – 12 May), CAF gave clubs the option to play their home matches late in the day to avoid having large number of players fasting during matches.

Matchday Dates Matches
Matchday 1 10 March 2021 Team 1 vs. Team 4, Team 2 vs. Team 3
Matchday 2 17 March 2021 Team 3 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 2
Matchday 3 4 April 2021 Team 4 vs. Team 3, Team 1 vs. Team 2
Matchday 4 11 April 2021 Team 3 vs. Team 4, Team 2 vs. Team 1
Matchday 5 21 April 2021 Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 3 vs. Team 2
Matchday 6 28 April 2021 Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 4

Groups

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ENY ORL ESS AHL
1   Enyimba 6 3 0 3 6 8 −2 9[a] Advance to knockout stage 1–0 2–1 2–1
2   Orlando Pirates 6 2 3 1 5 2 +3 9[a] 2–1 0–0 3–0
3   ES Sétif 6 2 2 2 5 3 +2 8 3–0 0–0 1–0
4   Al Ahly Benghazi 6 2 1 3 3 6 −3 7 1–0 0–0 1–0
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Tied on head-to-head points (3), on head-to-head goal difference (0) and on head-to-head goals scored (2). Head-to-head away goals scored: Enyimba 1, Orlando Pirates 0.
Enyimba  2–1  Al Ahly Benghazi
Report
Referee: Jean Claude Ishimwe (Rwanda)
ES Sétif  0–0  Orlando Pirates
Report

Orlando Pirates  2–1  Enyimba
Report
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)
Al Ahly Benghazi  1–0  ES Sétif
Report

Enyimba  2–1  ES Sétif
Report
Referee: Souleiman Ahmed Djama (Djibouti)
Al Ahly Benghazi  0–0  Orlando Pirates
Report
Referee: Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)

Orlando Pirates  3–0  Al Ahly Benghazi
Report
Referee: Kalilou Traoré (Ivory Coast)
ES Sétif  3–0  Enyimba
Report
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)

Orlando Pirates  0–0  ES Sétif
Report
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
Al Ahly Benghazi  1–0  Enyimba
Report
Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal)

Enyimba  1–0  Orlando Pirates
Report
Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)
ES Sétif  1–0  Al Ahly Benghazi
Report
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JSK COT RSB NAP
1   JS Kabylie 6 3 3 0 7 4 +3 12 Advance to knockout stage 1–0 0–0 2–1
2   Coton Sport 6 3 0 3 10 6 +4 9 1–2 2–0 5–1
3   RS Berkane 6 2 2 2 4 4 0 8 0–0 2–1 2–0
4   NAPSA Stars 6 1 1 4 5 12 −7 4 2–2 0–1 1–0
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
RS Berkane  2–0  NAPSA Stars
Report
Referee: Sekou Ahmed Touré (Guinea)
JS Kabylie  1–0  Coton Sport
Report

Coton Sport  2–0  RS Berkane
Report
Referee: Sadok Selmi (Tunisia)
NAPSA Stars  2–2  JS Kabylie
Report
Referee: Kalilou Traoré (Ivory Coast)

NAPSA Stars  0–1  Coton Sport
Report
Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)
RS Berkane  0–0  JS Kabylie
Report

Coton Sport  5–1  NAPSA Stars
Report
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
JS Kabylie  0–0  RS Berkane
Report

Coton Sport  1–2  JS Kabylie
Report
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf (Egypt)
NAPSA Stars  1–0  RS Berkane
Report
Referee: Georges Gatogato (Burundi)

RS Berkane  2–1  Coton Sport
Report
Referee: Daniel Laryea (Ghana)
JS Kabylie  2–1  NAPSA Stars
Report
Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JAR CSS ETS SAL
1   ASC Jaraaf 6 3 2 1 5 3 +2 11 Advance to knockout stage 1–1 1–0 2–0
2   CS Sfaxien 6 2 4 0 6 3 +3 10 0–0 2–2 1–0
3   Étoile du Sahel 6 2 2 2 6 5 +1 8 2–0 0–0 2–1
4   Salitas 6 1 0 5 2 8 −6 3 0–1 0–2 1–0
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
CS Sfaxien  1–0  Salitas
Report
Referee: Sabri Mohamed Fadul (Sudan)
Étoile du Sahel  2–0  ASC Jaraaf
Report
Referee: Ahmed El Ghandour (Egypt)

Salitas  1–0  Étoile du Sahel
Report
Referee: Messie Nkounkou (Congo)
ASC Jaraaf  1–1  CS Sfaxien
Report
Referee: Al Hadi Mahamat (Chad)

ASC Jaraaf  2–0  Salitas
Report
Referee: Hassan Corneh (Liberia)
Étoile du Sahel  0–0  CS Sfaxien
Report

CS Sfaxien  2–2  Étoile du Sahel
Report
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)
Salitas  0–1  ASC Jaraaf
Report
Referee: Djindo Louis Houngnandande (Benin)

ASC Jaraaf  1–0  Étoile du Sahel
Report
Referee: Fabricio Duarte (Cape Verde)
Salitas  0–2  CS Sfaxien
Report
Referee: Hassan Mohamed Hagi (Somalia)

Étoile du Sahel  2–1  Salitas
Report
Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya)
CS Sfaxien  0–0  ASC Jaraaf
Report
Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RCA PYR NKA NAM
1   Raja Casablanca 6 6 0 0 13 0 +13 18 Advance to knockout stage 2–0 2–0 1–0
2   Pyramids 6 4 0 2 7 5 +2 12 0–3 3–0 1–0
3   Nkana 6 2 0 4 2 8 −6 6 0–2 0–1 1–0
4   Namungo 6 0 0 6 0 9 −9 0 0–3 0–2 0–1
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Raja Casablanca  1–0  Namungo
Report
Referee: Hassan Corneh (Liberia)
Pyramids  3–0  Nkana
Report
Referee: Thierry Nkurunziza (Burundi)

Namungo  0–2  Pyramids
Report
Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)
Nkana  0–2  Raja Casablanca
Report
Referee: Ali Mohamed Adelaide (Comoros)

Namungo  0–1  Nkana
Report
Referee: Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia)
Raja Casablanca  2–0  Pyramids
Report
Referee: Sekou Ahmed Touré (Guinea)

Nkana  1–0  Namungo
Report
Referee: Brighton Chimene (Zimbabwe)
Pyramids  0–3  Raja Casablanca
Report
Referee: Helder Martins de Carvalho (Angola)

Nkana  0–1  Pyramids
Report
Namungo  0–3  Raja Casablanca
Report
Referee: Chelanget Sabila (Uganda)

Pyramids  1–0  Namungo
Report
Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso)
Raja Casablanca  2–0  Nkana
Report
Referee: Sabri Mohamed Fadul (Sudan)

Notes

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  1. ^ The ES Sétif v Orlando Pirates match, originally scheduled to be played at Stade 8 Mai 1945, Sétif, was played outside Algeria at Accra Sports Stadium, Accra (Ghana) due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic imposed by Algeria on travelers from South Africa out of concern of the variant 501.V2.[4]
  2. ^ The Al Ahly Benghazi v ES Sétif match, originally scheduled to be played at Benina Martyrs Stadium, Benghazi, was played outside Libya at Petro Sport Stadium, Cairo (Egypt) due to unavailability.[5][6]
  3. ^ The Al Ahly Benghazi v Enyimba match, originally scheduled to be played on 21 April 2021 at 21:00 local time (UTC+2), was postponed for 24 hours due to unavailability of direct flights from Nigeria to Libya, which prevented Enyimba from appearing for the match in time.[7]
  4. ^ a b c Étoile du Sahel played their home matches at Stade Olympique de Radès, Tunis, instead of their regular home stadium Stade Olympique de Sousse, Sousse, which was undergoing renovation.
  5. ^ The Salitas v ASC Jaraaf match, originally scheduled to be played on 11 April 2021, was postponed for 24 hours due to the 2021 Beninese presidential election.[8]
  6. ^ a b Starting from their second group stage home fixture, Salitas played their home matches at Stade Charles de Gaulle, Porto-Novo (Benin), instead of their regular home stadium Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, which was undergoing renovation.[9]
  7. ^ a b c Namungo played their home matches at National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, instead of their regular home stadium Majaliwa Stadium, Lindi, which did not meet CAF requirements.
  8. ^ a b c Nkana played their home matches at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, instead of their regular home stadium Nkana Stadium, Kitwe, due to unavailability.
  9. ^ The Namungo v Nkana match, originally scheduled to be played at 16:00 local time (UTC+3), was postponed for one hour due to unconfirmed reasons.

References

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  1. ^ a b "2020 - 2021 IC Season (Final)" (PDF). CAF. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "CAF Confederation Cup regulations" (PDF). CAF. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Total CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage draw to be conducted on Monday". CAF. 18 February 2021.
  4. ^ "وفاق سطيف الجزائري يستضيف أورلاندو بايرتس الجنوب أفريقي في غانا" [Ghana set to host CCC tie between Algeria's ES Sétif and Orlando Pirates of South Africa]. Shorouk News (in Arabic). 1 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Benina Martyrs stadium to host Libya football team's CAF matches". The Libya Observer. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  6. ^ "الأهلي بنغازي يواجه وفاق سطيف في القاهرة" [Al Ahly Benghazi set to face ES Sétif in Cairo]. Al Wasat Libya (in Arabic). 3 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  7. ^ "تأجيل مباراة الأهلي بنغازي وإنيمبا النيجيري" [Al Ahly Benghazi match against Nigeria's Enyimba postponed]. Libya Al Ahrar (in Arabic). 21 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Coupe CAF : Le match Salitas – Jaraaf reporté au 12 Avril" [CAF CC: Salitas - Jaraaf match postponed to 12 April]. Africa Foot United (in French). 7 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ^ "CC CAF : Le Stade Charles de Gaulle de Porto-Novo pour accueillir la suite des matchs de Salitas FC" [CAF CC: Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto-Novo set to host remaining Salitas home matches]. Africa Foot United (in French). 26 March 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
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