2016 CAF Champions League group stage explained

Tourney Name:CAF Champions League group stage
Year:2016
Matches:18
Goals:40
Prevseason:2015
Nextseason:2017

The 2016 CAF Champions League group stage was played from 18 June to 24 August 2016.[1] A total of eight teams competed in the group stage to decide the four places in the knockout stage of the 2016 CAF Champions League.[2]

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 24 May 2016, 14:30 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[3] [4] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four.

The eight teams, all winners of the second round, were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown in parentheses): two teams in Pot 1, two teams in Pot 2, two teams in Pot 3, and two teams in Pot 4. One team from each of the four pots were drawn into each group, with each team then assigned a random "position" in the group to determine the fixtures.[5]

Format

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.

Tiebreakers

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

  1. Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
  3. Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  4. Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
  5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 9 apply;
  6. Goal difference in all games;
  7. Goals scored in all games;
  8. Away goals scored in all games;
  9. Drawing of lots.

Schedule

The schedule of each matchday was as follows.[1] [6]

MatchdayDatesMatches
Matchday 117–19 June 2016Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
Matchday 228–29 June 2016Team 2 vs. Team 3, Team 4 vs. Team 1
Matchday 315–17 July 2016Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 4
Matchday 426–27 July 2016Team 3 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 2
Matchday 512–14 August 2016Team 2 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 3
Matchday 623–24 August 2016Team 3 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 4

Groups

Group A

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Group B

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External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Orange CAF CL FINAL 2015: CAF Flash Magazine. CAF.
  2. Web site: Regulations of the CAF Champions League. Confédération Africaine de Football. 23 May 2016.
  3. Web site: Accreditation for Interclubs Group Phase draw. CAF. 9 May 2016.
  4. Web site: CL draw results: Group phase. CAF. 24 May 2016.
  5. Web site: Draw for Orange CAF Champions League & Orange CAF Confederation Cup. YouTube. 24 May 2016.
  6. Web site: Fixtures of the Group Matches of the CL 2016. CAF.