CAF 5-year ranking explained

The CAF 5-year ranking system is used by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to determine the number of clubs that each member association may enter its club football competitions; the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. At present, those associations ranked in the top 12 may enter two teams into each of the two club competitions, while the remaining associations are limited to a single team in each competition.

Origins

Prior to 2004, CAF organized 3 club competitions; the CAF Champions League, the African Cup Winners' Cup and the CAF Cup with each association allowed to enter a single team in each of those. The Cup Winners' Cup and the CAF Cup merged to create the CAF Confederation Cup in 2004. Rather than limiting all associations to just two positions in CAF club competitions, CAF decided to allow the leading nations two entries into the then-new tournament while also allowing them an additional entry in the Champions League.

As with the UEFA rankings used for their club competitions, the CAF rankings are based on obtained results in each of the past 5 completed club seasons. There are some differences, notably:

2004 season

For the 2004 season, the rankings were made according to the performance of the associations in the previous 5 years from 1998 to 2002 in the CAF club competitions. These selected associations were as follows:

2005 season controversy

In July 2004, CAF informed its members that the ranking system for admission to their competitions for the 2005 season would be done according to the same 1998–2002 ranking used for the 2004 season. It is unknown why CAF did not calculate a 1999–2003 ranking (following UEFA's practice of updating its rankings each season), as there would seem to have been enough time to do this.[1] Since then, it has become CAF's policy to adopt a year older ranking for the competitions of the new season; thus in 2012, rankings were based on results from 2006 to 2010.

2011 season change

In December 2010, CAF altered the ranking system, removing the components from the CAF Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, and weighting more recent results more highly. For the 2011 edition of the club competitions, results between the 2005 and 2009 season were still in use, but the points from 2009 were multiplied by 5, 2008 by 4 and it continues in that manner.[2] [3]

2017 season expansion

On 30 May 2016, CAF expanded the group stage team participation in its club competitions from 8 to 16, including a quarter-final knockout stage in the process.[4] [5] CAF announced the ranking system based on the new format on 20 March 2018.[6]

2019–20 season change

On 4 June 2019, CAF announced an updated ranking for the 2019–20 season, which was to be based on results from each CAF club competition from 2015 to the first ever cross-year season of 2018–19, with Tanzania replacing Ivory Coast in the top 12.[7] [8]

Criteria for awarding points

CAF approved its basic criteria based on the criteria used in the election of the CAF Clubs of the 20th Century in 2000 for awarding points in 2003. This was changed in 2005 with the addition of a criterion that rewards clubs that advance to the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.[9] This methodology has also been used to create an all-time ranking for CAF clubs, adding the points that would have been obtained by each club based on its results since 1965.

For the rankings system, only results since 1998 have been counted with the CAF Super Cup and the FIFA World Cup Club excluded from the system since 2011. The table below shows the years during which the competitions were operated:[10]

Competition6 Points5 Points4 Points3 Points2 Points1 Point0.5 Point
Competitions used in current rankings
CAF Champions Leaguebgcolor=goldChampionsbgcolor=silverRunners-upSemi-finalistQuarter-finalist
(from 2017)
3rd in Group Stage4th in Group Stage
CAF Confederation Cupbgcolor=goldChampionsbgcolor=silverRunners-upSemi-finalistQuarter-finalist
(from 2017)
3rd in Group Stage4th in Group Stage
Competitions used in previous rankings
CAF Champions League
2000–2016
bgcolor=goldChampionsbgcolor=silverRunners-upSemi-finalist3rd in Group Stage4th in Group Stage
CAF Confederation Cup
2004–2016
bgcolor=goldChampionsbgcolor=silverRunners-upSemi-finalist3rd in Group Stage
4th in Group Stage
CAF Super Cup
1992–2010
bgcolor=goldChampions
FIFA Club World Cup
2005–2010
bgcolor=goldChampionsbgcolor=silverRunners-up
3rd Place
4th Place

Weighting factor

Since 2011, points have been weighted according to the year of performance results when calculating the rankings. For the current ranking, the points calculated based on performances in CAF club competitions between 2019-20 and the 2023–24 season, the points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:[11]

Association ranking for the 2024–25 CAF club season

The association ranking for the 2024–25 CAF Champions League and the 2024–25 CAF Confederation Cup is based on results from each CAF club competition from 2019–20 to the 2023–24 season.

Legend
Rank Association 2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
Total
2024 2023 Mvt
12 +1116837482.577
21 -18846958224
333165716523
4430.582544341.5
556043514261
660030.5023460
774140031240
884010502031.5
992020303020
1011 +10200.50500.503
1113 +200.500010330
12120302000202
1310 -30320102000.5
1427 +130000000013
1518 +30100000102
1614 -2000300.51000
1727 +1000.500000020
1816 -20000010100.5
1921 +20000100010
2015 -51201.500.50000
2117 -40012000000
2219 -30000000100
2219 -30000001000
2423 -1000000.50000
2423 -1000000.50000
2622 -41000000000
2623 -30000.5000000
2827 -100.500000000

Association ranking for the 2025–26 CAF club season

The association ranking for the 2025–26 CAF Champions League and the 2025–26 CAF Confederation Cup will be based on results from each CAF club competition from 2020–21 to the 2024–25 season.

Legend
Rank Association 2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25
Total
2025 2024 Mvt CC
11837482.57700
224695822400
336571652300
4482544341.500
554351426100
6630.502346000
774003124000
78 +110502031.500
992030302000
101000.50500.50300
11110001033000
12120200020200
1214 +20000001300
1413 -120102000.500
15150000010200
1617 +10000002000
1716 -10300.5100000
1718 +100010100.500
19190010001000
2021 +11200000000
2022 +20000010000
2022 +20000100000
2320 -301.500.5000000
24240000.5000000
24240000.5000000
262600.500000000

Club ranking for the 2024–25 CAF club season

The club ranking is used for seeding in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. Pending equality in ranking points, the team receiving more points in the previous season is considered as the higher-ranked team.[12]

The club ranking for the 2024–25 CAF Champions League and the 2024–25 CAF Confederation Cup is be based on results from each CAF club competition from the 2019–20 to the 2023–24 seasons.

Rank width=200Club !2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
Total
1 Al Ahly66566
2 Espérance de Tunis34345
3 Wydad44652
4 Mamelodi Sundowns33344
5 Zamalek52225
6 RS Berkane51504
7 Simba03233
8 Petro de Luanda21423
9 TP Mazembe3230.54
10 CR Belouizdad03332
11 USM Alger10053
12 Raja CA45330
13 Young Africans S.C.00043
14 ASEC Mimosas00133
15 Pyramids43221
16 Al-Hilal21122
17 JS Kabylie24030
18 Rivers United00022
19 Horoya32120
20 Étoile du Sahel31201
21 Orlando Pirates02400
22 Dreams FC00003
23 ES Sétif01400
24 Future0000.52
25 Marumo Gallants00030
26 Coton Sport030.510
27 FC Nouadhibou0.50002
28 Abu Salim00002
28 Stade Malien00002
30 Kaizer Chiefs05000
31 Al-Merrikh01110
32 AS Vita Club12010
33 Al-Ahli Tripoli00300
34 Jwaneng Galaxy00101
34 Sagrada Esperança00101
36 ASFAR Rabat00020
36 US Monastir00020
38 Al-Masry20200
39 CS Sfaxien02100
40 Diables Noirs00010.5
41 Al Ittihad00200
41 AmaZulu00200
43 MC Alger03000
44 Enyimba22000
45 Medeama00001
46 Club Africain00001
46 Sekhukhune United00001
48 Al Hilal Benghazi00001
49 Saint-Éloi Lupopo00010
49 Real Bamako00010
49 ASKO Kara00010
49 Vipers00010
53 ASC Jaraaf02000
54 Zanaco200.500
55 DC Motema Pembe1000.50
56 JS Saoura00100
56 AS Otôho00100
58 Hassania Agadir30000
59 Académica do Lobito00000.5
59 Académie SOAR00000.5
59 SuperSport United00000.5
62 Al Akhdar0000.50
62 Nkana01000
62 Teungueth01000
62 1º de Agosto20000
62 Al-Nasr20000
67 USGN000.500
67 Royal Leopards000.500
69 Salitas00.5000
69 Al Ahly Benghazi00.5000
69 Namungo00.5000
69 NAPSA Stars00.5000
69 FC Platinum10000
69 Enugu Rangers10000
69 ZESCO United10000
69 Djoliba10000
69 Paradou AC10000
78 Bidvest Wits0.50000
78 ESAE0.50000
78 FC San Pédro0.50000

Club ranking for the 2025–26 CAF club season

The club ranking is used for seeding in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. Pending equality in ranking points, the team receiving more points in the previous season is considered as the higher-ranked team.[13]

The club ranking for the 2025–26 CAF Champions League and the 2025–26 CAF Confederation Cup is be based on results from each CAF club competition from the 2020–21 to the 2024–25 seasons.

Rank width=200Club !2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25
Total
1 Al Ahly65660
2 Espérance de Tunis43450
3 Wydad AC46520
4 Mamelodi Sundowns33440
5 Zamalek22250
6 Simba32330
7 RS Berkane15040
8 Petro de Luanda14230
8 USM Alger00530
10 CR Belouizdad33320
11 TP Mazembe230.540
12 Young Africans00430
13 ASEC Mimosas01330
14 Raja CA53300
15 Al-Hilal11220
16 Pyramids32210
17 Rivers United00220
18 JS Kabylie40300
19 Dreams FC00030
20 Horoya21200
20 Orlando Pirates24000
22 Future000.520
23 Étoile du Sahel12010
24 ES Sétif14000
24 Marumo Gallants00300
26 FC Nouadhibou00020
27 Abu Salim00020
27 Stade Malien00020
29 Coton Sport30.5100
30 Jwaneng Galaxy01010
30 Sagrada Esperança01010
32 Al-Merrikh11100
32 Al-Ahli Tripoli03000
32 ASFAR Rabat00200
32 US Monastir00200
36 Diables Noirs0010.50
37 AS Vita Club20100
37 Kaizer Chiefs50000
39 Medeama00010
39 Club Africain00010
39 Sekhukhune United00010
39 Al Hilal Benghazi00010
43 Al-Masry02000
43 CS Sfaxien21000
43 Al Ittihad02000
43 AmaZulu02000
47 MC Alger30000
47 Saint-Éloi Lupopo00100
47 Real Bamako00100
47 ASKO Kara00100
47 Vipers00100
52 DC Motema Pembe000.500
53 Académica do Lobito0000.50
53 Académie SOAR0000.50
53 SuperSport United0000.50
56 ASC Jaraaf20000
56 Enyimba20000
56 JS Saoura01000
56 AS Otôho01000
60 Al Akhdar000.500
61 Zanaco00.5000
61 Nkana10000
61 Teungueth10000
61 USGN00.5000
61 Royal Leopards00.5000
66 Salitas0.50000
66 Al Ahly Benghazi0.50000
66 Namungo0.50000
66 NAPSA Stars0.50000
Legend

Historical rankings since 2011

Legend
Association Rank
data-sort-type="number"2011 !data-sort-type="number"2012 !data-sort-type="number"2013 !data-sort-type="number"2014 !data-sort-type="number"2015 !data-sort-type="number"2016 !data-sort-type="number"2017 !data-sort-type="number"2018 !data-sort-type="number"2018–19 !data-sort-type="number"2019–20 !data-sort-type="number"2020–21data-sort-type="number"2021–22 !data-sort-type="number"2022–23 !data-sort-type="number"2023–24!data-sort-type="number"2024–25
2 2 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 1
8 7 4 5 4 7 7 6 4 2 1 1 1 1 2
6 6 7 7 7 4 4 4 5 4 5 4 3 3 3
14 16 17 11 12 6 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 4
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 3 4 5 5
16 24 12 13 12 11 6 6
5 3 5 6 3 3 3 3 3 5 4 6 6 7 7
11 9 10 12 13 13 17 17 11 10 10 7 8 8
4 5 6 4 6 5 5 7 7 8 11 11 8 9 9
16 10 15 16 14 14 14 9 18 12 15 9 11 10
7 12 12 15 13 6 9 8 10 13 14 16 16 13 11
3 4 2 3 5 11 12 12 13 9 8 8 12 12 12
18 18 10 9 7 10 10 13
13 15 16 12 14 15 14 15 22 19 20 23 24 27 14
8 8 10 8 7 8 9 11 16 26 20 20 21 18 15
10 11 8 11 9 8 11 13 10 26 29 13 14 14 16
27 27 28 27 17
9 9 8 7 10 15 16 18 19 17 16 18
24 25 27 18 21 19
14 14 14 16 15 14 9 8 7 7 9 13 15 20
14 15 17 21
24 25 27 30 19 22
18 17 18 20 26 19 22
18 22 23 26 21 23 24
16 15 17 19 18 24 23 24
12 9 11 13 18 18 18 20 15 17 19 22 26
18 28 29 23 23 23 26
27 27 28 27 28
14 15 17 19 23
20 22 23 26
10 15 17 20 30
15 17 17 18 13 23 24 27
18 23 29 31 32
17 18

Note: For associations which have the same number of points, they are listed as having the same rank as CAF did not publish any tiebreaking criteria. There was a tie for determining the 12th ranked association on two occasions:

Club results

Club results of the previous 5 seasons and the current season based on the current points system are as follows:

6 points5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point0.5 point
2018–19CLvalign=top Espérance de Tunisvalign=top Wydad ACvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top 
CCvalign=top valign=top Zamalekvalign=top RS Berkanevalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top
2019–20CLvalign=top Al-Ahlyvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top 
CCvalign=top valign=top RS Berkanevalign=top Pyramidsvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top
2020–21CLvalign=top Al-Ahlyvalign=top Kaizer Chiefsvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top 
CCvalign=top valign=top Raja CAvalign=top JS Kabylievalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top
2021–22CLvalign=top Wydad ACvalign=top Al-Ahlyvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top 
CCvalign=top valign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top
2022–23CLvalign=top Al Ahlyvalign=top Wydad ACvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top 
CCvalign=top valign=top USM Algervalign=top Young Africansvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top
2023–24CLvalign=top Al Ahlyvalign=top Espérance de Tunisvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top 
CCvalign=top valign=top Zamalekvalign=top RS Berkanevalign=topvalign=topvalign=topvalign=top

If a team was disqualified, they will not obtain any ranking points. For example, ES Sétif were disqualified from the 2016 CAF Champions League during the group stage.[14] As a result, they did not obtain a position for that edition and thus were not counted when calculating the ranking for Algeria.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 11 September 2004. CAF 5-year ranking. RSSSF. 19 December 2011.
  2. Web site: 12 March 2010. CAF Club Competitions entry procedures for 2011 released. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101206190107/http://www.cafonline.com/football/news/7281-caf-club-competitions-entry-procedures-for-2011-released.html. 6 December 2010. CAFOnline.com. 23 December 2011.
  3. Web site: 9 June 2011. CAF disowns club ranking published by some websites. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110611081352/http://www.cafonline.com/football/news/10006-caf-disowns-club-ranking-published-by-some-websites.html. 11 June 2011. CAFOnline.com. 18 March 2012.
  4. Web site: 11 May 2016. 16 Clubs for Group Phase of CC and CL effective 2017. CAFOnline.com. 23 January 2018.
  5. Web site: 30 May 2016. New adopted format for Club Competitions. CAFOnline.com. 23 January 2018.
  6. Web site: 20 March 2018. Draw Procedures for Interclubs Group Phase. CAFOnline.com. 23 May 2018.
  7. Web site: 4 June 2019. Timu 4 za Tanzania kushiriki Mashindano ya CAF 2019/2020. 4 Tanzanian teams to participate in the 2019/2020 CAF Championship. Tanzania Football Federation. 12 June 2019. sw-TZ.
  8. Web site: Beatrice N'guessan. Paule. 5 June 2019. Sport: Pour la saison 2019-2020, le FC San Pedro ne jouera plus la ligue des champions Africaines (Caf), voici les raisons. Sport: For the 2019-2020 season, FC San Pedro will no longer play the African Champions League (Caf), here are the reasons. AKODY NEWS. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20190605191505/https://www.akody.com/sports/news/sport-pour-la-saison-2019-2020-le-fc-san-pedro-ne-jouera-plus-la-ligue-des-champions-africaines-caf-voici-les-raisons-321818. 5 June 2019. 5 June 2019. fr-FR.
  9. Web site: 8 May 2008. FIFA Ranking Table - African Zone (Dec 2005). FIFA Ranking Archives. 24 May 2009.
  10. Web site: 29 November 2014. Two South African clubs for each Interclub Competition. CAFOnline.com. 23 January 2018.
  11. Web site: 31 March 2014. Ranking of clubs for 2nd 1/8th Final Draw of CC 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140429191043/http://www.cafonline.com/userfiles/file/CAFOOT/Final%20Ranking%20%20CC%202014%202nd%208th.pdf. 29 April 2014. CAFOnline.com. 23 January 2018.
  12. Web site: 8 January 2021. RS Berkane to group stage, 15 more to follow. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210111041853/https://www.cafonline.com/total-confederation-cup/news/rs-berkane-to-group-stage-15-more-to-follow. 11 January 2021. CAFOnline.com. 14 February 2021.
  13. Web site: 8 January 2021. RS Berkane to group stage, 15 more to follow. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210111041853/https://www.cafonline.com/total-confederation-cup/news/rs-berkane-to-group-stage-15-more-to-follow. 11 January 2021. CAFOnline.com. 14 February 2021.
  14. Web site: 23 June 2016. Disqualification of ES Sétif. CAFOnline.com. 23 January 2018.