| Tourney Name: | CAF Champions League |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Other Titles: | 2016 Orange CAF Champions League |
| Num Teams: | 55 |
| Associations: | 43 |
| Champion Other: | Mamelodi Sundowns |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second Other: |  Zamalek |
| Matches: | 114 |
| Goals: | 261 |
| Prevseason: | 2015 |
| Nextseason: | 2017 |
The 2016 CAF Champions League (officially the 2016 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 52nd edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 20th edition under the current CAF Champions League format.
Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Zamalek in the final to win their first CAF Champions League title, and qualified as the CAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their first appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup,[1] and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2017 CAF Super Cup.[2] TP Mazembe were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the second round. As of 2023, this is the most recent edition of the tournament won by a team from a non-Arab country.
All 56 CAF member associations might enter the CAF Champions League, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to their CAF 5-year ranking eligible to enter two teams in the competition. The title holders could also enter.[2] As a result, theoretically a maximum of 69 teams could enter the tournament – although this level had never been reached.
For the 2016 CAF Champions League, the CAF used the 2010–2014 CAF 5-year ranking, which calculates points for each entrant association based on their clubs’ performance over those 5 years in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup. The criteria for points are the following:[3]
| CAF Champions League | CAF Confederation Cup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 5 points | 4 points | |
| Runner-up | 4 points | 3 points | |
| Losing semi-finalists | 3 points | 2 points | |
| 3rd place in groups | 2 points | 1 point | |
| 4th place in groups | 1 point | 1 point |
The points are multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:
The following 55 teams from 43 associations entered the competition.
Teams in bold received a bye to the first round. The other teams entered the preliminary round.
Associations are shown according to their 2010–2014 CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated.
| +Associations which did not enter a team | |
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[4] For the first time, some rounds of matches were officially scheduled in midweek (in italics) instead of on weekends.[5]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Preliminary round | 11 December 2015 (Dakar, Senegal)[6] | 12–14 February 2016 | 26–28 February 2016 |
| First round | 11–13 March 2016 | 18–20 March 2016 | ||
| Second round | 8–10 April 2016 | 19–20 April 2016 | ||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 24 May 2016 (Cairo, Egypt)[7] | 17–19 June 2016 | |
| Matchday 2 | 28–29 June 2016 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 15–17 July 2016 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 26–27 July 2016 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 12–14 August 2016 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 23–24 August 2016 | |||
| Knockout stage | Semi-finals | 16–18 September 2016 | 23–25 September 2016 | |
| Final | 14–16 October 2016 | 21–23 October 2016 | ||
See main article: 2016 CAF Champions League qualifying rounds.
See main article: 2016 CAF Champions League group stage.
See main article: 2016 CAF Champions League knockout stage.
See main article: 2016 CAF Champions League Final.
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mfon Udoh | Enyimba | 9 | ||
| 2 |  Reda Hajhouj | Wydad AC | 6 | ||
| 3 |  Idris Mbombo | ZESCO United | 5 | ||
| align=center rowspan=8 | 4 | Clatous Chama | ZESCO United | align=center rowspan=8 | 4 |
| Eudes Dagoulou | ES Sétif | ||||
 Mamadou Diawara | Recreativo do Libolo | ||||
| Jackson Mwanza | ZESCO United | ||||
| Basem Morsy | Zamalek | ||||
| Fabrice Ondama | Wydad AC | ||||
 Jesse Were | ZESCO United | ||||
 Yannick Zakri | ASEC Mimosas |
