Preparations for the 2022/23 season of the CAF Interclubs Competitions have officially begun, following the highly successful editions of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup seasons.
The CAF Interclub Competitions Organising Committee resolved on a number of key matters pertaining to the upcoming season, which include the registration of clubs, competition dates, player registrations and engagement conditions for Member Associations.
ENGAGEMENT REQUEST DEADLINE
The regulatory deadline for Member Associations to submit their engagement requests on behalf of their clubs is postponed to 31 July 2022.
COMPETITION DATES
The latest dates of the 2022/23 CAF Interclub Competitions are as follows:
| ROUND | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration Period (Players eligible as of the 1st preliminary round – no fine) | 01 – 15 Aug. 2022 |
| 1st Preliminary Round (Home/ Away) | 09 – 11 Sep / 16 – 18 Sep 2022 |
| 2nd Preliminary Round (Home/ Away) | 07 – 9 Oct – 14 – 16 Oct 2022 |
| CC Additional 2nd Preliminary round (Home/Away) | 2 Nov – 9 Nov 2022 |
| Additional Registration Period | 1 – 31 Jan 2023 |
| Match Day 1 | 10 – 12 Feb 2023 |
| Match Day 2 | 17 – 19 Feb 2023 |
| Match Day 3 | 24 – 26 Feb 2023 |
| Match Day 4 | 7 – 8 Mar 2023 |
| Match Day 5 | 17 – 18 Mar 2023 |
| Match Day 6 | 31 Mar – 2 Apr 2023 |
| Quarter Finals (Home/Away) | 21 – 23 Apr / 28 – 30 Apr 2023 |
| Semi-Finals (Home / Away) | 12 – 14 May / 19 – 21 May 2023 |
| Finals | TBC 2 – 11 June 2023 |
CAF INTERCLUB COMPETITION RANKINGS
The list of the 12 highest ranked national associations according to CAF’s latest Interclubs Competitions rankings was also confirmed, which subsequently allows for such Member Associations to engage two teams in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup respectively.
The countries are as follows
Algeria, Angola, DR Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia.
SUBSTITUTION & PLAYER REGISTRATIONS
Following IFAB’s confirmation of making the five (5) substitution rule permanent and the validation of the Interclub and club license organizing committee, the CAF Interclub Competitions Organising Committee will extend the five (5) substitutions rule for the 2022/23 interclub season.
Accordingly, each club will be exceptionally allowed to register 40 players instead of the regulatory 30. Moreover, 9 substitutes will be allowed on the bench instead of the regulatory 7.
The only registration period for players eligible in the preliminary rounds will close on the 15th of August 2022 at midnight (Cairo local time).
SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT CONDITIONS
The CAF Interclub Competitions Committee further provided clarity on special conditions of engagement for Member Associations that did not complete their national competitions as follows:
TotalEnergies CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Member Associations that did not complete the season 2021/2022 but had set a criteria to classify the teams or to homologate the standings in the national competitions 2021/2022, the engaged teams in the next CAF Champions League season are the teams qualified from the national league 2021/2022 in accordance to the criteria of engagement mentioned in articles 2 and 3, Chapter 4 of the regulations.
MAs that could not complete the season 2021/2022 and considered that this season is totally cancelled and not counted, the engaged teams in the next CAF Champions League season are the same teams qualified from the said association in the last CAF IC season 2021/2022, taking into consideration the quota of each association according to their ranking.
MAs that did not yet finish their national season by the time of engagement, the MA will be requested to choose one of the above-mentioned criteria to determine their representative(s) and CAF will either approve or disapprove the criteria chosen.
TotalEnergies CAF CONFEDERATION CUP:
MAs that did not complete the national cup of season 2021/2022.
The engaged teams in the next CAF Confederation Cup season are the teams qualified from the last edition of the national cup OR The highest ranked teams in the 2021/22 local league season that are not qualified to the 2022/2023 CAF Champions League (in accordance to the criteria of engagement mentioned in articles 2 and 3 Chapter 4 of the regulations).
The said MAs will be requested to choose one of the above-mentioned criteria (or to mix between the 2 criteria for the best 12 ranked associations engaging more than one team) to determine their representative(s) and CAF will either approve or disapprove the criteria chosen.
Source: CAF