The group stage in the CAF Champions League ended on Saturday with eight teams qualifying for the quarter-finals, including six Arab teams.
The CAF Champions League’s quarter-finalists are Al Ahly SC and Zamalek SC from Egypt; Espérance Sportive de Tunis and Étoile Sportive du Sahel from Tunisia; Wydad AC and Raja AC from Morocco; Congolese TP Mazembe; and South African holders Mamelodi Sundowns.
All the eight squads had been crowned before champions of Africa, with a total of 29 titles. Al Ahly leads the list with eight titles, followed by Zamalek (five), Mazembe (five), Espérance (four), Raja (three), Wydad (two), Sundowns (one), and Étoile du Sahel (one).
The quarter-final draw of the CAF Champions League is scheduled to take place at CAF’s headquarters in Cairo on 9 February, in the presence of qualified clubs’ representatives.
The first leg matches of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals will take place on 28 and 29 February, while the second will be held on 6 and 7 March. The semi-finals will be played in early May, and the final will be on 29 May.
After 48 matches in the group stage, only two teams were unbeaten: TP Mazembe and Mamelodi Sundowns. Both of them qualified as their group leaders, so they may face Al Ahly or Zamalek in the quarter-finals.
The group stage witnessed 102 goals, with more than two goals per game. Mazembe were the top scorers with 11 goals. Sundowns and Étoile du Sahel had the strongest defences, conceding only three goals each.
The top scorer so far was Étoile du Sahel’s Algerian striker Karim Aribi with 10 goals, followed by Mazembe’s Congolese Jackson Muleka with sevens and Zamalek’s Mostafa Mohamed with six.
