During a recent meeting held at the newly constructed headquarters of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football ("FRMF") in Rabat, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee announced significant changes to the format of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup, effective from this year.
At the meeting on Friday, June 7, the CAF Executive Committee unanimously decided to remove the additional second preliminary or playoff round from the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.
A statement on CAF's website confirmed the Executive Committee's approval of the cancellation of the extra second preliminary round.
Consequently, the 16 winning clubs from the second preliminary round will now directly qualify for the Group Stage of both the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for the 2023-2024 season.
“The Executive Committee approved the cancellation of the additional second preliminary of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup,” part of the statement read.
“This means that the 16 winning Clubs of the Second Preliminary round will qualify for the Group Stage of both the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2023-2024 season,” the statement added.
This revision means that teams will now undergo two qualifying rounds instead of the previous three to secure a spot in the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup.
With the elimination of the playoff stage, the 16 winning clubs from the second qualifying round will join the Group Stages, mirroring the format of the CAF Champions League.
The new format, set to be implemented from the 2023/24 football season onwards, also implies that the 16 losing teams from the second qualifying round of the CAF Champions League will no longer enter the CAF Confederation Cup.
Additionally, the first qualifying round for both prestigious CAF competitions is scheduled to take place from August 18-27, while the second qualifying round is set for September 15 to October 1.
The group stages of both tournaments are slated to kick off during the opening week of December.
