I watch the CAF Champions League whenever I want to experience the highest quality of soccer that Africa has to offer.
In a hurry? In most places, you will find CAF Champions League on the many beIN Sports channels. The following streaming services offer it as well as many other channels:
- Fubo: The king of international soccer includes the 9 beIN Sports channels and 150+ more. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
- Sling TV: Low-cost way to get beIN Sports and more. Save $25 on Sling TV now!
Table Of Contents
CAF is short for Confederation of African Football. And the CAF Champions League is Africa’s version of the UEFA Champions League. In other words, it gathers top clubs from throughout that continent in a several-months heated competition to decide a champion.
Those wanting to see these teams battle for continental glory can often do so, but it does depend on where you are located. However, fans in the US have the ability to do so and should secure access to beIN Sports. We recommend Fubo, which gives you access to all the channels.
CAF Champions League Overview
The first CAF Champions League was played in 1964-65. At that time, and through its 1996 edition, it was known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs before adopting its current moniker a year later.
That initial competition resulted in Oryx Douala, a Cameroon-based side, defeating Malian club Stade Malien, 2-1, in the final. It was played in front of 30,000 at a neutral venue in Accra, Ghana.
Every edition from the second one until 2019 was played with a two-leg final, allowing each of the finalists to host a match at that stage of the competition.
Egyptian clubs have been the dominating powers in this competition. Al Ahly, an Egyptian team, entered the 2021-22 competition with the most trophies with 10. This included ones in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Tied for second on that list are fellow Egyptian side Zamalek and TP Mazembe, a DR Congo club. Both have five.
Structure
Sixty-eight teams can take part in the CAF Champions League. These include the 56 clubs that win their respective country’s top league and 12 runner-up squads from the 12 nations at the top of the current CAF 5-Year Ranking.
However, there have never been 68 teams. Every year, numerous countries end up not sending a representative. For the 2021-22 competition, 54 teams took part as 14 countries did not participate.
Also note that the holder is guaranteed a spot in the next edition of the CAF Champions League if it does not earn one through its league placing.
The participating clubs are reduced to 16 in a pair of two-leg qualifying rounds, which take place in the fall or early winter of the initial calendar year of the competition. The group stage, which consists of six match days, is then held at some point after the new year. Following that phase are the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.
The final has been a single match from 2019-20 to 2021-22, although there is talk of it returning to a two-leg matchup in 2022-23. Part of the reason for that was the result of controversy over awarding the 2021-22 final site to Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, Morocco. It was not seen as a neutral venue since it is the home stadium for one of the participating teams, Wydad AC.
2024-25 CAF Champions League Schedule Overview
- Qualifying
- First Round: August 16 — 18, August 23 — 25
- Second Round: September 13 — 15, September 20 — 22
- Group Stage
- Matchday 1: October 2024
- Matchday 2: November 2024
- Matchday 3: December 2024
- Matchday 4: January 2025
- Matchday 5: February 2025
- Matchday 6: February 2025
- Knockout Stage
- Quarterfinals: March 2025
- Semifinals: March 2025
- Final: May 2025
Related Events
The second-tier Africa-wide competition is the CAF Confederation Cup. It features the domestic cup winners from all CAF countries that want to participate as well as the third-place teams in the top domestic leagues for the continent’s top 12 countries. Its schedule and format are roughly similar to that used in the CAF Champions League.
The 16 teams that are eliminated in the CAF Champions League’s second qualifying round move over to the CAF Confederation Cup, entering that competition in the playoff round, a series of two-leg ties that immediately precede the group stage.
The winners of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup face-off in the single-match CAF Super Cup. Since 2019, this contest has been played at a neutral site in the Asian country Qatar.
The CAF Champions League winner has also earned a spot at the FIFA Club World Cup, but that latter competition is probably undergoing changes. It is expected that it will change from a once-a-year event involving seven teams, including one African side, to one played every four years and featuring 24 teams. Africa is expected to receive three spots under the new format, but it is not known when that format will be implemented.
Watching the CAF Champions League
Those who want to watch the CAF Champions League should secure access to beIN Sports as that network of sports channels owns the rights to this competition. This is true in a large number of countries including USA, Canada, Australia, France, and several countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
In the US, you can get beIN Sports with these streaming services:
- Fubo: Gives you access to all beIN Sports channels right in its app but also gives you access to beIN Connect for $79.99/month. The base plan comes with 150+ total channels including lots of sports with TUDN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, ESPN, CBS Sports Network, and more. It also comes with unlimited cloud DVR storage and streaming on up to 10 devices at home and 2 away. (Fubo review)
- Sling TV: There are lots of ways to get beIN Sports from Sling TV. The most obvious is to start with its Orange or Blue plans ($40.00/month) and add the Sports Extra ($11/mo). This gives you 50 hours of cloud DVR storage. (Sling TV review)
- YouTube TV: This is not a great choice because it provides very limited access to beIN Sports, which you can get with its $11/mo Sports Plus add-on to its $72.99/month base plan. But it is an option to watch many matches.
Devices to Live Stream CAF Champions League Matches
All the streaming services we’ve discussed allow you to watch on most of the devices in use today. These include:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android Mobile
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- iOS
- Roku
- Web browsers.
Fubo, Sling TV, and YouTube TV also support LG, Samsung, and VIZIO smart TVs as well as Xbox One gaming consoles.
Wrapping Up
The CAF Champions League is a great competition to watch if you want to see this sport as it is played outside of Europe, South America, and your home region. It is also clear to those who do check it out that it offers some of the most exciting soccer you will find.
In numerous places, including in the US and Canada, securing access to beIN Sports will allow you to watch many of these heated matchups. We recommend Fubo to fans in both countries.
FAQs
Has a CAF Champions League winner also won the FIFA Club World Cup?
No, a CAF Champions League winner has not also lifted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy. However, an African side has twice advanced to the Club World Cup final. In 2010, TP Mazembe, a DR Congo side, defeated Mexico’s Pachuca, 1-0, and Brazil’s Internacional, 2-0, before falling to Italy’s Inter Milan, 3-0. Three years later, Raja Casablanca (Morocco) knocked off Monterrey (Mexico), 2-1, and Atletico Mineiro (Brazil), 3-1, before succumbing to Bayern Munich (Germany), 2-0.
Can I watch other soccer events without cable?
These guides will show you how to watch other soccer leagues and events:
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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