The CAF Confederation Cup is Africa's second club competition, the continental equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.
Origins
The Confederation Cup was created in 2004 by merging two older competitions: the CAF Cup, for league runners-up, and the African Cup Winners' Cup, for national cup winners. The new tournament gave more clubs regular continental football.
Who plays
Each association can usually enter its national cup winner, and the highest-ranked leagues can add another club. They are joined by clubs eliminated from the second preliminary round of the CAF Champions League, which makes the later rounds much stronger.
Format
The competition follows the same pattern as the Champions League: preliminary rounds, a play-off round with the Champions League drop-outs, a 16-team group stage, then two-legged knock-out ties up to the final. CAF has experimented with single-match finals and two-legged finals in different seasons.
Who has done well
Clubs from North Africa have dominated, with Moroccan, Tunisian and Egyptian sides winning most editions. RS Berkane of Morocco, CS Sfaxien of Tunisia and Zamalek are among the recent and repeated winners. Clubs from South Africa and Nigeria have also reached finals.
The CAF Super Cup
The Confederation Cup winner plays the Champions League winner in the CAF Super Cup, a single match usually held before the next season starts.
Why it matters
For clubs from smaller football nations, the Confederation Cup offers a realistic chance to reach the group stage, earn prize money and play against the continent's big names. For our coverage of African clubs and their players, see clubs with the most African players.